Lifestyle

Kate Spade's Husband Releases Statement: 'There Was No Indication And No Warning'

by Cassandra Stone
Image via Ben Gabbe/Getty Images

Andy Spade addresses Kate’s struggles with anxiety and depression

As news of the death of beloved designer Kate Spade sinks in, her husband has released an emotional and substantial statement about his wife of 35 years. In it, he clarifies some of the reports surrounding her death and speaks candidly about her struggles with anxiety and depression.

Kate Spade died of an apparent suicide earlier this week, and since the news broke, people everywhere have shared their love for Kate Spade and her designs on social media. Dialogues have also opened up about mental health and Spade’s alleged struggles. Andy Spade, her husband, addresses those matters and more in his statement.

“Kate was the most beautiful woman in the world,” he shares with E! News. “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.”

The couple’s daughter, Bea, is 13 years old. In his statement, Andy also opens up about his wife’s struggles with anxiety and depression, and that she suffered from them for several years.

“She was actively seeking help and working closely with her doctors to treat her disease, one that takes far too many lives,” he says. He also mentions that as of the night before her death, she “sounded happy” and that there seemed to be no sign she was contemplating ending her life. “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. There were personal demons she was battling.”

He says that despite reports to the contrary, while he and Kate were living separately for a brief period of time, they were not legally separated or considering 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.”

He also shares that Kate was actively seeking help for her depression and anxiety for the last five years, and was proactive about seeing a doctor on a regular basis and taking medication to treat her symptoms. “There was no substance or alcohol abuse,” he says. “There were no business problems. We loved creating our businesses together. We were co-parenting our beautiful daughter.”

Early reports of Kate’s death mentioned a possible note the designer left behind for her daughter — something that, if it exists, should absolutely have been kept confidential by everyone who arrived at the scene. While he hasn’t seen a note, Andy says he’s appalled that a private message to their daughter was “heartlessly shared with the media.”

Her daughter is only thirteen years old and just lost her mother. It’s heartwrenching to think of the acute grief she must be feeling, and having personal details about this tragic situation shared with the public adds an unimaginable layer to it.

“My main concern is Bea and protecting her privacy as she deals with the unimaginable grief of losing her mother,” his statement concludes. “Kate loved Bea so very much.”