Warning: Contains SPOILERS for MarthaMarthais brimming with new revelations about the life and career of Martha Stewart, the first self-made American female billionaire. From infidelity to her connections in the business world that helped her and hurt her,Marthaoffers new details about what led to her arrest, and her divorce from publishing mogul Andrew Stewart. Most importantly, theNetflix documentary showcases how Stewartmanaged to uplift herself amid a series of hardships, and became a permanent fixture in American culture.
Stewart was married to her husband, then a Yale Law student, when she was only 19years old. After completing her degree at the prestigious Barnard College, the New Jersey native tried her hand at Wall Street, and later took the lifestyle world by storm. Amid the fallout of her time in prison, Stewart formed a unique friendship with rapper Snoop Dogg, leading to her introduction to a whole new audience. The documentary also showcases how the now world-famous duo first met.
7Stewart Claimed She Got Her “Perfectionist” Nature From Her Father
Stewart opens the documentary by discussing her humble childhood beginningsin Nutley, New Jersey. The now billionaire lifestyle mogul, often dubbed “the first influencer,” revealed that her father, a salesman, was a functioning alcoholic who often doled out harsh punishments on his children. Her friend Lloyd Allen reflects on screen that “the strong hand of her father was passed on to Martha,“who repeatedly reaffirms that she feels she inherited his perfectionist ways.
What Martha Stewart Has Said About Netflix’s Documentary About Her Life
Martha Stewart is unhappy about Netflix’s new documentary about her life, Martha, which, she says, portrays her in an unflattering light.
The lifestyle brand billionaire furtherelaborated on her struggles with her father, claiming that he was a bigot who did not approve of her marriage to Andrew Stewart because of his Jewish identity. Her father slapped her upon learning of her engagement, which resulted in her abrupt marriage to Stewart at the age of 19. She then took a temporary leave from college to travel around Europe for five months with Stewart.
6Stewart Shared A Kiss With A Stranger On Her Honeymoon
She Met The Man At Easter At An Italian Cathedral
Martha married the first man she had a serious relationship with, and quickly found herself on a whirlwind honeymoon trip across Europe, welcoming her daughter, Alexis Stewart, shortly after. As Stewart was raised Catholic, she wanted to attend mass services on Easter Sunday. At the Duomo in Florence, Italy, Stewart met a male stranger also in attendance to observe the high holiday.She shared a kiss with the man, unbeknownst to her husbandat the time. This marked the first of many challenges to come in Stewart’s marriage.
Regarding the evening,Stewart claimed she did not consider it infidelity because it did not progressfurther. The day felt emotionally charged because she was at mass alone, had married into a new culture at a young age, and found herself isolated from her family. She elaborated in the documentary, “…it was just a very emotional moment in a very emotional place. I wish we could all experience such an evening”.
5Andrew Stewart Ended The Marriage After Martha Caught His Affair With Her Employee
Stewart stated that her husband had a number of affairs with young women,including several from his publishing business. The cracks in their marriage began to show after the family relocated from New York City to Westport, Connecticut after she decided to leave her career on Wall Street. Stewart was happy to leave Wall Street behind with new connections and knowledge of the business world, and quickly applied it to her new catering business.
The young woman named Robin was responsible for the catering service’s floral arrangements and lived in an apartment in a renovated barn on the property after losing her original apartment elsewhere.
Stewart found a love of cooking and creating memorable events for family friends and her husband’s colleagues and turned it into a business at Turkey Hill, the family’s renovated farmhouse. A young woman named Robin was responsible for the catering service’s floral arrangements, living in an apartment in a renovated barn on the property after losing her original apartment elsewhere. Robin went on to have an affair with Stewart’s husband. Stewart recounted, “When I was traveling, Andy started up with her. It was like I put out a snack for Andy.Andy betrayed me, right on our property. Not nice.”
The Mysterious Affair Was Allegedly Brief
Stewart recounted a brief affair with a mysterious Irishmanduring her Wall Street era. Her husband claimed to theMarthaproducers that he did not stray until she did first, though she recounts the opposite. The man is unidentified and there is no clear timeline of when the affair occurred. Stewart insinuates that the relationship was incredibly brief and did not occur on the family property, unlike her husband’s relationships.
While she did have a relationship, Stewart still remained dedicated to making her marriage work. She reiterated that her business, daughter, and marriage remained at the forefront of her life and that she was not trying to risk her own stability. However, due to her young age, she sometimes felt stifled in her marriage. Stewart claimed inMarthathat “it was nothing, I would never have broken up a marriage over it. It was like the kiss in the cathedral.”
3She Was Personal Friends With The CEO Of ImClone
Samuel D. Waksal And Martha Stewart Were Both Found Guilty Of Insider Trading
Stewart was personal friends with Samuel D. Waksal, the founder of ImClone. ImClone was expected to release Erbitux, a cancer drug meant to fight monoclonal antibodies, in 2001 (viaCNN). Due in part to their personal friendship and in part to the promise of a major medical discovery, Stewart chose to invest in significant stock in the promising medical company.
The FDA did not wind up regulating the cancer drug for public use, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission found top investorssold their stocks after a sharp decline in the company’s value before the FDA ruling was public knowledge.Given that Stewart was among the investors who sold off their stock to avoid a massive financial loss, she was later found guilty of insider trading, alongside Waksal himself. Both were sentenced to time in prison.
2Stewart Spent Time In Solitary Confinement At Alderson Prison Camp
She Was Placed In Solitary For Touching A Guard’s Necklace
Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison, five months of home confinement, and three years probation for insider trading ImClone stock.She was incarcerated at Alderson Federal Prison Campin rural West Virginia. Alderson is a minimum security facility with dorm-style housing and several apprenticeships available for prisoners. Stewart later recounted a friendship with a fellow inmate who knitted her a poncho to wear for her release in 2005. Stewart revealed why she was placed in solitary confinement.
“Today, I saw two very well-dressed ladies walking, and I breezed by them, remarking on the beautiful warm morning and how nice they looked. When I realized, from the big silver keychain, that they were guards, I lightly brushed the chain. Later, I was called in to be told never, ever to touch a guard without expecting severe reprimand. Of course, I apologized, but the incident was so minor when it occurred that I did not think about it for the rest of the day.”
While at Alderson, Stewart was on janitorial duty. She recounted she once complimented two guards on their outfits.She briefly touched a guard’s chain necklaceand was quickly moved into solitary confinement for the gesture. While Stewart has spoken about her time at Alderson in the past,Marthawas the first documentary to include herdetailed journal entries written while she was incarcerated.
1Stewart Befriended Snoop Dogg At Justin Bieber’s Comedy Roast
The Pair Went On To Launch A Successful Cooking Show
Stewart lost over a billion dollars after selling her company, Martha Stewart Living, after being forced to sell it for a fraction of its estimated worth. Feeling directionless about her next steps, she happened tobefriend acclaimed rapper Snoop Dogg at the Comedy Central roast of Justin Bieberin 2015. The pair went on to craft their hit cooking showMartha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Partyon VH1, introducing Stewart’s homemaking skills to a new audience. The pair continue to support each other’s unique paths in the entertainment industry.
Martha and Snoop later appeared on$100,000 Pyramid,published a cookbook, and even co-hosted the Puppy Bowl. The unlikely duo is forever iconic in pop culture, for their union of unique facets of American life and sense of humor.Marthaoffers new insight into the duo’s nearly decade-long friendship, and how much it has positively impacted both Snoop and Stewarts' lives.
Martha
Cast
A documentary chronicling Martha Stewart’s evolution from Wall Street to influential icon, featuring candid interviews that explore her reinvention through the years.
