Kate Spade's husband posts heartbreaking tribute to her on the first anniversary of her death: 'You were and still are my favorite poem'
Kate Spade loved Christmas trees — she was born on Christmas Eve — and her husband, Andy Spade, posted a photo of one that he and their daughter, Bea, planted in her honor on the first anniversary of the designer’s death.
His photo of the tree — adorned with lights and a homemade aluminum foil wrapped star, per family tradition — is both beautiful and heartbreaking. A reminder that life goes on after the fashionista, who suffered from depression for years, died by suicide a year earlier. The letter he wrote to her alongside it, a tearjerker.
Spade wrote to “Katy” that he and their 14-year-old daughter (full name: Frances Beatrix Spade) would be putting the tree outside the window of their “new home in California,” where they relocated to from NYC, to keep her “magical spirit and energy close to us everyday.”
He went on to thank her for all the “wonderful gifts” she gave him over the years and listed some: “For your beauty, intelligence and grace under pressure,” wrote Spade, who was also her business partner with brands Kate Spade New York, which they later sold, and Frances Valentine. He also cited her “boundless generosity,” “unflappable honesty,” “kindness to all living things,” “infectious laughter” and “sharp wit.”
Spade also planted a tree for his late wife at Christmas:
Spade, who was separated from his wife at the time of her death (though they had no plans to divorce), also referenced “peaks and valleys and alleyways” they faced during their relationship. He said there was a “never a dull moment” as they “grew up together.”
“You were my best friend, my confidant, my partner in life, business and mischief,” he wrote. “The ying to my yang and the zig to my zag. We played ping pong with ideas. Our shared passion for The Golden Rule, Kipling’s “If,” Strunk and White, Atticus Finch and millions other things bound us together like superglue. You were and still are my Superwoman... You were and still are my favorite poem.”
Spade explained the significance of the trees soon after his wife’s death in a post that began, “She was born Christmas Eve, 1962...”:
Spade ended by writing, “May your bright, multicolored spirit shine down on us everyday. Heaven is lucky to have you but please know you are truly missed by us still here on earth.”
Family members David Spade and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Rachel Brosnahan also paid tribute to Katy on the anniversary of her death.
Her best friend and business partner Elyce Arons wrote an essay on their special bond — honoring her legacy at Frances Valentine.
The fashion icon’s quiet battle with depression wasn’t publicly known until after she died at her home on June 5, 2018.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call 911, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255, or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
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