Devastating truth about Blind Side actor Quinton Aaron: More to this 'than everyone is letting on', friends reveal... as co-star Sandra Bullock 'monitors' situation

Sandra Bullock is 'monitoring' the health of her The Blind Side co-star Quinton Aaron, with the actor said to be 'in dire straits' after being placed on life support.

Aaron, 41, was walking up the strairs in his apartment last week when he collapsed. He was rushed to hospital with a severe blood infection, according to multiple reports.

But now the actor, who starred opposite Bullock, 61, in the 2009 inspirational sports biopic, 'is in a lot more danger than everyone is letting on,' a source told the Daily Mail on Monday.

'He currently is in dire straits, and it is touch and go for survival, but family and friends are keeping an overall positive outlook.'

Aaron is 'going through many tests, getting the best care one can get, but it is scary because the outlook isn't the best right now,' the insider stated, adding the entertainer 'is still a long way away from recovery,' the source added.

Bullock, meanwhile, is said to be 'aware' and 'monitoring' the situation. 

'Though they haven't stayed in touch [since the movie], Sandra is aware that he is in rough shape and she is monitoring the situation and obviously hoping for the best,' the source said.

The Daily Mail has contacted Aaron and Bullock's representatives for comment.

In The Blind Side, Aaron portrayed NFL star Michael Oher, who was a homeless black teen, drifting in and out of the school system, before Leigh Anne Tuohy, played by Bullock, adopted him. 

The role earned Bullock an Oscar. 

The source went on to share that Aaron's ongoing 'battle with his weight', which saw him dramatically drop 200 lbs last year, 'has been a lifelong situation and has been always something to monitor.'

'So, if he survives, there will a renewed focus on his overall health after so many years have taken their toll. But it is going to be a few days of being scared before any full results come through,' the source said.

Meanwhile, a family friend who saw the actor just weeks ago told Daily Mail that his health crisis was 'very unexpected.'

Just last month Aaron was 'laughing' and 'singing' according to Gina Watson, the founder of Veterans Aid Network, who has set up a GoFundMe for the actor.

'It's devastating for us because like I said, we've been friends and we were just all [together at] Christmas doing a fundraiser to sponsor a family in need,' Watson told Daily Mail.

'Quinton was laughing with us and singing and we were having a great time and then all of a sudden, not even a month later, to find out he's on life support... Yes, very unexpected.'

Watson also claimed that Aaron and Bullock 'do check in with each other every once in a while,' adding that Bullock is 'absolutely incredible.'

As for whether any other celebrity friends have reached out to help with the GoFundMe, Watson said: 'Not to me yet, no.'

On Monday, via the GoFundMe page, Watson shared an update.

She wrote: 'Quinton has opened his eyes and has some feeling in his foot! He is still on life support and going through tests. We are looking at quite a recovery time and will need a wheelchair when he is released while he goes through therapy to walk again. Thank you to all of you for your support and prayers.'

At the time of this article's publication, the fundraiser had raised over $38,000.

Watson said that all GoFundMe donations will go directly to Aaron and his family.

In another post Watson wrote: 'There have been several questions about why Veterans Aid Network would be helping Quinton in this time. Veterans Aid Network is a nonprofit organization that helps veterans and their families in crisis situations. Although Quinton is not a veteran himself, he is part of a veteran family.'

Watson says she has been friends with Aaron for 'a few years' and became 'worried' late last week when she didn't hear back from him.

'I reached out to his wife and asked if everything was okay and she told me that he was in the hospital, that he was in critical condition on life support,' Watson said.

Watson also claimed that Aaron's weight loss last year was partly driven by a family history of heart disease and heart failure. In 2023, Aaron revealed that he had been previously diagnosed with congestive heart failure.

'And that was part of the reason, a major reason why he started his weight loss journey was to try to fix that,' Watson said.

As to his condition when she saw him in December, Watson claimed that Aaron had been 'struggling a little bit.'

'But like I said... he joined with [the Veterans Aid Network] and we were doing a [fundraiser] for Christmas... and he was singing and laughing. Good spirits. Seemed healthy,' she added.

'I mean, we had a great time [and] we've been talking about doing it again soon and working together and just kind of making plans for the summer and stuff like that for the nonprofit.'

Over the weekend, Aaron's wife Margarita told TMZ that Aaron woke one morning last week feeling sore, assuming it was from a bad night's sleep. A few days later, still experiencing neck and back pain, he was walking up the stairs when he suddenly lost feeling in his legs. 

Margarita, who's a registered nurse, rushed to his side and helped him upstairs before he lay down and she called 911. He drifted in and out of consciousness on the way to the hospital, where doctors recommended life support. 

In a statement to the Daily Mail, Aaron's manager Katrina Fristoe said he is 'receiving excellent medical care' and is with family.

'The family deeply appreciates the outpouring of support from fans and the media but respectfully requests privacy during this time,' she said, adding that an update would be forthcoming when Aaron was in better condition.

The actor, who was described as being 'critically ill,' is best known for playing former NFL star Michael Oher in The Blind Side, whose high school and college football career was chronicled in Michael Lewis's popular book of the same name.

Fans of Oher and the film about his remarkable success story were shocked in 2023, when he filed a lawsuit claiming that Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy had not adopted him but had instead created a conservatorship that awarded their family millions from the success of The Blind Side film, even though Oher was allegedly paid nothing for the movie.

The Tuohys have denied any wrongdoing. A judge terminated the conservatorship in September 2023.

Aaron's latest health crisis comes after he was rushed to a hospital in March 2025 as he coughed up blood and battled a fever.

The actor was also suffering from a fever at the time, and though his eventual diagnosis wasn't revealed, TMZ reported at the time that doctors posited Type A flu and pneumonia as possible culprits.

Aaron, who had to miss an event in Orange County, California, due to his medical emergency, told the publication that he was doing better and no longer coughing up blood after doctors administered antibiotics and IV fluids.

The Left Behind actor had also battled a serious upper respiratory infection in 2019.

In October, Aaron announced that he was feeling 'overwhelmed and blessed' after shedding an incredible 200 pounds.

The 6ft8in actor said he was down to 375 pounds, after once weighing in at 575 pounds in 2012.

The Blind Side star said seeing the extreme number on the scale helped him realize that he was eating himself 'into an early grave.'

According to the film and television actor, he began taking the popular weight-loss drug Ozempic in 2024, but he was forced to discontinue it after he suffered an allergic reaction to the injectable medication.

After he had to go off the medication, Aaron instead turned to intermittent fasting to help him slim down.

He said he also made dietary changes by cutting down on foods high in sugar or carbohydrates, and he joked that he was 'getting a lot of cardio in the bedroom' with his wife, Margarita.

In 2023, Aaron revealed to the American Heart Association that he had been previously diagnosed with congestive heart failure.

He was at particular risk from the condition due to having multiple family members who had been diagnosed with heart disease and heart failure.

In 2020 alone, he was hospitalized three times, once due to a bout of Covid-19 and twice due to heart failure.

Then, in 2021, he was diagnosed with diabetes, which inspired him to kickstart his health journey.