Family and friends have continued to flood Andy Spade’s New York apartment as he and teenage daughter Frances grieve the death of designer Kate Spade, their beloved wife and mother.
Spade’s niece, House of Cards actress Rachel Brosnahan, was seen exiting a cab with a woman dressed in in yellow and her father Earl on Saturday for her third day visiting in a row.
Previously, Brosnahan has been seen at the home with Earl, Kate’s older brother, and Elyce Arons, an old friend and business partner of Kate’s.
Kate, 55, was found dead at her Manhattan apartment on Tuesday after hanging herself with a scarf.
The accessories designer was discovered by her housekeeper and friend Bella Cariaga, who tried desperately to save Kate’s life, but was not successful.
Rachel Brosnahan (left) joined her father Earl visiting Andy Spade and his daughter Frances after the tragic death of his wife, designer Kate Spade
Rachel, Kate Spade’s niece, has been seen at Andy Spade’s Park Avenue apartment every day since Thursday
Another friend was seen leaving the apartment as well-wishers continue to flood in and out of the home
Rachel Brosnahan honored her late aunt, who she called Katy, in a heartfelt Instagram post on Wednesday.
A moving caption shared alongside a video of the handbag designer dancing with husband Andy said Kate had ‘a light that words can’t capture’.
‘[Kate] touched everyone she came into contact with,’ she wrote.
‘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. Hug your loved ones extra tight today.’
Andy and Kate were married for 35 years, but had been separated for 10 months at the time Kate died by suicide. Andy says the pair still spoke every day despite their separation and had never discussed divorce
The apartment where Kate died is not the same one Andy and their daughter Frances are living in.
Andy and Kate separated 10 months ago and have been living in separate apartments on the same street, just blocks from one another.
They continued to work and raise Frances together, with the 13-year-old moving between homes, Andy said in a statement.
He claimed the couple spoke ‘every day’ and had never broached the subject of divorce.
Kate’s death is suspected to be caused by mental illness, with husband Andy revealing while she had always endured bouts of anxiety, depression began to set in only six years ago.
Her older brother Earl, who was also at Andy’s apartment again on Saturday, said the pair called her condition ‘her sadness’, and that the iconic accessories designer was making plans for her future at least a week before her death.
Arons, who met Kate while the pair were both studying at the University of Kansas, told the Seattle Times the mother-of-one’s condition had developed ‘slowly, over time’, but that Kate had always been adamant she would never commit suicide.
Andy Spade (pictured) was seen on the phone and clutching a notebook as he entered his apartment on Saturday
Spade’s father Frank Brosnahan revealed that he had warned his daughter about the pills she had been taking and told how her suicide came as a shock after he had spoken to her the night before she died.
‘She’d been taking some pills, which I advised her not to take,’ he told the Kansas City Star on Wednesday.
Brosnahan said he does ‘not know what happened’ since his daughter did not show any signs she had planned to take her life.
‘The last I talked with her, the night before last, she was happy planning a trip to California to look at colleges. She doted on her daughter,’ he said.
Earl Brosnahan (pictured), Kate’s older brother, has also been a regular visitor to the home. He said he had been aware of Kate’s depression for about 18 months, and the pair would refer to it as ‘her sadness’
Earl’s daughter Rachel (right) appeared to be quite close with Kate, who she said had a ‘light words can’t explain’ in an emotional tribute shared to Instagram on Wednesday
Her older sister Reta Saffo, who is understood to be estranged from the rest of her family, said she saw Kate’s tragic death coming.
Saffo told DailyMail.com 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.’
Kate’s brother Earl angrily hit back at the claims, saying it was a shame certain people were ‘leaking false, speculative information’.
Kate is survived by her five other siblings, sisters Missy, Ann, Eve, Reta, and brother Earl.
Her daughter Frances is thirteen years old.
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