Ariana Grande Talks About Forgiving Herself After Bitter Fall Out With Her Father - 'It's the toughest thing I've ever done':

Family relationships can often be fraught with difficulty.

And singer-actress Ariana Grande has revealed that severing contact with her father, Edward Butera, was the hardest thing she has had to do.

Answering a question about her toughest moment In an interview for her cover shoot of September's Seventeen magazine, the 21-year-old said: 'Falling out of touch with my dad

'It’s private, but it happened last year. It took me so long to be okay with it.

'The thing that got me there was embracing the fact that that I am made up of half my dad, and a lot of my traits come from him.

'So much of me comes from my father, and for so long, I didn’t like that about myself. I had to accept that it’s okay not to get along with somebody and still love them.'

The interview took place before the death of her beloved grandfather from cancer on July 22, which might well have changed the Problem singer's answer to the question.

But she told Seventeen on Tuesday: 'I'm so grateful that I spoke briefly about some of the wisdom he shared with me in this interview. I hope the Seventeen readers find it helpful and can relate.'

Previously Ariana had said that she dealt with her insecurities by focussing 'on what’s important.'

'My grandpa is sick, so I focus on him every day. I’m having the biggest song of my career so far, and all I can think about is my grandpa, because that’s what’s important to me.'

She also said she had found fame difficult to live with, adding: 'Insecurity has been the hardest thing I've had to overcome. I think everyone my age struggles with that because everyone strives for approval and wants to feel loved.

'I feel like for the first time in my life, I'm really OK. I used to freak out about everything all the time. I used to be like, "Oh my God, somebody said this!"

'Everything used to be such a big deal! But now, I feel I can handle everything that comes my way with a calm energy.'

The iCarly star looked young and fresh in her cover shoot, donning a Sass & Bide romper with a check design in white, yellow, green, blue and black, teamed with over-the-knee blue socks and brown 10 Crosby boots by designer Derek Lam.

Her long, honey-blonde tresses were clipped back with a blue headband that revealed her minimally made-up face. Completing her look, her nails were painted in a coordinating blue colour.

Ariana changed into three other outfits for inside shots - all appearing to show her taking selfies.

In one she wore a white sweater by Jeremy Scott and a red and black plaid skirt by Milly, swopping out the blue headband for a red one.

In another photo she matched her black and white plaid Haute Hippie shorts-style romper with her cell phone case and chose a white headband as she posed in front of a mirror. Finally, the Sam & Cat star puckered up for a selfie in a white crop top, this time by Jonathan Simkhai.

Ariana announced the death of her grandad on Twitter, thanking fans 'for your continuous love & light over the past few weeks... we did lose my favorite person to ever exist yesterday, my grandpa'.

She then wrote: 'if only y'all knew how amazing he was.. my [heart] hurts so much. It's beyond broken...But I got to hold his hand and watch him find his peace.'