Sandra Bullock is Spotted Without a Wedding Ring, Occasionally Smiling for Cameras

April 20, 2010— -- Sandra Bullock has been very private about the divorce rumors following her husband's cheating scandal, but she made a fairly large public statement by going out without a wedding ring, according to photos acquired by "Entertainment Tonight."

Bullock, the Oscar-winning actress, broke out of seclusion by taking a hike with her dog and a friend in Northern California last Friday afternoon. She was bundled in a black jacket, jeans and a scarf and showed very little of her face, covering it with a black hat.

While she did manage a couple of smiles for the cameras, she had a mostly melancholy look while she sipped coffee and chatted with her unidentified friend.

Ever since marrying motorcycle mogul Jesse James five years ago, Bullock had been photographed wearing her vintage platinum wedding band with interwoven diamonds.

Friday's walk is only the second time she has been seen in public since allegations of her husband's alleged affairs broke over a month ago. The first time Bullock stepped out she visited investor friend Gabriel Brenner, and was guarded by an army of umbrella-toting assistants.

While Sandra Bullock has been staying off the public stage, Michelle "Bombshell" McGee, the woman who allegedly slept with James, appears to be relishing her time in the spotlight.

According to TMZ.com, McGee is in the running to host an in-development reality show about philandering famous spouses, "Celebrity Cheaters." Her potential co-host? Jamie Jungers, one of Tiger Woods' alleged mistresses.

While "Celebrity Cheaters" searches for a home on TV, McGee is keeping busy with appearances -- on April 23, she's scheduled to sign autographs, pose for photos and dance topless at Vegas's Deja Vu Showgirls club.

"We're just cashing in on her celebrity right now," Deju Vu advertising and marketing director Larry Beard told People magazine. "There's actually a group of tattoo enthusiasts that are all going to show up. I'm getting a lot of response for it. It should be a pretty big event."

McGee tried to defend her reputation Friday, days after issuing an apology to Bullock.

"I am not a homewrecker," she told E! Online's "Daily 10." "I don't believe I destroyed their marriage. Jesse destroyed his marriage. My message to Jesse would be, 'If you were honest to me up front ... we wouldn't be in this situation.'"

"It's hard to be the most-hated person in America," she added. "It's easy to target someone who looks different."

Last Monday, McGee issued her first public apology to Bullock.

"I feel bad for Sandra," the heavily tattooed model and stripper said on Australia's "Today Tonight" on April 12. "I know what she's going through. She must be hurt, devastated, upset, embarrassed."

Asked what she'd say to Bullock, McGee replied, "I want to give her a heartfelt apology. Sandra, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for your embarrassment. I'm sorry all of this is public."

Meanwhile, Bullock's sister is trying to keep her Oscar-winning sibling from being a paparazzi target. According to People magazine, Gesine Bullock-Prado took to her blog, Confections of a (Closet) Master Baker, to shoot down rumors that Bullock fled to Vermont to spend Easter with her sister. Bullock-Prado said the reports make no sense since she was in Chicago for the holiday.

"So to set the record completely straight, if the post on Easter about gorging my way through Chicago doesn't convince you to my whereabouts and only my whereabouts, then let my reservations on the lovely United Airlines be a true and honest testament to what I ate for Easter dinner and with whom, and it wasn't with my lovely family at some nameless Vermont inn I've never set eyes upon," she wrote.

Bullock's friend George Lopez is also singing the silent star's praises.

"She's a beautiful person, and when she needs friends, of course, I'm going to be there," the comedian said in an interview on E!'s "Daily 10" show April 15. "She knows how much I care about her. And, you know, when times are tough, friends step up."

Bullock herself has only spoken publicly once since reports about James' cheating surfaced last month. At the beginning of April, she broke her silence -- not to discuss her marriage but to deny reports of the existence of a sex tape.

Why comment on that rumor and not the slew of other sex scandal reports?

"This one involved her," E! executive news editor Ken Baker said.

ABC News reporter Courtney Crowder contributed to this report.