Britney Spears's longtime dancer Michael Stein passed away at the age of 32. His parter detailed the tragedy.
On Wednesday, January 10, Stein's upcoming 33rd birthday, his partner Kaylie Lee shared the heartbreaking news on social media.
"I'm not sure I could ever find the perfect words to summarise what Michael meant to me," Lee wrote in an Instagram caption, accompanied a collection of beautiful photographs remembering the late performer's life. "As tears roll down my face, all I can think about is the incredibly huge hole that is left in all of us knowing that he is no longer here."
The grieving partner said in the upload that she had spent "ten years of adventure, laughs, love, and living out our dreams in LA" with her "best friend," who passed away on December 23.
She omitted to mention the cause of death. The collection of ten photos featured happy pictures of the couple, their pet dog, and themselves.
The cover photo featured Stein by herself.
She also included some footage of him dancing on stage with the "Gimme More" singer. According to reports, Stein performed with the pop sensation during her Las Vegas residency and led the dance team on Spears' 2018 Piece of Me tour.
Throughout his career, he has collaborated with musicians such as Kylie Minogue, Dove Cameron, and Little Mix and has made appearances on television programs such as American Idol, Glee, and America's Got Talent.
"With all of the beautiful moments, of course there were hard times, but he never lost his passion for LA or his dedication to the industry," Lee said in her tribute post. She said she was particularly impressed by his constant certainty about this career.
She then promished Michael to never give up, to keep pursuing her dreams, and to keep living for the good times in life in her honor.
Spears left Instagram last week after claiming that she would "never" return to the music business, so she hasn't addressed the loss of her former dancer in public yet.
It appears that the "Toxic" singer's account has been temporarily blocked or removed.
However, just minutes before she posted, Rolling Stone is informed by a source close to the Spears project that she was not yet "actively in recording," but rather that her team was working on fresh tracks to get her back into the studio.
"Right now, management and A&R are trying to get her excited for the music," the source says. "As of right now, she's not actively in recording, but they're getting [songs] done to present to her.
"Nothing is cemented or in stone," the source adds.
