THE cause of death of Clint Eastwood’s longtime girlfriend has been revealed.
Christina Sandera’s death at the age of 61 was addressed by her A-list partner last week in a statement.
“Christina was a lovely, caring woman, and I will miss her very much,” Eastwood, 94, said on July 18.
On Wednesday, a representative from the Monterey County Health Department confirmed that Sandera died of a heart attack, per The New York Post.
A death certificate listed her immediate cause of death as cardiac arrhythmia, an irregularity in a heartbeat’s timing or pattern.
But Sandera also had atherosclerotic coronary artery disease listed as an additional cause of death.
After his initial statement, a spokesperson for Warner Bros. told the press that Eastwood would grieve privately.
Eastwood and Sandera met in 2014 at the actor’s Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, restaurant and began dating shortly after.
At the time, Sandera was working as a hostess at the restaurant.
The couple quickly hit it off and were together until Sandera’s death.
Eastwood was previously married twice, to model Maggie Johnson from 1953 to 1984 and news anchor Dina Ruiz from 1996 to 2014.
He had also been in several long-term relationships with his fellow actors, including Titanic actress Frances Fisher.
The actor is also a father to eight children and recently walked his youngest child, Morgan, down the aisle at her wedding.
Morgan paid tribute to Sandera on her Instagram, posting a picture from her recent nuptials – held at the same location her father met Sandera.
“A devastating loss for our whole family,” Morgan wrote.
“Thank you Christina for being a good partner to my Dad you will be greatly missed.”
Christina was a lovely, caring woman, and I will miss her very much.
Clint Eastwood
Unlike her movie star partner, there isn’t much known about Sandera or her relationship with Eastwood.
The couple kept a low profile throughout their decade-long relationship.
Sandera attended many high-profile events with Eastwood such as the Academy Awards, however, she chose to stay out of the spotlight.
She didn’t have a social media presence and never spoke about her relationship with Eastwood publicly.
However, Sandera appeared to be close with Eastwood’s children, joining the actor and three of his children at the premiere of his film The Mule in 2018.
In May 2020, Eastwood’s son, Scott Eastwood, told Access Hollywood that the blended family made plans to celebrate his father’s 90th birthday.
“We’re going to do just a family thing,” Scott said at the time.
“Very calm, very mellow. He doesn’t like birthdays. He’s just sort of like, ‘I don’t want to do birthdays.’
“We’ll sneak a cake in there, definitely. He probably won’t like it, but we’ll put one in.”
