Sandra Bullock feared she'd develop "a little bit of a mental issue" if she continued acting while caring for her sick partner Bryan Randall.
During the press tour for The Lost City in March 2022, the Oscar-winning actress revealed it would be her last film "for a while" because she wanted to take a break and be at home with her family.
In August of the following year, it was revealed that her photographer partner Randall had died after a private three-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was 57.
While opening up about his death for the first time on the SmartLess podcast, Bullock admitted that she was concerned for her mental health while juggling The Lost City, caring for Randall and looking after her two children.
"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 candidly shared.
Two months after wrapping production in the Dominican Republic, the Miss Congeniality star had to return to the film for a reshoot, and she turned up to set exhausted from caring for Randall.
"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?!'" she recalled. "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 star continued, "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."
After that experience, the 62-year-old made a decision about her career, adding, "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."
Following a four-year break, Bullock is currently promoting her movie comeback in Practical Magic 2, which will be released on 10 September.
