The world lost an icon on Friday, December 31, when it was announced that Betty White died at the age of 99 years old — just a few weeks before her milestone birthday.
Of course, tributes poured in immediately, with Ryan Reynolds being one of the first to take to Instagram to share his feelings.
“The world looks different now. She was great at defying expectation. She managed to grow very old and somehow, not old enough. We’ll miss you, Betty. Now you know the secret,” he wrote.
Fans immediately sent sweet comments to Reynolds. “So sorry for your loss, we could tell how much you loved her,” while another added, “Sorry for your loss, i know how much you adored her… and love to all her family and loved ones ❤️.”
The two got close after they both starred in the 2009 rom-com The Proposal. Ever since then, Reynolds had an ongoing joke of calling the legendary star his “ex-girlfriend.”
“I don’t usually post about ex-girlfriends. But Betty’s special. Happy Birthday to the one and only, @bettymwhite,” he wrote via Instagram in January 2019.
The following year, Reynolds and his Proposal costar Sandra Bullock made a birthday video for The Golden Girls alum. “From Ryan who loves you so much more than Sandy … What does Sandy do, did she, like, show up and hand-deliver flowers to you and wear nothing but black socks and a dozen gold bracelets just like you requested? Doubt it,” he quipped.
“We made this 12 years ago. Betty turns 99 today. But she is 100 [percent] the funniest person on the planet,” he added.
Recently, White poked fun at their “relationship,” saying, “I’ve heard Ryan can’t get over his thing for me, but Robert Redford is The One.”
The comedian playfully responded, writing, “I’m absolutely sick of the media exploiting past relationships just to drive clicks.”
The Just Friends lead gushed that he has been a longtime fan of White “for as long as I can remember” and loved her comedic timing.
“I heard that scripts for Golden Girls were only 35 pages, which makes sense because so many of the laughs come from Betty simply looking at her castmates,” he said.
RIP, Betty. You’ll be missed.
