Madonna mourns the death of brother Christopher Ciccone at the age of 63

Madonna admitted in her statement that the last few years with her brother “haven't been easy,” but “we found each other again after his cancer diagnosis.”

Ciccone is survived by his husband, actor Ray Thacker, whom he married in 2016.

Read Madonna's full statement below:

“My brother Christopher is gone. He was the person closest to me for so long. It's hard to explain our bond. But it came from the realization that we were different and that society would make things difficult for us if we didn't follow the status quo.

“We held hands and 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.

“My ballet teacher, also named Christopher, created a safe space for my brother to be gay. A word that was neither spoken nor whispered where we lived. When I finally had the courage to go to New York to become a dancer. My brother followed him. And again we held hands and danced through the madness of New York City!

“We devoured art, music and film like hungry animals. We were at the epicenter of all these things exploding. We danced through the madness of the AIDS epidemic.

“We went to funerals and we cried and we went dancing. Early in my career we danced on stage together and eventually he became my creative director for many tours. When it came to good taste, my brother was the Pope, and you had to kiss the ring to get his blessing.

“We defied the Roman Catholic Church, the police, the moral majority and all those in authority who stood in the way of artistic freedom!” My brother was right by my side. He was a painter, poet and visionary. I admired him. He had impeccable taste. And a sharp tongue that he sometimes used against me, but I always forgave him.

“We have scaled the highest heights together and failed at the lowest depths. Somehow we always found each other and held hands and continued dancing. The last few years have not been easy. We didn't speak to each other for a while, but when my brother got sick we found each other again.

“I did my best to keep him alive as long as possible. Towards the end he was in so much pain. Once again we held hands. We closed our eyes and danced. Together. I'm glad he's no longer suffering. There will never be anyone like him. I know he’s dancing somewhere.”