Vince Bucci/AFP/Getty imagesElizabeth Taylor was one of Michael Jackson's most faithful, supportive friends in life. And now she can't imagine life without him.
"My heart…my mind…are broken," the Academy Award-winning actress, too distraught to comment last night, said in a statement released Friday by her rep.
"I loved Michael with all my soul and I can't imagine life without him. We had so much in common and we had such loving fun together. I was packing up my clothes to go to London for his opening when I heard the news. I still can't believe it. I don't want to believe it. It can't be so. He will live in my heart forever but it's not enough. My life feels so empty."
Taylor's comments follow an In Touch report this morning that said she, in her grief-stricken state, had collapsed and her personal physician had been summoned to her home.
A rep for the 77-year-old star, who has battled numerous health problems in recent years, told E! News he had "no updates at this time" about her condition but would keep us posted.
"I don't think anyone knew how much we loved each other," Taylor's statement continued. "The purest most giving love I've ever known. Oh God! I'm going to miss him. I can't yet imagine life with out him. But I guess with God's help... I'll learn.
"I keep looking at the photo he gave me of himself, which says, 'To my true love Elizabeth, I love you forever.' And, I will love HIM forever."
After presenting Jackson with the Artist of the Decade Award at the Billboard Music Awards in 1989—where she also coined the title "King of Pop," and it stuck—the duo remained close friends and confidants.