The woman who found Kate Spade after she took her own life was spotted on Thursday for the first time since the designer’s tragic death.
Bella Cariaga was seen exiting the $12,000-a-month pied-a-tierre that Andy Spade began renting last July, briskly walking by reporters while refusing to comment on Kate’s suicide.
It was Cariaga who tried desperately to save Kate’s life after she discovered the designer earlier this week, with police sources telling DailyMail.com that she first called 911 and then summoned a male worker in the building to come help.
That man, whose identity is not known, managed to free Kate but it was too late and she was pronounced dead on the scene when paramedics arrived to the Park Avenue apartment.
Bella was photographed shortly after the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office stated that Kate’s death was a suicide caused by hanging.
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Close friends: Bella Cariaga, the housekeeper who found Kate Spade after her suicide and rushed to save her life, was photographed in New York City on Thursday (Bella above on Thursday)
Mad dash: After she found the body, Bella called 911 and then rushed to get a male employee in the building who could help cut Kate free
Shoes: Bella said Kate was like a ‘best friend’ to her, and she even had a $475 show in the Frances Valentine line named after her (Bella sandal above)
Tragedy: By the time Kate was cut free it was too late, and Kate was pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics (Kate above at her office)
Bella was remarkably close to the designer, and a shoe in Kate’s new Frances Valentine line was even named after her, with the Bella Ankle Strap Sandal retailing for around $475 at select stores.
Kate gave Bella a few pairs of her own, which she posted on her Facebook page.
‘When you get your own shoe line,’ Bella captioned the photo, while on another she wrote: ‘I’m so lucky to have my first pair of Frances Valentine sandals.’
Kate was not just good to Bella, but also her son Mark, who wrote a letter praising the designer after her death.
He also spoke of bringing her flowers on Mother’s Day, just weeks before her death.
‘I believed that one day that I could be in your shoes, being able to travel the world and do what you love to do,’ wrote Bella’s son Mark.
‘I will forever cherish the moment that I brought you flowers on Mother’s Day because you were like a mother to me. You deserved it. You deserved the world.
‘You were at a loss for words when you opened the door to me holding a bouquet of flowers. You couldn’t believe it. You even called me twenty minutes after I left your apartment to thank me again for the flowers.’
He also thanked Kate for showing him what the fashion industry was like by giving him a chance to work with Sleepy Jones, her husband Andy’s clothing company.
‘You said that you loved me and even invited me to come along to Napa Valley with you again this Summer. You even said that I was like the son you never had.
‘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,’ said Andy.
‘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.’
He went on to reveal that there were no signs Kate had planned to take her life, and said her death had left him and their daughter Bea heartbroken.
Andy also said that the two had been living apart for some time.
‘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,’ said Andy.
‘We ate many meals together as a family and continued to vacation together as a family. Our daughter was our priority.’
He continued: ‘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.’
Andy praised his late wife as well in his remarks.
‘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,’ he noted.
‘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.’
His comments also refute claims that the designer had a drinking problem, which had been made by both Kate’s sister and TMZ.
It was also TMZ that reported that Andy had wanted to divorce his wife.
Out and about: Andy Spade and business partner Elyce Arons were seen near his apartment on Thursday (above)
Arrival: Andy brought along his mother Judith and friend Oberon Sinclair to the apartment earlier in the day (l to r: Andy, Judith, Oberon)
Family: Actress Rachel Brosnahan and her father Earl, who was Kate’s brother (above),also paid a visit to Andy’s apartment on Thursday
Covered up: Andy wore a mask as he left the apartment on Thursday morning to avoid his face being seen (above)
It was initially reported that Andy had been home at the time, but it is now unclear if he had been there when the body was found or arrived at the apartment prior to police.
DailyMail.com learned that Andy had been renting a $12,000-a-month apartment nearby for a little over a year.
In her suicide note to her daughter Frances Beatrix, 13, Kate said that the teenager was not to blame for her death and expressed her love for her only child.
