LOVE, LOSS & OUR UNBREAKABLE BOND

It ’s officially a monster hit. On June 1, Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s new duet, “Rain on Me,” debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 1, marking Gaga’s fifth time in first place and Ariana’s fourth. Working together was a long time coming, but the singers couldn’t be happier with the results. “Their collaboration was the best thing that could have happened for both of them,” says an insider of the song, which headlines Gaga’s new album, Chromatica. “Expect more to come from Gaga and Ariana.”

The two divas haven’t just bonded on a professional level, though. In a recent interview, Gaga, 34, describes the deep and lasting relationship she’s formed with her fellow pop star — and how it’s inspired her to face her own demons and lead a happier life. “She called me on my s---. She was, like, ‘ You’re hiding,’ ” says Gaga, who explains that she felt reluctant to work with Ariana at first because she saw the “Thank U, Next” songstress as upbeat, and didn’t want to affect her with her negativity. “I was like, ‘ I am hiding. I’m totally hiding.’ And then this friendship blossomed.”

INSTANT BESTIES

Though Gaga does admit that it was quite a while before she finally agreed to work with Ariana, they made up for lost time at their first faceto- face meeting, when they learned how surprisingly similar their per- sonalities are. “Gaga and Ariana instantly felt this unbreakable bond,” the insider says. “They connected over music, fame, heartache and so much more. Before long, they were like sisters.”

While they shared a lot of laughs at first, gossiping about mutual acquaintances and regaling each other with tales of life on the road and their respective latest romances, it wasn’t long before the pair began to chart deeper territory, notes the insider, with Ariana describing the grief she still feels over her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller, who died of a drug overdose in 2018. Gaga, in turn, confessed her own past struggles with drugs and heavy drinking, negative feelings and even self-harm. As Ariana likes to say, she and the “superwoman” know “pain the same way.” Gaga agrees, noting that, despite the fact that she’s so young, Ariana has been through some “really hard, life-testing stuff.” And opening up to the 26-year- old allowed her to “forgive” herself for previous self-destructive behavior. “They both really helped each other,” says the insider, who adds that their emotional connection continues to serve as a form of therapy for them both, even though their collaboration on “Rain on Me” is complete. “Now they talk all the time. They’re learning so much from each other, and they really are best friends.”