In an extensive post shared on Facebook last month, Martha Stewart’s ex-husband Andrew Stewart’s current wife Shyla Nelson Stewart described his marriage to the star as “painful and abusive.”
In the lead-up to the release of Martha’s Netflix documentary Martha, her ex-husband’s wife issued a statement to friends and family about their marriage, which lasted from 1961 to 1990. “Andy and I have built a life of beauty, meaning, productivity, and purpose, infused with true love,” Shyla wrote on Facebook, per TMZ. “Prior to this happy chapter of his life, Andy had some dark ones, including a painful and absuive marriage to martha (as in, Martha Stewart), which ended 40 years ago.”
Shyla criticized Martha for continuing to publicly discuss their marriage while Andrew moved on.
“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 continued. “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 gratitute for our love and for our life together. 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.”
Her comments arrived shortly after the trailer for the documentary debuted. In the trailer, she spoke about her marriage with Andy, with whom she welcomed a daughter, Alexis, in 1965. “Young women, listen to my advice, if you’re married and your husband starts to cheat on you, he’s a piece of shit,” she said in the trailer, at which point a producer asks if she had an affair early on in their relationship. “Yeah, but I don’t think Andy ever knew about that,” she replied.
Martha also spoke about his affair, which she claimed happened with a former employee whom she allowed to stay on the couple’s property. “When I was traveling, Andy started up with her,” Stewart recalled. “It was like I put out a snack for Andy.” In the documentary, she pointed the finger at Andrew for the divorce, noting that he “treated [her] like a castaway.”
