The Netflix documentary about the life of original influencer Martha Stewart lets audiences see a whole new side of the lifestyle guru and chef. Martha opened up about her love life and her explosive marriage to Andrew “Andy” Stewart.
According to People, the former billionaire Martha was married to the publisher from 1961 to 1990. In the new documentary Martha, the reality TV homemaker accuses him of blowing up their marriage with “many different girlfriends” and accuses him of cheating on her with his ex-assistant. They share one daughter, Alexis Stewart, who is now 59.
Martha Accused Her Ex-Husband Of Infidelity In Netflix Documentary
Martha Stewart (née Kostyra) met Andrew Stewart when he was a law student at Yale University. They were set up on a blind date and married after less than a year of dating, according to PEOPLE.
In the trailer for her Netflix documentary, Martha, she boldly tells the camera: “Young women, listen to my advice, if you’re married and your husband starts to cheat on you, he’s a piece of s***,” before advising viewers to: “Get out of that marriage.”
Martha believes Andrew Stewart was “not satisfied at home,” which led to him straying outside their marriage.
I don’t know how many different girlfriends he had during this time, but I think there were quite a few.
Later in the documentary, Martha’s friend Kathy Tatlock recalls hearing rumors that Andy had “some sort of involvement with the girl who was doing the flower arrangements” at Turkey Hill Farm, where the couple lived. Martha explained that the woman he was allegedly cheating on her with had moved into an apartment on their property as she needed a place to stay.
“When I was traveling, Andy started up with her,” she says. “It was like I put out a snack for Andy.” When she found out about the affair, she kicked the woman out and admitted it felt “not nice” for her husband to betray her in their own home.
The documentary also showed Martha’s personal letters, helping the audience better understand the icon. “I am agonizingly jealous of your other women,” she wrote to Andy during this period.
Martha has been open over the years about the pain of her divorce. She told PEOPLE that “Getting divorced was a terrible thing for me, because we were the first to divorce in my family.”
- She also added that she and Andrew have not spoken for over 20 years.
In an interview with PEOPLE in 1995, Martha’s mother, Martha Kostyra, revealed that the divorce left her daughter “badly wounded” and that she doesn’t think she would “ever get over it.”
Martha Stewart Admitted To Also Cheating On Her Husband
Although Martha Stewart called her ex-husband out for his cheating, ScreenRant reported that she admitted to her own infidelity in the Netflix documentary. When the interviewer asks her, “Didn’t you have an affair early on in the relationship?” she admits she had a “very brief affair with a very attractive Irish man.”
Two Martha-Based Documentaries Came Out In 2024 | Streaming Service |
The Many Lives of Martha Stewart | HBO Max |
Martha | Netflix |
“I had a very brief affair with a very attractive Irishman, and it was just nothing,” she explained. “It was nothing. In terms of … I would have never broken up a marriage for it. It was nothing.” She explained she met him when she was working as a stockbroker in the 1960s.
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- Martha also recalls kissing a “very handsome guy” in Florence’s Duomo on her Italian honeymoon while Andy was at their hotel.
- She was visiting the cathedral during their five-month trip through Europe when she met another man, who she kissed.
“It was a very romantic place, crowded with tourists, and I met this very handsome guy,” Martha 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, Martha admits that she never saw this incident as something “naughty” or considered it cheating on her husband.
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.
After 25 years into their marriage, Martha and Andrew separated. In 1987, he moved out of their family home and reportedly obtained a court order forbidding Martha to speak to him. Their divorce was finalized in 1990.
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Martha explained that it was Andrew who had filed for divorce. “He was throwing me away. I was 40 years old. I was gorgeous. You know, I was a desirous woman. But he was treating me like a castaway. He treated me really badly. And in return, I guess I treated him badly.”
Andrew later married Martha’s former assistant, Robyn Fairclough, in 1993. The two have since divorced, and he is now married to Shyla Nelson, the president and CEO of Fieldstone Publishing. Martha Stewart never remarried but went on to date early Microsoft employee Charles Simonyi and Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins.
Andrew Stewart Hit Back At Claims Made By Martha Stewart
Before the documentary even landed on Netflix, Andy and his third wife Shyla Nelson Stewart took issue with the “sensationalized” trailer. Shyla wrote a lengthy Facebook post defending her husband.
The post, which Andrew co-signed, called the man “one of the gentlest, most soft-spoken, kind-hearted men” Shyla had ever known. As reported in the NY Times, she praised her marriage and assured readers that her husband had “quietly moved on and forward with his life,” while “Martha continues to publicly relitigate the marriage.”
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.
An insider told Page Six after the documentary hit the streaming service that he believes Martha is using it to dredge up their painful past. According to the anonymous source, Andy has told those close to him that he feels as though his ex-wife is “stalking” him by putting their marriage in the public eye. Andrew and his third wife, Shyla, also have five children and three grandchildren. Their youngest grandchild was born in November 2023.
Martha
is now streaming on Netflix.
Martha
- Release Date
- August 31, 2024
- Director
- R.J. Cutler
- Cast
- Martha Stewart
- Runtime
- 113 minutes
- Producers
- Jane Cha Cutler , Alina Cho
- Character(s)
- Self
