AMAs 2019: Taylor Swift’s Tearful Mother Attends Awards Show While Battling Cancer

Amid her ongoing battle with cancer, Taylor Swift‘s mother, Andrea Swift, was there to cheer her daughter on at the 2019 American Music Awards Sunday night. As the 29-year-old singer made history with the most wins, bringing her total to 29 and taking the title previously held by Michael Jackson, Andrea could be seen in the crowd tearfully applauding.

Seated next to her husband and Swift’s father, Scott Swift, as well as Selena Gomez, Andrea was spotted wiping away tears as the “Lover” singer performed a medley of her hits as she was named Artist of the Decade.

Accepting multiple awards throughout the night, Swift mentioned and thanked her mother in many of her speeches.

“The last year of my life has had some of the best times of my life and some of the hardest things in my life that haven’t been public,” Swift said while accepting Artist of the Year Award, referencing her mother’s battle with cancer. “I want to say thank you to the fans for being something that is a constant in my life….This year was good but really complicated. On behalf of me, my family, thank you for being there and caring.”

The singer had first revealed her mother was battling cancer in 2015, sharing the news with fans in a post on Tumblr, as it was something she and her family thought her fans “should know about.” In a piece for ELLE magazine in March of this year, Swift revealed that her mother’s cancer had returned, saying that “both of my parents have had cancer, and my mom is now fighting her battle with it again.”

“It’s taught me that there are real problems and then there’s everything else,” she said. “My mom’s cancer is a real problem. I used to be so anxious about daily ups and downs. I give all of my worry, stress, and prayers to real problems now.”

Known for channeling her real life experiences into her songs, the singer paid tribute to her mother and her cancer battle on Lover, her record-breaking seventh studio album. In “Soon You’ll Get Better,” the twelfth track on the album, Swift sings about her mother’s ongoing health issues and her fears of losing her.

“And I hate to make this all about me / But who am I supposed to talk to? / What am I supposed to do? / If there’s no you,” the lyrics for the song read.

“You like the nicer nurses, you make the best of a bad deal / I just pretend it isn’t real,” Swift sings in another line.