Martha Stewart has opened up about having an affair during her marriage to Andrew Stewart.
In the trailer for her new Netflix documentary, Martha, directed by RJ Cutler, the 83-year-old discusses her rise to becoming the first female self-made billionaire. The trailer also included the entrepreneur providing life advice regarding marriage.
“Young women, listen to my advice, if you’re married and your husband starts to cheat on you, he’s a piece of s***,” she said. “Get out of that marriage.”
However, a producer then chimed in to contradict her by pointing out that she cheated on her ex-husband. “Didn’t you have an affair early on?” he asked her from behind the camera.
“Yeah, but I don’t think Andy ever knew about that,” Stewart quipped back.
Andrew and Martha were married for 29 years after their 1961 ceremony. They welcomed their only child, Alexis, in 1965 and filed for divorce in 1990.
“Getting divorced was a terrible thing for me because we were the first to divorce in my family,” the author said during the documentary trailer. “And that we haven’t spoken since the divorce is even more painful. But I’m very strong, and I’m very motivated to get on with life.”
Stewart also reflected on rebuilding her brand after completing a five-month sentence at a minimum-security prison in Alderson, West Virginia, after being found guilty of obstruction, conspiracy, and lying to federal investigators in 2004.
“The cookie cutter house and the cookie cutter life, that was not for me,” Stewart said. “I could’ve just been a miserable, has-been housewife, but I didn’t let that happen to myself.”
“I was a trophy for these idiots,” she added about her sentencing, which included two years of probation. “Those prosecutors should’ve been put in a Cuisinart and turned on high.”
After Stewart was released from prison, she was sent back to Bedford, New York to spend an additional five months under house arrest. In between the two sentences, she published a statement on her website.
“The experience of the last five months in Alderson, West Virginia, has been life-altering and life-affirming,” she wrote. “Someday, I hope to have the chance to talk more about all that has happened, the extraordinary people I have met here, and all that I have learned.”
“Right now, as you can imagine, I am thrilled to be returning to my more familiar life,” Stewart continued. “My heart is filled with joy at the prospect of the warm embraces of my family, friends, and colleagues. Certainly, there is no place like home.”
Recently Stewart revealed last month in an interview with The New Yorker, what the effect of her time in prison had on her friendships. She specifically that her longtime best friend, Ina Garten, didn’t speak to her.
“When I was sent off to Alderson Prison, she stopped talking to me,” the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia founder said. “I found that extremely distressing and extremely unfriendly.”
However, she added that she does not hold a grudge against the Barefoot Contessa as her publicist mentioned there is “no feud” and Stewart is not “bitter.”
Stewart’s documentary will be available to watch on Netflix on October 30.
