David Bowie’s ex-wife received news of his death in heartbreaking way

David Bowie‘s fans around the world are mourning his death, and his ex-wife received the news in an especially heartbreaking way.

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Angie Bowie, who was married to the legendary pop star from 1970 to 1980, is currently filming Celebrity Big Brother in the U.K., where she’s sequestered from phones, Internet and news from the world outside the house.

Monday morning, producers confirmed that Angie had been taken off-camera to be informed of her ex-husband’s passing.

“Following the very sad news of David Bowie’s death, we can now confirm that Angie Bowie has been informed off camera by her representatives,” reps from the show told Us Weekly. “She has taken the decision to continue in the program.”

Big Brother‘s statement continued, “The decision to remain in the [h]ouse is entirely her choice, and she has been given the option to leave at any time if she changes her mind. Appropriate support will be available to Angie at any time if needed.”

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Multiple reps confirmed that Angie was informed of her ex-husband’s death in an off-camera moment, and that the conversation won’t be a part of the show.

“Following the very sad news of David Bowie’s death this morning, we can confirm that Angie Bowie has been informed [of the news] off-camera,” a rep for Channel 5 confirmed.

Angie, who worked as a model in the U.S. during her younger years, met David when she was only 19. They were married in 1970 and split 10 years later.

“I go to great lengths to avoid him,” she admitted on an episode of Big Brother about the time following their divorce. “It was terrible when we broke up, it was awful.”

Angie, who was the inspiration for David’s songs “The Prettiest Star,” “Golden Years” and “Cracked Actor,” also said she hadn’t seen David in around 40 years. Their son, Duncan Jones, is reportedly also estranged from Angie.

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