Andy was seen with the couple’s daughter on Tuesday at the girl’s school, with a source telling DailyMail.com that he arrived with a police officer to get his daughter and tell her the news.
That same source said Andy was ‘shook up’ after the death of his wife, and concerned about the impact it might have on his daughter.
‘Bea is his only concern and number one priority at this point,’ said the source.
Among those paying tribute on Wednesday was actress Rachel Brosnahan, the Golden Globe-winning star of House of Cards and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
She was also Kate’s niece.
Brosnahan posted a video of Kate smiling and laughing as she danced with her husband Andy, writing: ‘Knowing Katy, this is how she would want to be remembered. She had a light that words can’t capture but touched everyone she came into contact with.
‘She was exceedingly kind, beautifully sensitive, insanely talented, funny as heck and one of the most generous people I have ever known. She was effervescent.’
Brosnahan then closed out her post by saying: ‘Hug your loved ones extra tight today.’
That video of happier times was shared as sources tell DailyMail.com that Kate and Andy’s marriage was crumbling in the months before the designer ended her life at the age of 55 by hanging herself with a scarf.
Michael Kors wrote: ‘Charming, talented and gone too soon. Rest in peace Kate.’
She was also remembered by the grand doyenne of the fashion world, Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
‘Kate Spade had an enviable gift for understanding exactly what women the world over wanted to carry,’ said Wintour.
‘She launched her label at a time when everyone thought that the definition of a handbag was strictly European, all decades-old serious status and wealth.
‘Then along came this thoroughly American young woman who changed everything.
‘There was a moment when you couldn’t walk a block in New York without seeing one of her bags, which were just like her; colorful and unpretentious.’
In the beginning: Kate and her husband back in 1993 (above) when they first launched the line of handbags in New York City
Kate shot to fame in the mid-90s thanks to her eponymous line of handbags and was also the aunt of Rachel Brosnahan, the star of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.
Andy and Kate Spade bought the nine-room apartment in which she died in 1999 for $2.675 million, and also owned a vineyard in Napa Valley.
The couple launched their design line back in 1993, starting at first with just handbags before expanding to clothes and other accessories.
Three years in the couple was able to open their first store, and for the next decade continue to grow the company.
She had launched international and home lines by 2004, having by that point sold off most of her company.
Andy also launched a men’s line of bags, Jack Spade, in 1996, which is still sold at stores such as Barneys.
Neiman Marcus purchased 56 per cent of the company in 1999 and the remaining 44 per cent by 2006, at which time Kate left the business to raise her daughter.
Andy continued to work with brands including Target, J.Crew and Warby Parker while also launching the design studio partners & Spade.
By 2006, the company was valued at $125 million, and Kate left for good the following year after Neiman sold Kate Spade & Co to Liz Claiborne that same year.
In the decade since she sold her ownership Kate Spade has continued to grow, and in 2017 the brand was purchased by Coach for an astonishing $2.4 billion.
In 2016, Kate told People how the couple survived living and working together.
‘Treat them as well as you would any other employee. What I mean is we need to respect one another as much as you do the other people in the office. I’ve had to learn to be as respectful.’
She added that both had ‘different personalities.’
‘He’s more relaxed more of a risk taker and I’m a little more detailed and uptight neurotic.’
Family: ‘Knowing Katy, this is how she would want to be remembered,’ wrote Brosnahan, later adding: ‘Hug your loved ones extra tight today’ (Brosanahan and Kate Spade above in 2016)
David shared this snap of himself with a smiling Kate during Christmas, saying, ‘We had so much fun that day’
Kate had just recently tried to reenter the fashion world with the launch of Frances Valentine, a line of luxury handbags and shoes.
The couple took no investors and focused on slowly rolling out the brand in select markets.
In an interview with WWD in 2015 she discussed how she came to name the brand, stating: ‘My grandfather, father, brother, and my daughter’s name is Frances. And then Valentine was my mom’s dad’s middle name because he was born on Valentine’s Day.’
The line was sold at Nordstrom, Saks and Bloomingdales.
