Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger said on Tuesday he was “struggling to understand” how his girlfriend L’Wren Scott could end her life, the day after she was found dead in her New York apartment.
Jagger said the 49-year-old US fashion designer was not only his lover but also his best friend, adding: “I will never forget her.”
In a blog posting on his website entitled simply “L’Wren”, and featuring a black and white photo of the former model, Jagger appeared to confirm reports that Scott had hanged herself.
“I am still struggling to understand how my lover and best friend could end her life in this tragic way,” he wrote.
“We spent many wonderful years together and had made a great life for ourselves. She had great presence and her talent was much admired, not least by me.
“I have been touched by the tributes that people have paid to her, and also the personal messages of support that I have received. I will never forget her.”
Scott and Jagger, who was 21 years older, had been dating for well over a decade. He was on tour with the Rolling Stones in Australia at the time of her death.
Accounts for Scott’s fashion business obtained by AFP on Tuesday suggested she had large debts.
She was forced to cancel her show at London Fashion Week last month because of production delays, but there had been little public sign that anything more serious was wrong.