Madonna paid for brother Anthony Ciccone's rehab at Michigan treatment center before his death at 66
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Madonna, who shared a troubled relationship with her older brother Anthony Ciccone, was reportedly taking care of his medical bills for his rehab treatment at a Michigan treatment center before his death on Sunday, February 25. The 66-year-old, who suffered from alcoholism, died after ripping out his feeding and breathing tubes despite knowing "the consequences of removing the equipment."
Following news of his death, Madonna, 64, penned a tribute to her late sibling where she said he "planted many important seeds" in her path to success. However, Ciccone, who was trying to recover from years of alcohol abuse, reportedly was always bitter about matters relating to his sister as he claimed that the 'Hung Up' hitmaker "turned her back from him" and "never loved him" in a series of contentious interviews, as per the Daily Mail. While the duo was not on good terms, his family members were reportedly by his side during his final days with his sister Paula being by his bedside almost regularly, as per TMZ.
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Inside Madonna's relationship with her brother Anthony Ciccone as he dies at 66
Anthony Ciccone and Madonna 'never loved each other'
Ciccone, who was the oldest of Madonna's five siblings, struggled with alcoholism and homelessness during this lifetime. He was also uncomfortable at being known only as the songstress' sibling in the media. Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2011, Ciccone admitted that despite his financial issues he refused monetary help from Madonna as he did not want any handouts or publicity. "Madonna doesn’t give a s*** if I’m dead or alive. She lives in her own world. I never loved her in the first place, she never loved me. We never loved each other," he said, as reported by the outlet.
While confessing that the siblings "hated each other" since a young age, Ciccone who worked at his father's winery got fired due to his alcohol addiction that went out of control. After suffering decades of homelessness and spending time in temporary accommodation, Ciccone eventually agreed to treatment in 2017 which somewhat repaired his relationship with his family.
'You planted many important seeds'
Two days after his death, Madonna took to her Instagram to pay a heartfelt tribute to her late brother. "Thank you for blowing my mind as a young girl and introducing me to Charlie Parker, Miles David, Buddhism, Taoism, Charles Bukowski, Richard Brautigan, Jack Kerouac, expansive thinking outing the box," she captioned the Instagram story alongside a black and white photo of the two siblings. "You planted many important seeds."