Martha Stewart’s ex-husband Andrew and his wife have addressed the claims made by the TV host in her new Netflix documentary, Martha.
Andrew’s wife, Shyla, made the remarks in a Facebook post shared last month, leading up to the release of the new film. Her post came after the release of the documentary’s trailer, where Martha claims Andrew cheated on her during their 29 years of marriage.
Shyla started off her message by addressing her family on Facebook, noting this would be her “only public comment” about her partner’s previous marriage and Martha’s documentary.
“Andy had some dark ones, including a painful and abusive marriage to Martha (as in, Martha Stewart), which ended almost 40 years ago,” she wrote. “While Andy quietly moved on and forward with his life, it appears that Martha continues to publicly relitigate the marriage, including comments in a sensationalized trailer for an upcoming documentary on Netflix.”
She further explained how happy she and Andrew are, before sending a message to people online and Martha.
“The juxtaposition of Andy’s early life with the joy-filled, purpose-led, loving marriage we live today is striking. Every day, we openly express our gratitude for our love and for our life together,” Shyla continued. “We both wish everyone, including Martha herself, the experience of loving and being loved deeply and fully, and the peace that comes from such a love.”
Earlier in the post, she also gushed about the relationship she had with Andrew, calling him “one of the gentlest, most soft-spoken, kind-hearted men” she’d ever met.
The Independent has contacted Martha’s representatives for comment.
In her Netflix documentary, which came out on October 25, Martha first opened up about her relationship with Andrew, who she shares one adult daughter, Alexis, with.
“Young women, listen to my advice, if you’re married and your husband starts to cheat on you, he’s a piece of s***,” she said. “Get out of that marriage.”
However, a producer then chimed in to contradict her by pointing out that she cheated on her ex-husband. “Didn’t you have an affair early on?” he asked her from behind the camera.
“Yeah, but I don’t think Andy ever knew about that,” Stewart quipped back.
At another point in the documentary, she also shared that she “kissed a stranger at a cathedral” while she and Andrew were on their honeymoon, which was a five-month-long trip through Europe. On the day before Easter, the two of them were in Florence, Italy, and she wanted to see the Duomo Florence Cathedral while her husband stayed behind in their hotel.
“It was a very romantic place, crowded with tourists, and I met this very handsome guy,” the lifestyle entrepreneur recalled. “I was this waif of a girl hanging out in the cathedral on Easter Eve. He was emotional. I was emotional. It’s just because it was an emotional place. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced. An expansive dome. So beautiful and paintings all around you.”
However, Stewart didn’t see this incident as something “naughty” or as a type of infidelity.
“It was neither naughty nor unfaithful. It was just emotional of the moment. That’s how I looked at it. And it was exciting because, I mean, it was a very emotional place. I wish we could all experience such an evening,” she explained.
Andrew and Martha were married for 29 years after their 1961 ceremony. They welcomed their only child, Alexis, in 1965 and filed for divorce in 1990.
