John Legend has paid a heartfelt tribute to his wife Chrissy Teigen, saying he is “in awe” of the strength she has shown following the loss of their baby.

TV presenter and cook book author Teigen was widely praised for sharing the news on social media late last month, describing her devastation at the loss.

Families who had experienced similar heartbreak thanked her for raising awareness.

Legend dedicated his Billboard Music Awards performance on Wednesday to Teigen and has now shared a lengthy tribute to her on Instagram.

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This is for Chrissy. I love and cherish you and our family so much. We’ve experienced the highest highs and lowest lows together. Watching you carry our children has been so moving and humbling. I’m in awe of the strength you’ve shown through the most challenging moments. What an awesome gift it is to be able to bring life into the world. We’ve experienced the miracle, the power and joy of this gift, and now we’ve deeply felt its inherent fragility. I wrote this song because I have faith that as long as we walk this earth, we will hold each other’s hands through every tear, through every up and down, through every test. We promised each other this on our wedding day seven years ago, and every challenge we’ve faced has made that promise more powerful, more resilient. Our love will remain. We will never break. Thank you to everyone who has been sending us prayers and well wishes, flowers, cards, words of comfort and empathy. We feel and appreciate your love and support more than you know. More than anything, we’ve heard so many stories about how so many other families have experienced this pain, often suffering in silence. It’s a club no one wants to be a part of, but it’s comforting to know we’re not alone. I’m sure Chrissy will have much more to say about this when she’s ready. But just know we’re grateful and we’re sending love to all of you and your families.

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“I love and cherish you and our family so much,” Legend wrote. “We’ve experienced the highest highs and lowest lows together. Watching you carry our children has been so moving and humbling.

“I’m in awe of the strength you’ve shown through the most challenging moments. What an awesome gift it is to be able to bring life into the world. We’ve experienced the miracle, the power and joy of this gift, and now we’ve deeply felt its inherent fragility.”

Legend performed a poignant rendition of his song Never Break at the Billboard Music Awards and said on Instagram the ballad was inspired by his wife.

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We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we’ve never felt before. We were never able to stop the bleeding and give our baby the fluids he needed, despite bags and bags of blood transfusions. It just wasn’t enough. . . We never decide on our babies’ names until the last possible moment after they’re born, just before we leave the hospital.  But we, for some reason, had started to call this little guy in my belly Jack.  So he will always be Jack to us.  Jack worked so hard to be a part of our little family, and he will be, forever. . . To our Jack – I’m so sorry that the first few moments of your life were met with so many complications, that we couldn’t give you the home you needed to survive.  We will always love you. . . Thank you to everyone who has been sending us positive energy, thoughts and prayers.  We feel all of your love and truly appreciate you. . . We are so grateful for the life we have, for our wonderful babies Luna and Miles, for all the amazing things we’ve been able to experience.  But everyday can’t be full of sunshine.  On this darkest of days, we will grieve, we will cry our eyes out. But we will hug and love each other harder and get through it.

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He said: “I wrote this song because I have faith that as long as we walk this earth, we will hold each other’s hands through every tear, through every up and down, through every test.

“We promised each other this on our wedding day seven years ago, and every challenge we’ve faced has made that promise more powerful, more resilient. Our love will remain. We will never break.”

Legend, 41, and Teigen, 34, married in 2013 and are also parents to four-year-old daughter Luna and two-year-old son Miles.

The baby they lost was a son named Jack. In his Instagram post, Legend thanked fans for their support and said messages from families who had suffered similar heartbreak had been a source of comfort.

He said: “Thank you to everyone who has been sending us prayers and well wishes, flowers, cards, words of comfort and empathy. We feel and appreciate your love and support more than you know.

“More than anything, we’ve heard so many stories about how so many other families have experienced this pain, often suffering in silence. It’s a club no one wants to be a part of, but it’s comforting to know we’re not alone.”

Legend, an Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Grammy winning singer, said Teigen “will have much more to say about this when she’s ready”.

He added: “But just know we’re grateful and we’re sending love to all of you and your families.”