Madonna paid a heartbreaking tribute to her brother Christopher Ciccone, who passed away on October 4 at the age of 63

Christopher passed away after a battle with cancer, his agent confirmed to TMZ. He breathed his last surrounded by his husband Ray Thacker and loved ones.

“My brother Christopher has passed away,” the pop star wrote on Instagram on October 6, along with a beautiful photo of him and his brother.

“He was the closest person to me for so long. It's hard to explain our bond. But it came from the understanding that we are different and that society looks hard at those of us who don't conform to the status quo.”

Madonna went on to say that what brought them together most, was their love of dance; according to TMZ, Christopher was famously one of her back-up dancers early in her career, then a show designer, dresser, and the singer's touring artistic director for the singer's tours.

“We took each other's hands and danced in the madness of childhood. In fact, dancing was like the instant glue that brought us together,” Madonna wrote.

“I was saved when I discovered dance in a small Midwestern town. My ballet teacher, also named Christopher, created a safe place for my brother to be gay.

“When I finally got the courage to go to New York to become a dancer, my brother followed. My brother followed suit. And again we took each other's hands and danced our way through the madness of New York City!”

According to E! News, Madonna and Christopher fell out after the release of his autobiography, Life With My Sister Madonna, and had been estranged for several years before his death.

“We soared to the highest of heights together. Then we hit the lowest of lows,” she wrote on Instagram. [Somehow we always found each other again, held hands and kept dancing. The last few years have not been easy. But when my brother got sick, we found our way back to each other. We found our way back to each other

“We did our best to keep him alive as long as possible. Though his last moments were very painful, once again we held hands, closed our eyes, and danced together.

She ended by saying, “I'm glad he didn't suffer anymore. There will never be another like him. I know he is dancing somewhere.

Tributes came from Julia Fox, Katy Perry, Jerrod Blandino, Perez Hilton, Zoe Saldana, Donatella Versace, and others.

Tragically, Christopher's death was the third cancer-related death for Madonna's family in less than two years. People reported that her stepmother Joan Ciccone passed away from cancer just two weeks ago at the age of 81, and Madonna's oldest brother Anthony Ciccone died of cancer in February 2023. Madonna's brother-in-law, Joe Henry, announced Anthony's passing on Instagram and paid a touching tribute at the time.

Madonna herself experienced health concerns last year, postponing tour dates while hospitalized in the ICU with a “serious bacterial infection.”