In a lengthy Instagram post, published late on Sunday night, Lady Gaga wrote a deeply emotional tribute to her friend and collaborator, Tony Bennett.

“I will miss my friend forever,” the singer shared with fans. “I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together. With Tony, I got to live my life in a time warp. Tony & I had this magical power. We transported ourselves to another era, modernized the music together, & gave it all new life as a singing duo. But it wasn’t an act. Our relationship was very real.”

Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease back in 2016, Bennett made his last public appearance with Gaga at Radio City Music Hall in August 2021 for the duo's One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga concert.

The friends began their collaboration with recording their 2014 album, Cheek to Cheek, and went on to perform together, eventually recording their second album - 2021's Love For Sale. The Cole Porter tribute included solo sections such as 'Do I Love You', 'I Get a Kick Out of You', and 'I've Got You Under My Skin'. The 2021 release marked Bennett's 61st and final studio recording.

“Sure he taught me about music, about showbiz life, but he also showed me how to keep my spirits high and my head screwed on straight," Gaga recalled. "‘Straight ahead,’ he’d say. He was an optimist, he believed in quality work AND quality life,” Gaga said. “Plus, there was the gratitude…Tony was always grateful. He served in WWII, marched with Martin Luther King Jr., and sang jazz with the greatest singers and players in the world.”

The singer continued, adding: “I’ve been grieving the loss of Tony for a long time. We had a very long and powerful goodbye. Though there were 5 decades between us, he was my friend. My real true friend. Our age difference didn’t matter– in fact, it gave us each something neither of us had with most people. We were from two different stages in life entirely — inspired.

"Losing Tony to Alzheimer’s has been painful but it was also really beautiful. An era of memory loss is such a sacred time in a persons life. There’s such a feeling of vulnerability and a desire to preserve dignity. All I wanted was for Tony to remember how much I loved him and how grateful I was to have him in my life. But, as that faded slowly I knew deep down he was sharing with me the most vulnerable moment in his life that he could — being willing to sing with me when his nature was changing so deeply. I’ll never forget this experience. I’ll never forget Tony Bennett,” she said. “If I could say anything to the world about this I would say don’t discount your elders, don’t leave them behind when things change. Don’t flinch when you feel sad, just keep going straight ahead, sadness is part of it. Take care of your elders and I promise you will learn something special. Maybe even magical. And pay attention to silence—some of my musical partner and I’s most meaningful exchanges were with no melody at all.”

The pair's relationship was profound and endearing to watch, but there was clearly a lot more to the duo than meets the eye. During their promotional campaign for Love for Sale, a video captured behind-the-scenes shows the true relationship between the two renowned artists.

In one scene, Bennett sits down to sketch Gaga. “I was thinking of doing a sketch of you for the cover, a nice, clean picture of you,” the musical legend tells her. In what eventually becomes the actual artwork for the album, Gaga sheds tears, telling Bennett, “It’s beautiful, it’s so beautiful. It makes me cry.”

Friends and fans commented on the artist's tribute, both consoling and sending love her way.

"None of us, not even for a moment, thought it was an act," Michelle Visage remarked, with a fan adding: "I knew when you would say something it would be said in the most beautiful and important way. Thank you for sharing these words with us, for sharing your friendship with Tony with us in the way that you have, and for the grace and humility you always bring. So incredibly sorry for the loss of your friend and for the world’s loss of one of the best entertainers and people we will ever have."

Read Gaga's full tribute in the post below.

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