If you were anywhere near the internet over the New Year's holiday, you've seen the outpouring of love for legendary actress Betty White, who passed away on New Year's Eve just 17 days shy of her 100th birthday.
White has been such a fixture on our screens for so many decades her loss has been felt acutely by multiple generations of fans as well as her legion of costars over the years.
One of those costars, actor Ryan Reynolds, penned a heartfelt tribute on Twitter to the late Hollywood great that perfectly speaks to everything we're all feeling in just a few succinct sentences.
See Reynolds' tribute below.
The world looks different now. She was great at defying expectation. She managed to grow very old and somehow, not old enough. We\u2019ll miss you, Betty. Now you know the secret.pic.twitter.com/uevwerjobS— Ryan Reynolds (@Ryan Reynolds) 1640981311
Along with a photo of White sure to inspire smiles—or at least smiles through tears—Reynolds wrote:
"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."
Reynolds and White only once shared the silver screen together, although White did promos for the 2016 film Deadpool.
The duo appeared together in the 2009 romantic comedy The Proposal, in which she played his mischievous grandmother who fakes a heart attack to get Reynolds' and co-star Sandra Bullock's characters together.
But Reynolds and White were more than just co-workers, it seems.
In the days since her passing, a tongue-in-cheek "behind-the-scenes" clip from the making of The Proposal has gone viral all over again.
This clip of Betty White with Ryan Reynolds lives rent free in my head.pic.twitter.com/82SpPWH3Nq— Ahmed Ali (@Ahmed Ali) 1640979768
The clip, depicting a staged feud between White, Reynolds and Bullock shows White at her foul-mouthed-old-lady best and gives a glimpse into just how much fun the three stars had together while making the film.
The two stars had a playful relationship right up until her death, too.
In her recent People magazine profile celebrating her upcoming 100th birthday, White re-upped a long-running joke between the two about Reynolds being in unrequited love with White.
Reynolds jokingly addressed the feud on Twitter the day before White's passing.
I\u2019m absolutely sick of the media exploiting past relationships just to drive clicks.https://twitter.com/people/status/1476192316247400452\u00a0\u2026— Ryan Reynolds (@Ryan Reynolds) 1640845894
By all accounts, White's relationship was characteristic of White, whom costars and colleagues have unanimously described as just as witty, irreverent, upbeat and kind as she always appeared onscreen.
Fans and friends of the late actress called for a special tribute on White's birthday, January 17, recognizing her lifelong love and advocacy for animals—donations in her name to local rescues and sanctuaries.
The Betty White Challenge. January 17th. #BettyWhiteChallenge \n\nPlease pass it on\u2026pic.twitter.com/itufEumDE9— Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc (@Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc) 1641236938
On Twitter, people were deeply touched by Reynolds' tribute to our departed legend.
The most perfect eulogy— Randy Rainbow (@Randy Rainbow) 1640982947
He\u2019s referencing what her mother always told her from the time she was young. Betty\u2019s mother told her not to fear death, think of it as a secret we all finally get in on sooner or later. So when someone passes they\u2019re not gone, they just finally got let in on the secret!— Bodacious Lee \u272a (@Bodacious Lee \u272a) 1640983023
Imagine how her journey will be. The amount of talent & enormous respect for people she worked with, is unmatched. There's quite a party going on in heaven. She made it there just in time to celebrate the New Year. I bet fireworks look great from heaven.https://youtu.be/Bywv_yjSgHc— Pizza Princess (@Pizza Princess) 1640996661
she was one of the greats. this video will always be one of my favourites, may she rest in peace pic.twitter.com/gmvAnKFwZA— han (@han) 1640981641
I say she\u2019s 100. She had 24 Leap Years, that\u2019s an extra 24 days getting her past 1/17. This is the exception all of mankind needs right now— Jon Byars (@Jon Byars) 1640981448
All together again pic.twitter.com/IpBl7xECGj— Uncle Shickadance \ud83d\udcf7 \u2708 \ud83d\udc89 \ud83d\udc89 \ud83d\udc89 (@Uncle Shickadance \ud83d\udcf7 \u2708 \ud83d\udc89 \ud83d\udc89 \ud83d\udc89) 1640981907
The world certainly does look different. \n\nI'm in my 70s, and have been watching and enjoying #BettyWhite since I was a kid. Her career stretched an amazing 80 yrs! She was an amazing talent.\n\nLoved her! \n\nThis was hilarious, btw. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiDsqYt8c5I\u00a0\u2026— Sally Deal \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 Pro-Science/Media Sources Matter (@Sally Deal \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 Pro-Science/Media Sources Matter) 1640986793
This is a hard one. \n\nMy Mom told me once that young people want their elders to live forever, but their elders are missing people that are no longer here. I hope she is reunited with all she loved that left before her. May she find peace, love and most of all laughs.— Kelly\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 (@Kelly\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6) 1640981579
Some people might not understand when you mourn the loss of a celebrity but the truth is that they can be a part of your life and matter even though you've never met them. Betty White was one of those people that brought us joy with her sense of humor and made the world brighter.— Sharon O'Conner (@Sharon O'Conner) 1640981601
I\u2019m literally crying over someone I never met & never knew personally\u2026\n\nNot because she\u2019s gone, but because I\u2019ve never had more cause to hope we DO reunite w/our loved ones when we shuffle off this mortal coil. I\u2019m imagining her w/Allen right now, happy, both young & healthy\u2026— Maryscott O'Connor (@Maryscott O'Connor) 1640982713
White began her radio career in 1949 and then transitioned to television in the 1950s, where she became the first woman to produce a sitcom with Life With Elizabeth, which she also co-created and starred in.
Sitcoms would become her main milieu for decades thereafter, and she would go on to appear in The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970s, The Golden Girls in the 1980s and 1990s, and Hot in Cleveland in the 2010s.
@simuliu/X
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
@Tim_Walz/X
