Lady Gaga (37) and Tony Bennett (1926-2023), who died on July 21, worked together on two albums. But the two were not only music colleagues, but also good friends despite the big age difference. The singer has now said goodbye to Bennett on Instagram. “I will miss my boyfriend forever,” Lady Gaga wrote in a lengthy comment on a picture the two shared. “I will miss singing with him, recording with him, speaking with him and being on stage together.”
“Tony and I had this magical power,” says Lady Gaga. Through the singer and entertainer, she lived her life in a kind of time jump. The two would have transported themselves into another era, modernized the music from this period together and breathed new life into it as a duo.
“Our relationship was very real,” says Lady Gaga. Bennett taught her more about music and life in show business – but also how to keep a clear head and be in a good mood. “He was an optimist” who was always grateful. For a long time she mourned the loss of the singer: “We had a very long and haunting farewell.”
“Even though we were five decades apart, he was my friend, my really true friend,” Lady Gaga continues. “Our age difference didn’t matter.” They would have inspired each other.
Tony Bennett died in New York City on July 21 at the age of 96. In 2016 he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. His family made the illness public in early 2021. Losing the singer to the disease was painful for Lady Gaga. Alzheimer’s disease is associated with a phase of life in which there is a feeling of vulnerability and a desire to maintain 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,” the 37-year-old continues. As the illness progressed, “I knew deep down that he was sharing with me the most vulnerable moment in his life that he could. […] I will never forget that experience. I will never forget Tony Bennett.”
