“Christina was a lovely, caring woman,” Eastwood, 94, said in a statement.

Christina Sandera, the longtime partner of Clint Eastwood, has passed away at the age of 61.

This sad news was shared by the 94-year-old Oscar winner in a statement via an email newsletter from the local Carmel Pine Cone newspaper on Thursday night, July 18.

Eastwood expressed his sorrow, stating, “Christina was a lovely, caring woman, and I will miss her very much.”

As of now, the cause of her death has not been disclosed.

Christina and Clint shared a very private relationship. They met when she was working as a hostess at Clint’s Mission Ranch Hotel in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, a serene town on the Monterey Peninsula where Eastwood has resided for decades.

While Clint Eastwood is a world-renowned actor and filmmaker, Christina preferred to keep a low profile. She wasn’t active on social media and much about her private life remains unknown to the public.

The couple lived a quiet life together in Carmel-by-the-Sea, where Eastwood once served as mayor. Despite their preference for privacy, Christina did attend numerous events with Clint, particularly those associated with his films.

Their first public appearance as a couple was in 2015 at the Oscars, where Clint’s film “American Sniper” was nominated for six awards, including Best Picture. Christina was by his side, supporting him throughout the evening.

In June 2014, the couple was photographed by the Daily Mail while grocery shopping together, marking one of the rare occasions they were captured by the media.

In 2016, Christina was with Clint at the screening of his film “Sully” at the Directors Guild of America. The following year, they attended the Cannes Film Festival together.

One notable family gathering was at the premiere of Clint’s 2018 film “The Mule,” where Christina joined Clint’s entire family, including three of his kids, his granddaughter, and his first wife, Maggie Johnson.

Speaking to Access Hollywood in May 2020, Clint’s son, Scott Eastwood, shared how the family planned to celebrate Clint’s 90th birthday. “We’re going to do just a family thing…Very calm, very mellow. He doesn’t like birthdays…We’ll sneak a cake in there, definitely. He probably won’t like it, but we’ll put one in.”