Mom of Late Boy Who Inspired Taylor Swift's 'Ronan' Still Talks to Singer: 'I Love Her Dearly'

Taylor Swift is forever connected to Maya Thompson.

During a TikTok Q&A on Monday, the mother of the late Ronan Thompson — whom the pop star paid tribute to with the heartbreaking ballad "Ronan" as a charity single that was later added to Red (Taylor's Version) — revealed that she still talks to Swift, 34.

"Do I still talk to Taylor? I do," Maya, who is also a co-writer of the song, said in the clip. "I'll share some things, not everything, because I'm protective of her." 

She told followers that Swift provides "all my concert tickets" and called the "Delicate" singer "the best and so kind and so generous." 

"Twelve years later, she's still here. So I love her dearly," she continued. 

"Ronan" was originally a standalone single, which Swift performed at the 2012 Stand Up to Cancer telethon in honor of Ronan, who died of neuroblastoma in May 2011. The song used direct quotes from Maya's blog and was written from the grieving mother's perspective, according to Billboard.

In July 2021, Maya revealed in a blog post that the 14-time Grammy winner asked her permission to include the song on this updated version of Red.

Elsewhere in her post, Maya explained that Swift sent her an email to make sure it was OK to include "Ronan" on the remastered Red record. Maya instantly got emotional when reading it.

"Tears sprang to my eyes," Maya recalled. "It took me an hour to absorb the words in front of me. I cried while sharing the news.

Maya shared a partial version of an email Swift reportedly penned that read: "I've recently completed the re-recording of my 4th album, Red. It's really exceeded my expectations in so many ways, and one of those ways is that I thought it would be appropriate to add 'Ronan' to this album."

"Red was an album of heartbreak and healing, of rage and rawness, of tragedy and trauma, and of the loss of an imagined future alongside someone," the "I Can See You" artist said at the time, according to Maya. "I wrote 'Ronan' while I was making Red and discovered your story as you so honestly and devastatingly told it."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Swift added, "My genuine hope is that you'll agree with me that this song should be included on this album. As my co-writer and the rightful owner of this story in its entirety, your opinion and approval of this idea really matters to me, and I'll honor your wishes here."

Ronan's mother "of course" gave Swift permission to feature the track on the re-release, she wrote in her blog post: "I tried my best to articulate how much this meant to me through my tears, but there are not enough words in the English language that will ever be able to appropriately convey my feelings about this."

Addressed to her late son in the blog post, Maya wrote: "Taylor has anchored you to this world so you will never be lost, and now she has ensured you will forever be safe in a new, permanent home. She is once again going to give a voice to the often voiceless, the bereaved parents of the world."