Kate Spade seemed to have it all; a world renowned fashion designer living in a Park Avenue apartment with her beloved husband and daughter.
But underneath the glamorous lifestyle and ‘happy-go-lucky’ facade, her family says she was battling her own demons.
Her older sister Reta Saffo told the DailyMail.com exclusively that Kate, struggled to cope with her celebrity status, which only made her suspected bipolar disorder worse. She added that her sister had been planning to kill herself for a long time before she hanged herself on Tuesday.
‘My little sister Katy was a precious, precious little person,’ Saffo told us. ‘Genuine in almost every way. Just dear– but she was surrounded by YES people, for far too long, therefore she did not receive the proper care for what I believed to be (and tried numerous times to get her help for) Bipolar Disorder… stemming from her immense celebrity. She never expected it– nor was she properly prepared for it. Unfortunately, untreated, it finally took its toll on her. A very tragic and sad ending to the life of a very colorful and delightful being.
Kate Spade’s (pictured) older sister Reta Saffo has revealed her sister’s long battle with mental illness
Saffo told The Kansas City Star she’d noticed worrying signs of mental illness even when Kate was young – but the pressure of running her own brand meant her sister began to crack.
‘She was always a very excitable little girl,’ she said adding that ‘this was not unexpected by me’. ‘I felt all the stress/pressure of her brand (KS) may have flipped the switch where she eventually became full-on manic depressive…’
The heartbroken sister, who said she spoke to the newspaper after taking sedatives, said that Kate would self-medicate her suspected bipolar disorder with alcohol, because she was too scared to seek professional help in case it damaged the brand.
But it wasn’t until comedian Robin Williams killed himself in August 2014, that Saffo began to realize Kate’s obsession with suicide and her unraveling mental health.
Kate pictured far left as a young child with her family in the 1960s
It wasn’t until comedian Robin Williams (pictured in 2005) killed himself in August 2014, that Saffo began to realize Kate’s obsession with suicide and her unraveling mental health
Saffo, 57, describes how they were together at a hotel in Santa Fe when news broke of his death. And while she says they were both shocked and saddened, Kate seemed unable to tear herself away from the footage.
‘She kept watching it and watching it over and over,’ she said. ‘I think the plan was already in motion even as far back as then.’
Increasingly concerned about her mental state, Saffo says that she and Kate’s husband Andy Spade repeatedly urged her to go for treatment, including to the same treatment program where Catherine Zeta-Jones went for her successful bipolar treatment.
But she’d always ‘chickened out’ at the last moment.
Family: She is survived by her husband Andrew (above in 2017), who is the brother of actor David Spade, and her 13-year-old daughter Frances
Apartment: The designer left a note telling her daughter it was not her fault before taking her own life by hanging and allegedly told the girl to ‘ask daddy’ reports TMZ (Spade’s apartment above)
Trio: 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 (Kate with Andy and David Spade in 2001)
‘We’d get sooo close to packing her bags, but — in the end, the ‘image’ of her brand (happy-go-lucky Kate Spade) was more important for her to keep up. She was definitely worried about what people would say if they found out.’
In the end, she says, Kate’s death was heartbreaking but ‘not unexpected’.
‘Sometimes you simply cannot SAVE people from themselves!’ Saffo, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, told The Star, adding that she would miss her ‘kind’, ‘funny’ and ‘dear’ sister and their marathon seven hour phone calls.
Saffo said after numerous attempts to try and help her sister, she ‘finally let go.’
The last time they talked, her sister had urged her to attend her funeral.
‘One of the last things she said to me was, ‘Reta, I know you hate funerals and don’t attend them, but for me would you PLEASE come to MINE, at least. Please!’ I know she perhaps had a plan, but she insisted she did not.’
Saffo said that even if her sister’s death had not been a surprise, she was still devastated by the loss, and was going ‘for a good cry.’
Spade, who shot to fame with her line of eponymous purses, was found unconscious and unresponsive’ by her housekeeper on Tuesday morning.
She is survived by her husband Andy, who is the brother of actor David Spade, and daughter Frances.
If you or anyone you know needs to talk, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or Lifeline Australia 13 11 14
To contact the Samaritans, visit www.samaritans.org or call 116 123.