In her first public statement since the death of Mac Miller, Ariana Grande remembered her ex-boyfriend with an emotional tribute. 
 
 Grande took to her Instagram on Friday to express her sorrow over the loss of Miller, who died at his home in California’s San Fernando Valley on Sept. 7. 
 
 “I adored you from the day I met you when I was nineteen and I always will,” she captioned a video of Miller. “I can’t believe you aren’t here anymore. I really can’t wrap my head around it. We talked about this. So many times. I’m so mad, I’m so sad I don’t know what to do. You were my dearest friend. For so long. Above anything else. I’m so sorry I couldn’t fix or take your pain away. I really wanted to. The kindest, sweetest soul with demons he never deserved. I hope you’re okay now. Rest.” 
 
 A cause of death is yet to be determined, but PEOPLE reports that the rapper went into cardiac arrest after appearing to suffer a drug overdose. He was 26. 
 
 Grande also posted a black and white photo of Miller with no caption to her Instagram one day after his death. 
 
 Miller and Grande dated from August 2016 to May 2018 and remained on good terms until his death, according to PEOPLE. During a July interview on Beats 1 on Apple Music, Miller told host Zane Lowe that he wished Grande nothing but the best following her engagement to Pete Davidson. 
 
 “I was in love with somebody. We were together for two years. We worked through good times, bad times, stress and everything else. And then it came to an end and we both moved on. And it’s that simple,” he said. “It’s all positive energy. I am happy for her and [the fact that she’s] moving forward with her life, just as I’m sure she is with me.” ||||| FILE - In this July 13, 2013, file photo, Rapper Mac Miller performs on his Space Migration Tour at Festival Pier in Philadelphia. Ariana Grande has posted a tribute to her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller a week... (Associated Press) 
 
 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ariana Grande posted a tribute Friday to her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller a week after the hip-hop star's death, saying she's sorry she couldn't save the "sweetest soul" who for so long was her "dearest friend." 
 
 Grande posted a video of Miller laughing on her Instagram page Friday, and shared her first words on his death. 
 
 She writes, "i adored you from the day i met you when i was nineteen and i always will. i can't believe you aren't here anymore," and goes on to say "i'm so mad, i'm so sad i don't know what to do. you were my dearest friend. for so long." 
 
 Paramedics found the 26-year-old Miller unresponsive in his Los Angeles home on Sept. 7 and declared him dead soon after. An autopsy has been performed, but no cause has been announced. 
 
 He spoke frankly of his struggles with depression and substance abuse in his music. 
 
 Miller and the 25-year-old Grande, who is now engaged to "Saturday Night Live" star Pete Davidson, were in a two-year relationship that ended earlier this year. 
 
 She posted a wordless black and white photo of him on her Instagram post last weekend, but had not made any statements. 
 
 She ends Friday's Instagram post by saying "above anything else, i'm so sorry i couldn't fix or take your pain away. i really wanted to. the kindest, sweetest soul with demons he never deserved. i hope you're okay now. rest."
– Ariana Grande is expressing her feelings for the first time about the death of ex-boyfriend Mac Miller—in a note written directly to him, Time reports. "I adored you from the day I met you when I was nineteen and I always will," the 25-year-old singer writes along with an Instagram video of Miller laughing. "I can't believe you aren’t here anymore. I really can't wrap my head around it. We talked about this. So many times. I'm so mad, I'm so sad I don’t know what to do. You were my dearest friend. For so long. Above anything else." Miller, 26, was found unresponsive by paramedics at his LA home last week and declared dead soon after, the AP recalls. Despite an autopsy, there's been no official cause of the death for the rapper who many believe died of an overdose. Grande, who's now with Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson, dated Miller for two years. "I'm so sorry I couldn’t fix or take your pain away," she writes of the rapper who was open about his substance abuse and depression. "I really wanted to. The kindest, sweetest soul with demons he never deserved. I hope you’re okay now. Rest." (See why Grande had to shut down comments on her Instagram account.)