The singer revealed her son's cause of death in a powerful statement shared to Twitter on Wednesday.
Melissa Etheridge is opening up about the death of her son Beckett.
Shortly after news broke Wednesday that the musician's son -- whom she shares with her ex Julie Cypher -- had died, Etheridge penned an emotional message, which she shared with her friends and fans on Twitter.
"Today I joined the hundreds of thousands of families who have lost loved ones to opioid addiction," Etheridge wrote. "My son Beckett, who was just 21, struggled to overcome his addiction and finally succumbed to it today. He will be missed by those who loved him, his family and friends."
Etheridge said her "heart is broken" by Beckett's death, and that she's "grateful for those who have reached out with condolences, and I feel their love and sincere grief."
"We struggle with what else we could have done to save him," she continued, "and in the end we know he is out of the pain now."
"I will sing again, soon," the songstress concluded. "It has always healed me."
The "I'm the Only One" singer's team announced the heartbreaking news on her Twitter earlier Wednesday. No cause of death was shared at the time.
During their relationship, Etheridge and Cypher welcomed Beckett in 1998 via artificial insemination. They also had daughter Bailey Jean in February 1997. The pair split in 2000. Etheridge is also mother to 13-year-old twins, son Miller and daughter Johnnie, from her relationship with Tammy Lynn Michaels.
RELATED CONTENT: