'I was left alone… I had nothing left to give' Sandra Bullock on quitting acting to become carer for her late partner

Sandra Bullock’s return to the big screens is imminent, with the Oscar winner reprising her role for the much-anticipated Practical Magic sequel out in September.

It marks her first role since 2022’s The Lost City, after which she took a step back from acting to focus on caring for her late partner, Bryan Randall, who was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (sometimes known as motor neurone disease) in 2020.

The Miss Congeniality star, who is known for being more private, opened up for the first time about her decision to step out of the spotlight for a while, the emotional toll she felt trying to raise her family while caring for Bryan, and the heart-breaking reason she started to grieve for him years before his passing.

Appearing on the SmartLess podcast, hosted by actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, Sandra shared that trying to act and deal with Bryan’s diagnosis proved too much, leading to her worried she might "have a little bit of a mental issue".

She shared, "When Bryan got sick, after Lost City, I was like, ‘I can't.’ I thought I was going to have a little bit of a mental issue. I was like, ‘I can't, I can't, I can't,'" she said.

Trying to continue working while dealing with it all - and raising her children Louis and Laila - she continued, "I came for the reshoot on a couple of hours' sleep and I remember walking in and everyone went, 'What, what, did you not sleep?!'

"I looked so bad, and when I say so bad, like my face, it was horrific. I could maybe manage four hours of the reshoot and they were like, ‘Can you just give us [another take]?’

"I was like, ‘I can't, I can't, I've got to go home.’ And I went home."

"The amount of money they had to spend to fix my face to match the rest of the film digitally. It was a horror show. So I did that and then I just pulled the plug. I said I can't anymore. I have nothing to give right now. Nothing. Zero."

Sandra also went into detail about caring for Bryan after his diagnosis and up to his death on August 5, 2023, and why she started grieving him when he was still alive.

"I started grieving Bryan four years before he passed. Something in me said, ‘Start grieving now’ because I knew I would be the caregiver… I could see that the bright eyes that I knew - there was something that had shifted. It was a traumatic diagnosis.

"My person left a lot earlier than the body left. I don’t think I ever dealt with that until after he passed, because you’re just on this treadmill".