Katharine McPhee's Statement About Her Father's Death Will Make You Cry

Former American Idol contestant and Broadway star Katharine McPhee's father, Daniel McPhee, passed away Sunday, July 15. The Smash actor shared the heartbreaking news with fans on Instagram Monday, July 16, just a couple weeks after announcing her engagement to musician David Foster.

In McPhee's July 16 post, the entertainer wrote,

"I can’t believe I’m even writing this....But it is with heavy heart that I share that my sweet sweet Papa left this earth yesterday morning. We as a family are completely heartbroken and devastated."

McPhee, who is currently leading the cast in Broadway's show Waitress, tweeted July 14 about having to miss that weekend of performances because of a family emergency, but, understandably, didn't share too much in-depth information. While her Twitter announcement was met with grace by fans, fans offered condolences regarding the news of her father's passing a couple days following. In her Instagram post, McPhee continued a tribute her father and thanking fans for their support, saying,

"He was so kind and caring and made sure we knew how much he loved us. Not sure my heart will ever be the same. Thank you to all my friends who’ve been so loving and supportive these last 48 hours. I love you[.]"

As mentioned above, McPhee is engaged to musician and Broadway's own Foster. According to McPhee's social media, the 68-year-old popped the question while on vacation in Capri, to which McPhee happily accepted. With McPhee being younger than her fiance at 34 years old, the engagement was met with a bit of social media backlash, but as far as the newly engaged couple is concerned, it's all just background noise.

Anyone who follows McPhee on social media knows that she's not one to back down from anything, especially when it comes to defending herself against unwarranted comments. And once people started voicing their disdain over her recent engagment, the entertainer wasn't shy about putting them in their place. In a July 6 tweet, after the word about she and Foster taking their relationship to the next level started to hit the airwaves, McPhee tweeted, "y'all should be worrying more about registering to vote and midterm elections than who's marrying me." And seriously... who could possibly disagree with that?

McPhee wasn't the only one defending her love in the public eye, however. Foster also made his own statement about the backlash recieved. While speaking with Access Live, the Grammy award-winning musician said,

"We’re all happy. And you know, for some reason, the two of us, one plus one makes for four instead of two. So it seems like it’s interesting news to people, so we’re just gonna roll with it."

Where there's backlash, one can also find a bit of praise. While speaking with Page Six about McPhee and Foster's announcement, Foster's ex-wife Linda Thompson expressed how happy she is for the couple, and reminded everyone just how blind love can be towards silly things like, say, age, saying, "If you find someone you love, go for it, you know? [McPhee is] is a lovely person. She’s beautiful and she’s talented, and they have that musically in common, so that goes a long way."

According to People, McPhee reportedly met Foster in 2006 while McPhee was a contestant on American Idol. The couple have been pretty good about keeping details surrounding their courtship under wraps, so piecing together McPhee and Foster's relationship timeline is going to be pretty hard to do. But, according to reports, their upcoming nuptials will make the second walk down the aisle for McPhee, and the fifth for Foster.

With the news of McPhee's father passing away, what's most important is that McPhee seemingly has a loving support system to help her through this trying time.