Kate Spade’s Husband Andy Breaks Silence on Her Death and ‘Personal Demons’

Andy Spade, the husband of late fashion designer Kate Spade, has broken his silence on her apparent suicide.

Variety reports that Spade issued a lengthy statement on Wednesday afternoon. The opening paragraph touches on the grief he and the couple’s daughter, Frances Beatrix Spade, are feeling.

“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,” the statement reads.

He goes on to confirm reports that Kate suffered from depression, but insists he saw no signs that she was planning to complete suicide.

“Kate suffered from depression and anxiety for many years,” it read. “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, who was the co-founder of Kate’s label Frances Valentine, also clarified the conflicting reports of the couple’s relationship status. He revealed they had lived separately for almost a year, but were not legal separated. There were no plans to divorce, they just “needed a break” to “work through” various problems.

“For the past 10 months we had been living separately, but within a few blocks of each other,” Spade wrote. “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.”

He continued, “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.”

He also took aim at the numerous media and tabloid reports about the Kate Spade New York founder’s death. He said his words are “the truth” about Kate’s situation, and rumors of substance abuse or business struggles are unfounded.

“This is the truth. Anything else that is out there right now is false,” Spade wrote. “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.”

In particular he took certain offense to reports about Kate’s suicide note. He has not seen the note in question, which has been confirmed to exist by police. Anonymous sources have leaked the contents of the note, which is said to be addressed to Frances.

“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,” Spade wrote. “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.”

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).