In her new documentary, Martha, Martha Stewart opens up about her tumultuous relationship with ex-husband Andrew Stewart. Both she and Andrew had affairs while they were married. From Martha’s perspective, her then-husband treated her “really badly.” Now, Andrew’s current wife, Shyla Nelson Stewart, has called some of these claims “sensationalized.”
Martha Stewart, 83, and her ex-husband Andrew were married from 1961 to 1990. During this period of time, they both cheated on each other, she alleges in the new Netflix documentary about her life. While Martha admitted to having “a very brief affair,” she described feeling “betrayed” when Andrew allegedly had an affair on their property.
According to Martha, her ex-husband had an affair with one of Martha’s employees who was staying in an apartment on their property. “When I was traveling, Andy started up with her,” Martha claimed in the documentary. “It was like I put out a snack for Andy.”
In a trailer for the documentary that came out ahead of its October 30 release, Martha shared a message directed at other women: “Young women, listen to my advice. If you’re married and your husband starts to cheat on you — he’s the piece of s—, and look at him as a piece of s— and get out of it. Get out of that marriage.”
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After seeing the trailer, Andrew’s current wife, Shyla, reacted to Martha’s claims about her husband. The version of Andrew that’s portrayed in Martha is very different from the person that she knows.
She explained her thoughts on him in a statement shared on Facebook. “As some of you know, my husband is Andrew Stewart – brilliant publisher, avocational naturalist and nature photographer, and one of the gentlest, most soft-spoken, kind-hearted men I’ve ever known,” Shyla wrote.
Together, Shyla and Andrew share “a deep and everlasting love” with a “devotion to the Earth and to our families at the center.” In her statement, Shyla also acknowledged her husband’s “dark” past.
“Prior to this happy chapter of his life, Andy had some dark ones, including a painful and abusive marriage to Martha (as in, Martha Stewart), which ended almost 40 years ago,” she continued.
Andrew has moved on from this chapter of his life, while Martha seemingly has not, she said. “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,” Shyla wrote.
“The juxtaposition of Andy’s early life with the joy-filled, purpose-led, loving marriage we live today is striking,” she added. “Every day, we openly express our gratitude for our love and for our life together.”
In the statement, which was signed by both Shyla and Andrew, the couple wished Martha well. “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,” they concluded.
