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Andy Spade, the husband of designer Kate Spade, is speaking publicly about his wife’s death at age 55.
“Kate was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was the kindest person I’ve ever known and my best friend for 35 years,” Spade tells The New York Times on Wednesday. “My daughter and I are devastated by her loss, and can’t even begin to fathom life without her. We are deeply heartbroken and miss her already.”
Spade, who is the co-founder of the Kate Spade New York fashion brand, reveals Kate had battled mental illness for years and her death comes as a shock to the family, refuting comments made by the designer’s estranged sister, Reta Saffo.
“Kate suffered from depression and anxiety for many years,” he continues. “She was actively seeking help and working closely with her doctors to treat her disease, one that takes far too many lives. We were in touch with her the night before and she sounded happy. There was no indication and no warning that she would do this. It was a complete shock. And it clearly wasn’t her. There were personal demons she was battling.”
Spade also announced he and his wife were “living separately” for the past 10 months, with their daughter living with both parents. He also says the couple either saw or spoke to each other every day, while continuing to share as many family meals together as possible. They also still took family vacations as a unit.
“We were not legally separated, and never even discussed divorce,” he adds. “We were best friends trying to work through our problems in the best way we knew how. We were together for 35 years. We loved each other very much and simply needed a break.”
He reiterates that his wife was seeking treatment and was currently taking medication for both depression and anxiety.
“This is the truth. Anything else that is out there right now is false.,” he continues. “There was no substance or alcohol abuse. There were no business problems.”
Despite reports Kate left a suicide note addressed to their daughter Bea, Spade says he has not seen it.
“I have yet to see any note left behind and am appalled that a private message to my daughter has been so heartlessly shared with the media,” his statement reads, before asking for privacy for the couple’s daughter.
“My main concern is Bea and protecting her privacy as she deals with the unimaginable grief of losing her mother,” he states. “Kate loved Bea so very much.”
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Kate Spade suicide: Police find anxiety medication but no illegal narcotics at designer’s apartment — (TMZ)
By Alakananda Bandyopadhyay
Published On : 14:53 PST, 21 Jun 2018
Kate Spade was found unconscious in her apartment after allegedly hanging herself using a scarf. She is survived by her husband, Andy, and their 13-year-old daughter, Bea.
The tragic death of Kate Spade got a little murkier after cops found a variety of anxiety medicines and drugs at the scene of her death, however, none of them were illegal. As per law enforcement sources, NYPD officers investigating the suicide of the 55-year-old designer came across several anxiety medications which were in fact prescribed to her, as it was revealed later by her estranged husband that she was battling depression and anxiety issues. However, it is still unknown if Kate had taken any of those medicines before she took her life.
TMZ revealed that there were no illegal narcotics in the house at the time of her death, or post that when the authorities were combing through her apartment.
Kate was laid to rest in her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri on Thursday under rainy skies. She is survived by her husband, Andy Spade, and their 13-year-old daughter, Bea, to whom her suicide letter was also addressed to.
In his statement after her death, Andy shared that the couple had been separated for a while — with he himself having asked for the divorce — and it was also revealed that Andy was in their house, looking for apartments to move out to, when she took her own life. The couple still continued to have dinners and also indulged in vacations together with their teenage daughter.
Andy also mentioned Kate’s struggles with depression prior to her suicide. Kate was found unconscious in her home, after allegedly hanging herself with a scarf, and later pronounced dead by authorities. In her suicide letter addressed to Bea, she wrote: “Bea – I have always loved you. This is not your fault. Ask Daddy!”
This is what her husband’s full statement said, “Kate was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was the kindest person I’ve ever known and my best friend for 35 years. My daughter and I are devastated by her loss, and can’t even begin to fathom life without her. We are deeply heartbroken and miss her already.
“Kate suffered from depression and anxiety for many years. She was actively seeking help and working closely with her doctors to treat her disease, one that takes far too many lives. We were in touch with her the night before and she sounded happy. There was no indication and no warning that she would do this. It was a complete shock. And it clearly wasn’t her. There were personal demons she was battling.
“For the past 10 months, we had been living separately, but within a few blocks of each other. Bea was living with both of us and we saw each other or spoke every day. We ate many meals together as a family and continued to vacation together as a family. Our daughter was our priority. We were not legally separated, and never even discussed divorce. We were best friends trying to work through our problems in the best way we knew how. We were together for 35 years. We loved each other very much and simply needed a break.
“This is the truth. Anything else that is out there right now is false. She was actively seeking help for depression and anxiety over the last 5 years, seeing a doctor on a regular basis and taking medication for both depression and anxiety. There was no substance or alcohol abuse. There were no business problems. We loved creating our businesses together. We were co-parenting our beautiful daughter. I have yet to see any note left behind and am appalled that a private message to my daughter has been so heartlessly shared with the media.
“My main concern is Bea and protecting her privacy as she deals with the unimaginable grief of losing her mother. Kate loved Bea so very much,” Andy said in his statement.