Octavia Spencer Says Sandra Bullock ‘Lost Her Soulmate’ After Death of Bryan Randall

Octavia Spencer is mourning the death of Sandra Bullock’s longtime partner Bryan Randall.

After Randall’s family shared in a statement to PEOPLE that the photographer died on Aug. 5 following a 3-year battle with ALS, Spencer, 53, expressed on Instagram that her “heart is broken for Sandy and Bryan.”

“Sandy lost her soulmate and the world lost a talented, handsome, all around good guy!” she wrote alongside a photo of Bullock, 59, and Randall, 57. Spencer’s friendship with Bullock dates back to 1996 when they appeared together in the film A Time to Kill and shared the screen again in 2005’s Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous.

The Hidden Figures star took time to extend prayers and condolences to both Bullock and Randall’s families in her tribute and included a special note for Randall, referencing “a tiny little lady up there who looks an awful lot like me bossing the Angels around.”

“Especially Gabriel,” she continued. “She’ll get him to play any song you want to hear. Give her a kiss from me. #soulmates #ALS.”

Many of Bullock’s fans showed their support for the actress. One social media user wrote, “Heartbreaking. Please let her know so many people have her and the family in our prayers.” Another fan wrote, “💔🙏🏽 I know the pain of losing a soul mate. 😢 Peace be with her and the family.”

While the couple was private with their romance, Bullock spoke out about their relationship in a December 2021 appearance on Red Table Talk in which she shared that she had “found the love of my life.”

“We share two beautiful children— three children, his older daughter. It’s the best thing ever,” she shared. “I don’t wanna say do it like I do it, but I don’t need a paper to be a devoted partner and devoted mother. I don’t need to be told to be ever present in the hardest of times. I don’t need to be told to weather a storm with a good man.”

The Lake House star became a mother after adopting her son Louis in 2010 and her daughter Laila in 2015, and shared that Randall was “the example” she wanted for her children.

“I have a partner who’s very Christian and there’s two very different ways of looking at things,” she said. “I don’t always agree with him, and he doesn’t always agree with me. But he is an example even when I don’t agree with him, that I go, if they can take away from that and if that is where they feel drawn to then he is the exact right parent to be in this position.”

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According to the Randall family statement, “Bryan chose early to keep his journey with ALS private and those of us who cared for him did our best to honor his request.”

His family added, “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. At this time we ask for privacy to grieve and to come to terms with the impossibility of saying goodbye to Bryan.”