Madonna opened up about one of the saddest moments of her childhood on Mother’s Day.
In a vulnerable post on Instagram on May 12, the pop icon recalled her mother Madonna Louise Ciccone’s 1963 death at the age of 30 after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Her daughter and namesake was just 5 years old at the time.
On Instagram Sunday, Madonna recalled her mother’s death while referring to a section of her recent Celebrations tour that paid tribute to her late mom.
“I stood on stage for 81 shows staring up at the beautiful face of my mother and wondering what she must’ve been thinking as she waved goodbye to me from her hospital window. I stepped into the station wagon and shut the door not knowing it was the last time I’d see her,” she began the post, recalling the moment in the show when she sang to a photo of her mother on a screen.
“Nobody told me my mother was dying — I just watched her disintegrate mysteriously and then she disappeared and there was no explanation except that she had gone to sleep which explains my tumultuous relationship with sleep,” Madonna, now 65, continued.
The mother of six went on to reveal that all of her own kids slept in the same house for Mother’s Day, which she described as “rare and comforting.”
“They grow up too fast and spin out in different directions And yes I have a hard time letting go,” the “Ray of Light” continued.
Madonna is mom to Lourdes, 27, Rocco, 23, David, 18, Mercy, 18 and twins Stella and Estere, 11.
The photo of her mother appeared during the song “Mother and Father” per Entertainment Weekly and also included photos of some of her four kids’ birth mothers, per the photos on Instagram.
She referred to David’s birth mother Malita in the post and wondered if the woman thought she was “doing a good job” raising the teenager.
The “Material Girl” singer wrote that all of her kids went on her most recent tour with her, which ended in early May.
“We clung to each other. In the long hours we worked and struggled. They helped me manifest my dreams,” Madonna said in the caption.
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The comments of the post featured comments from celebrities like her close friend Debi Mazar, Katy Perry and Selma Blair praising her words and assuring her she was a good mother.
“Happy Mother’s Day. There is nobody like you. And what has made you into the matter of you. Thank you for writing this. For giving us this grace from the mother of invention,” Blair, 51, wrote.