David Bowie photos
28 April 2011: David Bowie and Iman attend a leukaemia benefit gala in New York Andrew H Walker/Getty Images for DKMS

The wife of David Bowie, Iman Abdulmajid paid her own tribute on social media, sharing a message on Twitter: "The struggle is real, but so is God".

The Somali-born model who was married to the iconic rock star for nearly 24 years, posted several tweets at the weekend. One heartfelt message said "Sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory."

The model's Instagram page is populated with pictures of her late husband, with several posted over the last few days, showing photographs of Bowie and Iman.

The 60-year-old supermodel said she and their daughter, 15-year-old Alexandria Zahra, known as Lexi, would dance along to Heroes and Suffragette City.

#Repost @zoesaldana with @repostapp. ・・・ #DavidBowie #Birthday

A photo posted by IMAN (@the_real_iman) on

They were as a couple who shied away from publicity. When Iman was interviewed by Naomi Campbell for Interview magazine she said: "We are very private so we decided from early on that we will keep the press and editors and everybody out of our house."

Bowie also paid tribute to his wife saying: "You would think that a rock star being married to a supermodel would be one of the greatest things in the world. It is."

#Repost @melzy917 with @repostapp. ・・・ ????

A photo posted by IMAN (@the_real_iman) on

Many of the Instagrams and retweets are reposts from other celebrities and admirers, such as Christy Turlington and Zoe Saldana, paying tribute to the rock star on his 69th birthday on 8 January.

@columbiarecords #Bowie #Blackstar

A photo posted by IMAN (@the_real_iman) on

Iman is known for her charity work, including the Hawa Abdi Foundation, an organisation focused on bringing basic human rights to Somalia. Bowie often accompanied her at social fundraising events for AIDS and he also performed live with Alicia Keys at a concert for Keep A Child Alive, which combats the physical, social and economic impacts of HIV, hosted by Iman.

The rock star's widow has yet to make a statement about Bowie's death, but a statement from his publicist said the singer was surrounded by his family when he passed "peacefully."