Phil Spector’s 28-year-old wife, Rachelle, says she will stand by Spector who was last week sentenced to 19 years to life for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, it was reported.

Rachelle, who married Spector, 69, in 2006, says she plans to stay with Spector because she loves him, it was reported.

She also said she was ready for the ‘gold digger’ label. "Before we were even married, I knew the gold digger thing was going to come up," she told a US current affairs program.

"I handle and run all of his businesses. I’m like his protector," she said.

In jail, Spector is like a "little boy", she said. "He’s locked up in a 5-by-9 cell. He’s caged like an animal."

Rachelle, an attractive slim blonde, was her husband’s constant companion at his court appearances through two trials following the gunshot death of Clarkson at Spector’s mansion in 2003.