The news was confirmed by the singer's team on social media.
Melissa Etheridge and Julie Cypher's son, Beckett, has died. He was 21.
The "I'm the Only One" singer's team announced the heartbreaking news on her Twitter on Wednesday. Etheridge later confirmed in a personal statement that her son died from an opioid addiction.
"We’re sad to inform you that Melissa’s son Beckett passed away and there will not be a Concerts From Home show today," the tweet from Etheridge's Twitter page stated. The post quickly filled with fans and friends expressing their condolences and sending their well-wishes.
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. In an emotional message, the singer expressed her sadness over her son's death.
"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."
In an interview with Parents.com, Etheridge opened up about using donors to expand her family.
"There's nothing like taking the responsibility or creating the responsibility of bringing a human being into this world and helping it in its first years," she said. "It doesn't matter the equation that gets you there or what you are to that person. It doesn't matter at all. It is the bond between you and the child."
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