A day after the apparent suicide of fashion designer Kate Spade, her family spoke publicly about her death acknowledging that she faced mental health issues even as they tried to cope with their grief.

My daughter and I are devastated by her loss, and cant even begin to fathom life without her, Spades husband, Andy, said in a statement that was published by The New York Times . We are deeply heartbroken and miss her already.

Kate Spade, who grew up in Kansas City, was found dead on Tuesday in her Park Avenue apartment in New York. She was 55. Authorities said her death was an apparent suicide by hanging and that neither her husband nor her daughter was home at the time.

Calling his wife the most beautiful woman in the world, Andy Spade acknowledged that the couple had been living apart for the last 10 months.

We were not legally separated, and never even discussed divorce, he said. We were best friends trying to work through our problems in the best way we knew how.

Andy Spade also indicated that Kate had suffered from mental illness.

She was actively seeking help for depression and anxiety over the last five years, seeing a doctor on a regular basis and taking medication for both depression and anxiety, he said.

The designers older sister, Reta Saffo of Santa Fe, New Mexico, said in an email to the Kansas City Star that Kates apparent suicide was not unexpected by me. Saffo said her sister had been deeply affected by the suicide of comedian Robin Williams, who hanged himself in 2014.

We were freaked out/saddened, Saffo said of Williams death, but she kept watching it and watching it over and over. I think the plan was already in motion even as far back as then.