Salma Hayek had an emotional message for fans on Monday when she took to Instagram to share her heartache over the untimely death of one of her co-stars.

The star posted a clip from her comedy movie, Grown Ups, in which Alec Musser, set pulses raising in a funny shirtless poolside scene.

The All My Children actor tragically died aged 50 on January 13 leaving his loved ones devastated.

Salma paid tribute to him when she wrote: “In loving memory of Alec Musser. He was so kind professional and absolutely hilarious.

“His early departure breaks my heart. I feel so blessed that I got to meet him. My sincere condolences to his family and loved ones for this great loss.”

She accompanied the message with a black, heart emoji and was immediately inundated with messages from fans who shared their sadness over his death.

Alec’s fiancee, Paige Press, also commented and said: “Thank you @salmahayek for your kind words. I am Alec Musser’s fiancé and he spoke so highly of you and I know working on grownups was one of his favorite memories.”

While his cause of death hasn’t been confirmed, Paige told Fox News that she believed he died from a “severe case of Covid”.

Alec was vaccinated and boosted but passed away at his home in Del Mar, California. Paige said: “He was a very healthy person.

I mean he took exceptional care of his body and what went into it. He’d eat some cookies and that was the worst thing I ever saw him do.

“Alec was a wonderful man. He was the best fiancé. The best dog dad. Very kind hearted person.

“Seeing how many messages and people have reached out to me from his childhood in the last couple of days, people I’ve never even met, sending me photos from him from high school and when he was in their wedding. He was so loved and touched by so many people.”

She also posted a message on her Instagram stories which read: “Today is the worst day of my life. We were so happy … You were the best fiancé I could of ever asked for.”

Adam Sandler also paid his respects with a message about his Grown Ups co-star. “I loved this guy,” he wrote alongside a photo of Alec in the movie.

“Cannot believe he is gone. Such a wonderful, funny good man. Thinking of Alec Musser and his family and sending all my love. A true great sweetheart of a person.”