Kate Spade's Husband Andy Says She Struggled With 'Personal Demons' In First Statement After Suicide

The husband of late handbag designer Kate Spade broke his silence Wednesday, recalling her as a devoted mother and best friend who struggled with "personal demons."

Entrepreneur Andy Spade said his wife of 24 years struggled with depression and anxiety, but her death still came as a "shock" because she had been seeking help and talked to him the night before her suicide.

"There was no indication and no warning that she would do this," he said in a statement. "And it clearly wasn’t her. There were personal demons she was battling."

Kate Spade, who founded an iconic, eponymous line of handbags and purses, was found dead Tuesday after hanging herself in her Manhattan apartment, police said.

Spade acknowledged that the couple had been living a few blocks from one another for the past 10 months, but denied speculation that they were separated or that he was pursuing a divorce.

“We were best friends trying to work through our problems in the best way we knew how,” he said. “We were together for 35 years. We loved each other very much and simply needed a break.”

Andy Spade was spotted leaving his Upper East Side home Thursday morning wearing a bizarre mouse mask and ignoring reporters' questions. 

Spade's statement in full:

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. 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.

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. 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.

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. We ate many meals together as a family and continued to vacation together as a family. Our daughter was our priority. 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.

This is the truth. Anything else that is out there right now is false. She was actively seeking help for depression and anxiety over the last 5 years, seeing a doctor on a regular basis and taking medication for both depression and anxiety. There was no substance or alcohol abuse. There were no business problems. We loved creating our businesses together. We were co-parenting our beautiful daughter. I have yet to see any note left behind and am appalled that a private message to my daughter has been so heartlessly shared with the media.

My main concern is Bea and protecting her privacy as she deals with the unimaginable grief of losing her mother. Kate loved Bea so very much.

 If you are having thoughts of suicide, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) to speak with someone confidentially and for free, or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of other resources.

[Photo: Getty Images]