Sandra Bullock's tearful goodbye to Jay Leno

Like a lot of us, Sandra Bullock doesn't have the easiest time saying goodbye.

The "Gravity" Oscar nominee was part of the guest roster for Jay Leno's final week as host of "The Tonight Show," and when she made her appearance on Wednesday night she struggled to keep from crying.

It's been 20 years since Bullock first stepped onto the "Tonight Show" set to promote her Keanu Reeves action flick "Speed," and she and Leno reminisced (with some pretty salty language) about what Sandy was like before superstardom.

During their walk down memory lane, Leno teased Bullock about everything from her youthful indiscretions to her haircut misfires, all of which Bullock took in stride.

"You start off insulting me and I'm used to you insulting, and now you're getting really sweet," Bullock responded to Leno's ribbing. "I don't know, it's either going to make me cry, or you're going to do something even meaner."

Actually, Leno went in the opposite direction, telling the celebrated actress that the first time he saw her in a film - it was 1993's "Wrestling Earnest Hemingway" - "I looked at you the way I looked at my wife for the first time," the veteran late night host said. "You just popped, and I went, 'Oh my God, this person's got to be a big star. And it all came true.'"

After those kind words, Bullock couldn't help but return the favor.

"You've always been so kind, and that's saying a lot in this business because we like to be mean," Bullock told Leno. "There has not been one time that you haven't treated me like I had something to offer, even when the film was horrible and you knew it, you never let me see it in your eyes. When I made crazy life decisions, you never questioned. You just were always so welcoming, and every single person on your crew was that way consistently. And I just felt special even when I felt very insecure, and everyone I think in this room and in this country has felt that way."

Leno's final night on "The Tonight Show" is Thursday, and he'll be sitting down with his first-ever guest, Billy Crystal. Jimmy Fallon is poised to take over "Tonight" after the Winter Olympics on February 17.