Condolences are pouring in for singer Bruno Mars and his family after his mother, Bernadette Hernandez, died of an unexpected brain aneurysm on Saturday. The 55-year-old mother-of-six was rushed to the Queens Medical Centre near her home in Honolulu, Hawaii after suffering a suspected heart attack the previous day. The When I Was Your Man singer has kept quiet on his Twitter account, and it is not known whether his mother's death will affect his upcoming Moonshine Jungle Tour later this month. Celebrity friends of Bruno tweeted their condolences after hearing about the sudden news. Rihanna posted, "Sending my love and condolences to @BrunoMars at this difficult time! I'm sincerely praying for you bro! #1Love," while Randy Jackson tweeted, "terrible news. Praying for you @brunomars."
Bruno's sisters Presley Hernandez and Jaime Kailani also took to Twitter to pay tribute to their mother. "Mom, could you be the most beautiful girl in the world? Duh! Of course! I love you! ❤" tweeted Jaime, posting a group photo of her mother and four daughters who form girl band The Lylas, which stands for "Love ya like a sibling." Sister Presley uploaded a photo of their mother in a hula bikini outfit, with the caption, "The most beautiful girl in the world. Until forever. I love you ma." When news broke of Bernadette's hospitalisation, fans of the close-knit Mars family showed their support with hashtags #PrayforBernie and #StayStrongMamaMars.
From a young age, Bernadette, a hula dancer and singer, encouraged her Grammy-winning son and his siblings to follow their musical dreams. At the age of four Bruno penned his own song, I Love You Mom, where he calls his mother "my favourite girl" and includes the lyrics, "My mommy helps me with my voice, because a superstar singer is my first choice." His close bond with his mother is also marked by a tattoo on his shoulder of his mother's name in a red heart. Talking about growing up in a musical family, Bruno, 27, told Rolling Stone, "I wouldn't trade it for anything because I feel like I can enjoy this so much." Apart from her chart-topping son, Bernadette leaves behind another son Eric, who is the drummer in Bruno's band, and sisters Tahiti and Tiara who also make up The Lylas. Bernadette was originally from the Philippines but emigrated to the US and married father of her children Peter Hernandez, who she later divorced. The news first broke of Bernadette's critical condition when family friend Anita Sojot told Star magazine, "Bernadette is in hospital and the grandkids are all here, I’m looking after them," she said. "The family is on its way here right now and we are going to discuss what to do next."
