Madonna has penned a tear-jerking tribute to her brother in the wake of his death.
The pop star's brother Christopher Ciccone was an artist, dancer and designer, and sadly died on Friday (October 5) after a long battle with cancer.
Following the news of his death, Madonna took to Instagram to share a series of photographs of her with Christopher and described him as 'the closest human to me for so long'.
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The lengthly post continued: "It's hard to explain our bond. But it grew out of an understanding that we were different and society was going to give us a hard time for not following the status quo.
"We took each other‘s hands and we danced through the madness of our childhood. In fact, dance was a kind of superglue that held us together.
"Discovering Dance in our small Midwestern town saved me and then my brother came along, and it saved him too."
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The two siblings were born and raised in Pontiac and Rochester Hill, Michigan.
Madonna went on to write that her ballet teacher in her hometown gave Christopher a 'safe space' to be gay.
"A word that was not spoken or even whispered where we lived," she went on.
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"When I finally got the courage to go to New York to become a Dancer. My brother followed.
"And again we took each other’s hands, and we danced through the madness of New York City!
"We devoured Art and Music And Film like hungry animals. We were in the epicenter of all of these things exploding.
"We danced through the madness of the AIDS epidemic. We went to funerals and we cried, and we went dancing."
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The songstress continued to write about how Christopher became her creative director on many of her music tours.
Madonna further wrote: "My brother was right by my side.
"He was a painter a poet and a visionary. I admired him. He had impeccable taste. And a sharp tongue, Which he sometimes used against me but I always forgave him.
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"We soared the highest heights together. And floundered in the lowest lows.
"Somehow, we always found each other again and We held hands and we kept dancing."
Apparently ,their relationship had hit a bump in the road in recent years, but the two siblings 'found [their] way back to each other' when Christopher became unwell.
"I did my best to keep him alive as long as possible," said Madonna of her brother's illness.
"He was in so much pain towards the end. Once again, we held hands we closed our eyes and we danced. Together.
"I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore. There will never be anyone like him. I know he’s dancing somewhere."
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact The Compassionate Friends on (877) 969-0010.
Niamh Shackleton