Channing Tatum's 'very first best friend' just passed away and it's a heavy reminder to call your own

'I’ll never be able to see that smile of his again in this life. And it just made me need to remind everybody don’t put off anything.'

Channing Tatum is currently living out one of our personal nightmares, as one of his best friends passed away earlier this week. While he’s been incredibly quiet on social media recently since splitting with Jenna Dewan, he broke his silence and posted a heartfelt tribute to his childhood friend that speaks to the depths of his grief.

He described his ‘very first best friend’ Corey Vaughn in a notes screenshot posted to Instagram and Twitter, accompanied by an adorable photo of the pair as young boys on an American football pitch.

Channing wrote, ‘My very first best friend Corey Vaughn left this world for the next this Tuesday the 21st. Man there’s so much to say.’

Although no words can truly sum up the loss of a close friend, Channing’s tribute came close. While the message was devastating, it was also full of beautiful and hilarious glimpses of what his ‘crazy ass’ friend was truly like.

‘I’ll never forget his crazy ass and how he stuck up for and protected me when I first moved to Mississippi,’ he continued. ‘He’d a fought anybody. All the laughs and trouble we [got into].’

However it was the last half of the message that had us feeling particularly fragile, as he reminded all of us to reach out to those we loved and to stop letting life get in the way of our friendships.

‘I’ll never be able to see that smile of [Corey’s] again in this life. And it just made me need to remind everybody don’t put off anything. Seeing a friend, or even calling or texting. You never know what’s next,’ he said.

‘Corey would have wanted us to laugh and raise hell in his wake and have as much joy as anyone can make. He sure did. And I’ll forever miss ya man,’ he finished. ‘Love ya my brother.’

So if you’re having a drink tonight, raise one to Corey Vaughn and drop your bestie a message. Life’s too short not to spend it with the people you love, the rest of the world can wait a little while longer.