In the wake of personal tragedy, Jessie J is stepping away from social media in 2019 to focus on herself and those closest to her.
On Thursday, the “Who You Are” singer — who has most recently been linked to Channing Tatum — posted an emotional message to Twitter announcing her hiatus.
It came days after Jessie, née Jessica Cornish, revealed that her longtime bodyguard, Dave, had died suddenly. (Reps for Jessie did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment..
“Starting my new year with some unexpected heavy personal stuff has only made me want to be more present in my life,” she wrote in a long message on Twitter and Instagram.
“Spending more real time with people I love and some time with myself. When sadness hits, it’s important we embrace it, so it doesn’t define us. And it’s for sure surfaced some emotions and things I needed to work on with all my attention and love.”
“I have to practice on myself what I talk about in stage and in my music too. In a good way,” she added, with a smile. “So I am taking a solid break from all social media for a while. Not forever but awhile. For now, anything posted will be work related by my team. [I] want to live in the moment as much as I can and not through my phone.”
The British songstress added. “I love you all. Happy new year. The year of LIVING THE best life for YOU. See you soon.”
In the final days of 2018, Jessie honoured Dave in a series of touching posts.
“The love you had for your children was everything,” she wrote on Instagram. “We would laugh ’till we cried nearly every day. We talked about our dreams. We talked about our biggest fears. You weren’t just my security. We are family. Four years, me and you.”
“The way we laughed. I keep going back to that. We had so much fun Dave,” she added. “Your love for working out. … Your love for your dogs. Your love for tattoos. Your love for traveling. Your gentleness. Your voice. The way you stuck by me when everyone else left. … I wrote this because I want everyone to remember the man you were. You were a gentle giant with a heart so big everyone felt it. I love you so much.”
“I miss you,” Jessie said, explaining she was supposed to meet him for hot chocolate soon. “I will see you on the other side one day. Rest easy Dave.”
Jessie went on to explain that Dave was with her in Australia back in 2015, where she was a coach on The Voice. Though her mentee Ellie Drennan won the competition, the time was tough for Jessie — who would later take a few months off for a health condition.
“It was me and you in [Australia]. You were my rock,” Jessie wrote. “[I] remember when you got me the blue Shetland pony cake for the end of The Voice Australia. When we went to see Fifty Shades in Australia and giggled the whole way through. When you would text me when I was filming The Voice on the breaks to make me laugh. The late night walks we would take together to get some air.”
“When you came to see me when I was in hospital to cheer me up and I was out of it on [anesthesia] and, again, we just laughed,” Jessie recalled. “You looked after me.”
There was also a flight from Dubai to London the two took together. Apparently, the turbulence was so bad that Jessie was “terrified.” To help her, Dave held her hand for eight hours. “I will never forget that,” she said. “When you would do anything so I could see my fans waiting. You would always sort it out so it was safe for them and me.”
This article originally appeared on PEOPLE
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