Warning: Contains SPOILERS for MarthaMartha is packed with new revelations about the life and career of Martha Stewart, America’s first self-made female billionaire. From infidelity to her connections in the business world that helped and hurt her, Martha offers new details about what led to her arrest and divorce from publishing mogul Andrew Stewart. Most importantly, the Netflix documentary shows how Stewart rose through 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 just 19 years old. years. After graduating from the prestigious Barnard College, the New Jersey native tried her luck on Wall Street and later conquered the lifestyle world. Amid the fallout from her time in prison, Stewart formed a unique friendship with rapper Snoop Dogg, leading to her being introduced to a whole new audience. The documentary also shows how the world-famous duo met.
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Stewart stated that he inherited his “perfectionist” nature from his father
The tycoon had a complicated relationship with him
Stewart opens the documentary by discussing his humble childhood beginnings in Nutley, New Jersey. The now-billionaire lifestyle mogul, often nicknamed “the first influencer”, revealed that his father, a salesman, was an alcoholic who often meted out severe punishments to his children. His friend Lloyd Allen reflects on the screen that “her father’s strong hand was passed on to Martha,“ who repeatedly reaffirms that he feels he inherited his perfectionist ways.
The Lifestyle Brand Billionaire Even More elaborated on her struggles with her father, claiming 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 age 19. She then took a temporary leave of absence from college to travel around Europe for five months with Stewart.
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Stewart shared a kiss with a stranger on their honeymoon
She met the man on Easter in an Italian cathedral
Martha married the first man she had a serious relationship withand quickly found herself on a whirlwind honeymoon trip through Europe, welcoming her daughter, Alexis Stewart, soon after. Because Stewart was raised Catholic, she wanted to attend services on Easter Sunday. At the Duomo in Florence, Italy, Stewart met a stranger who was also present to observe the holiday. She shared a kiss with the man, without her husband’s knowledge at the moment. This marked the first of many challenges that would arise in Stewart’s marriage.
Regarding the night, Stewart stated that he did not consider it infidelity because he did not progress advance. The day was full of emotion because she was alone at mass, 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 exciting place. I wish we could all experience a night like this”.
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Andrew Stewart ended his marriage after Martha discovered his affair with his employee
Andrew had a relationship with one of Martha’s employees at her catering business
Stewart claimed that her husband had several affairs with young women, including several from its publishing business. The cracks in the marriage began to show after the family moved from New York City to Westport, Connecticut, after she decided to abandon her career on Wall Street. Stewart was happy to leave Wall Street behind with new connections and knowledge of the business world, and he quickly applied this to his new catering business.
The young woman named Robin was responsible for the floral arrangements for the catering service and lived in an apartment in a converted barn on the property after losing her original apartment elsewhere.
Stewart discovered a love for cooking and creating memorable events for her husband’s family friends and colleagues and turned it into a business on Turkey Hill, the family’s converted farm. A young woman named Robin was responsible for the catering service’s floral arrangements, living in an apartment in a converted barn on the property after losing her original apartment elsewhere. Robin had an affair with Stewart’s husband. Stewart recounted: “When I was traveling, Andy started with her. It was like I made Andy a snack. Andy cheated on me, right on our property. It’s not cool.”
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Martha had an affair with an Irishman
The mysterious affair was reportedly brief
Stewart recounted a brief affair with a mysterious Irishman during his Wall Street era. Her husband claimed Martha producers that he didn’t stray until she did so first, even though she tells him otherwise. The man is not identified and there is no clear timeline as to when the incident occurred. Stewart insinuates that the relationship was incredibly brief and did not take place on the family property, unlike her husband’s relationships.
Although she was in a relationship, Stewart still remained dedicated to making her marriage work. She reiterated that her business, her daughter and her 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 suffocated in her marriage. Stewart stated in Martha that “It was nothing, I would never have ended a marriage because of that. It was like the kiss in the cathedral.”
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She was a personal friend of the CEO of ImClone
Samuel D. Waksal and Martha Stewart were found guilty of insider trading
Stewart was a personal friend of Samuel D. Waksalthe founder of ImClone. ImClone was expected to launch Erbitux, a cancer drug designed to combat monoclonal antibodies, in 2001 (via CNN). Due partly to their personal friendship and partly to the promise of a major medical discovery, Stewart chose to invest in significant shares of the promising medical company.
The FDA didn’t end up regulating the cancer drug for public use, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission found key investors sold their shares following a sharp decline in the company’s value before the FDA’s decision became public knowledge. Given that Stewart was among the investors who sold their shares to avoid a huge financial loss, she was later found guilty of insider trading, alongside Waksal himself. Both were sentenced to prison terms.
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Stewart spent time in solitary confinement at the Alderson prison camp
She was placed in solitary confinement for touching a guard’s necklace.
Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison, five months of home confinement and three years of probation for insider trading in ImClone stock. She was incarcerated at the Alderson Federal Prison Camp in rural West Virginia. Alderson is a minimum security facility with dormitory-style housing and several internships available for prisoners. Stewart later recounted a friendship with a fellow inmate who knitted her a poncho to wear upon her release in 2005. Stewart revealed why she was placed in solitary confinement.
“Today I saw two very well dressed ladies walking and I passed them, commenting on the beautiful warm morning and how beautiful they looked. When I realized from the big silver keychain that they were guards, I lightly brushed the chain. Later, I was called to never, ever touch a guard without expecting a severe reprimand. Of course I apologized, but the incident was so minor when it occurred that I didn’t think about it for the rest of the day.”
While at Alderson, Stewart was on janitorial duty. She said she once complimented two guards on their clothes. She briefly touched a guard’s chain necklace and was quickly transferred to solitary confinement because of the gesture. Although Stewart has spoken about his time at Alderson in the past, Martha It was the first documentary to include her detailed diary entries written while she was incarcerated.
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Stewart Befriended Snoop Dogg at Justin Bieber’s Comedy Roast
The duo launched a successful cooking show
Stewart lost more than a billion dollars after selling her company, Martha Stewart Living, after being forced to sell it for a fraction of its estimated value. Feeling directionless about her next steps, she happened to Make friends with acclaimed rapper Snoop Dogg at Comedy Central’s roast of Justin Bieber in 2015. The duo created their hit cooking show Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner on VH1, introducing Stewart’s domestic skills to a new audience. The duo continues to support each other’s unique paths in the entertainment industry.
Martha and Snoop later appeared in $100,000 Pyramid, published a cookbook and even co-hosted the Puppy Bowl. The unlikely duo will forever be iconic in pop culture for their union of unique facets of American life and sense of humor. Martha offers new insight into the duo’s nearly decade-long friendship and how much it positively impacted Snoop and Stewarts’ lives.
Sources: CNN