In a statement first obtained by the New York Times, Andy Spade described his wife as the "kindest person I've ever known and my best friend for 35 years." He said Kate Spade suffered from depression and anxiety for several years before her death, adding that she was "actively seeking help and working closely with her doctors to treat her disease."
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"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," Andy Spade said, apparently in response to comments made by Kate Spade's sister that the designer's suspected suicide was "not unexpected."
Andy Spade said he and Kate Spade had been living separately for nearly a year, though they still ate meals and traveled as a family. He dispelled rumors that his wife was abusing drugs and alcohol or reeling from business problems.
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"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," he said, adding that he was "appalled" that the contents of an alleged suicide note were shared with the media.
"My main concern is [my daughter] Bea and protecting her privacy as she deals with the unimaginable grief of losing her mother. Kate loved Bea so very much," he said.
Full text of Andy Spade's statement to ABC News:
"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."