Sandra Bullock’s partner Bryan Randall has died aged 57

'We are immensely grateful to the tireless doctors who navigated the landscape of this illness with us'

The model-turned-photographer had been privately battling Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease and motor-neurone disease. It is a rare neurological disease that affects motor neurons, the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement.

The Oscar-winning actress met Bryan in 2015 after he photographed her son Louis's birthday and five years after she divorced Jesse James.

On their last public sighting together, in July 2020, Bryan was pictured gazing adoringly at Bullock as they arrived at an intimate gathering in studio city with her two children.

In a statement to PEOPLE, Bryan's family wrote: "It is with great sadness that we share that on Aug. 5, Bryan Randall passed away peacefully after a three-year battle with ALS.

"Bryan chose early to keep his journey with ALS private and those of us who cared for him did our best to honour his request.

"We are immensely grateful to the tireless doctors who navigated the landscape of this illness with us and to the astounding nurses who became our roommates, often sacrificing their own families to be with ours."

The statement concluded by asking for privacy "to grieve and to come to terms with the impossibility of saying goodbye to Bryan."

Bryan's family has asked for donations to the ALS Association and the Massachusetts General Hospital in lieu of flowers, according to People.

There is no cure for ALS and those people impacted by it are expected to live two to five years after the symptoms first manifest, although 10 per cent of sufferers live at least 10 years.

It is also known in some countries as motor-neurone disease.

Bullock and Bryan do not have any children together but the Miss Congeniality star has two adopted children, Louis, 13, and Laila, 11, and Bryan has an adult daughter named Skylar from a previous relationship.

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