Christina Sandera, Clint Eastwood’s longtime partner, has died at age 61.
“Christina was a lovely, caring woman, and I will miss her very much,” Eastwood said in a statement sent Thursday night, according to a Warner Bros. spokesperson. Her cause of death has not been announced.
Keeping their relationship largely under wraps, the two met while Sandera worked as a hostess at Eastwood’s Mission Ranch Hotel and Restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, where Eastwood was once elected mayor in 1986.
Sandera was by Eastwood’s side during his red carpet outings for “American Sniper,” “Sully,” “The Mule,” “Richard Jewell” and other projects.
Prior to meeting the longtime Carmel-by-the-Sea resident, Eastwood had two high-profile marriages. He married model Maggie Johnson in 1953, and TV news anchor Dina Ruiz in 1996. After his matrimony with Ruiz ended in 2014, the actor and director started dating Sandera that same year. He also dated a flight attendant named Jacelyn, as well as actress Frances Fisher, whom he dated for five years.
The 94-year-old’s next film, “Juror No. 2,” is in production.
