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Police, family members have given reasons why fashion designer, Kate Spade, decided to end her life. Police source say Kate fell into a deep depression days before she committed suicide because her husband Andy Spade wanted a divorce and she didn’t want their 24-year marriage to be over.
According to TMZ, Andy had moved out into a nearby apartment, and multiple magazines earlier claimed the couple were ‘having marital problems’
Kate, 55, hanged herself with a scarf in her Park Avenue home in Manhattan on Tuesday morning, leaving a heartbreaking suicide note to her daughter Frances Beatrix lying beside her.
The note read: “Bea – I have always loved you. This is not your fault. Ask Daddy!”
Her sister Reta Saffo however said Kate’s death was not unexpected. She said the fashion designer struggled with bipolar disorder for years – but was too scared to seek help because she thought it would hurt her brand.
Saffo said that she and Andy Spade repeatedly urged Kate to go for treatment, including the same treatment programme where actress, Catherine Zeta-Jones, went for her successful bipolar treatment .
“Unfortunately, untreated, it finally took its toll on her,” she told DailyMail.com. “A very tragic and sad ending to the life of a very colorful and delightful being.”
Saffo said she was aware of her sister’s battle with mental illness, 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.
She described how they were together at a hotel in Santa Fe when news about William’s death broke. And while she said 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,” Saffo said. “I think the plan was already in motion even as far back as then.”
After numerous attempts to try and help her sister, she gave up but not before her sister hinted at her suicide plan.
“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.”
Kate who was found dead by her housekeeper on Tuesday morning. is survived by her husband Andy, who is the brother of actor David Spade, and daughter Frances.