She was twice honored by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1996 as an emerging accessories designer to watch and again in 1998 as the best accessories designer of the year.
That same group held its annual gala and awards show on Monday in Brooklyn, which Spade did not attend.
In a statement released shortly after her death, CFDA heads Steven Kolb and Diane von Furstenberg said: ‘The CFDA is devastated to hear the news of our friend, colleague, and CFDA member Kate Spade’s tragic passing. She was a great talent who had an immeasurable impact on American fashion and the way the world viewed American accessories.
‘We want to honor her life and her major contribution to the fashion business and express our most sincere condolences to the family.’
Spade was a member of the CFDA and would have been invited to the group’s annual event on Monday but did not attend, with the designer making few public appearances after giving birth.
A number of celebrities paid tribute to Spade on Tuesday in the wake of her death.
‘#KateSpade, whose lively, colorful, and yes, joyous designs has died. My deepest sympathy to her family and friends, and her many fans around the world, who loved the wonderful illusions she created. I am stunned,’ wrote Bette Midler.
‘I am heartbroken about the news of Kate Spade. I have worn her clothes many, many times. They were colorful, bold, cheerful, and encouraged women to find the twinkly person inside them. You couldn’t walk into her boutiques and not smile. Rest In Peace, Kate,’ said Mindy Kalling.
‘My grandmother gave me my first Kate Spade bag when I was in college. I still have it. Holding Kate’s family, friends and loved ones in my heart,’ Chelsea Clinton posted on Twitter.
Ivanka Trump also tweeted, saying: ‘Kate Spade’s tragic passing is a painful reminder that we never truly know another’s pain or the burden they carry. If you are struggling with depression and contemplating suicide, please, please seek help.’
Nikki Haley also tweeted a similar message, writing: ‘The passing of Kate Spade is a stark reminder that we never know the struggles of a person regardless of their outward persona. If you or anyone you love is struggling, there is help. You don’t have to be alone.’
The designer was born Kate Brosnahan in Kanasas City, where she attended an all-girls school before heading off to college at the University of Kansas.
Kate decided to transfer to Arizona State University and study journalism, which is where she met her husband.
She graduated in 1985 and spent the next six years working for Mademoiselle in New York City, eventually landing herself the role of senior fashion editor.
In 1991 she left the magazine and decided to go out on her own with a line of purses, believing there was a gap in the market she could fill.
Kate had no experience designing handbags at the time she explained in a 2016 interview with NPR for their podcast How I Built It.
‘It’s funny. You know, Andy and I were talking one night. And I just said – I was looking ahead and I saw the fashion directors. That would be your next jump from being senior fashion editor. And I thought, I don’t really see myself wanting that job. So Andy and I were out, honestly, at a Mexican restaurant,’ recalled Kate.
‘And he just said, what about handbags? And I said, honey, you just don’t start a handbag company. And he said, why not? How hard can it be? I thought, OK, really? He regrets those words.’
She said that production got underway on what she felt the handbag market was missing at the time.
‘At the time, things were very – bags were too complicated. And I really loved very simple kind of architectural shapes. And I would wear these very simple shapes, none of which were famous designers. I mean, there were no names. If someone were to say, whose is that? I’d say, I don’t know, I bought it at a vintage store or it’s a straw bag I got in Mexico,’ explained Kate.
‘So – and they were all very square and simple. And I thought, gosh, I mean, why can’t we find something just clean and simple and modern?’
A year after launching the company, Kate and Andy were married.
She continued to expand for the 15 years she worked at her eponymous company, and in 2002 entered the very lucrative fragrance market, teaming up with Estee Lauder to release bath and body products as well as a honeysuckle fragrance.
By 1998, Kate had one of the most successful brands in fashion, and a year later Neiman Marcus purchased a controlling share of the company, valued then at $23 million.
It was that same year that the two bought their Park Avenue palazzo, just a few blocks from Central Park and the Met.
They also purchased a home on Main Street in Southampton in 1996 for $218,500 according to property records.