What Happened to Martha Stewart’s Ex Charles Simonyi After Their Split in 2008

Netflix documentary Marthadepicts the life and career of lifestyle legend Martha Stewart, and the film also reveals her relationships with different friends and partners throughout her life, including her ex-partner, Charles Simonyi. According to the Martha Stewart documentary, she and Charles Simonyi started dating in 1993 and were together for 15 years. However, Stewart’s trial and subsequent five-month stay in prison complicated their relationship, and she revealed in Martha that he only came to visit her once. After his release, they continued dating until they permanently separated in 2008.

In addition to dating Martha Stewart for over a decade, Charles Simonyi is well-known in his own right. Simonyi is a billionaire and software designer (for People Magazine) who created the applications that would become Word and Excel while working at Microsoft. In the Netflix documentary, Martha Stewart explains that their connection came from their common desire to think and work. While Martha doesn’t give many details about Charles Simonyi after his breakup with Martha Stewart, the documentary describes why they broke up and what happened to him immediately after the relationship ended.

Why Martha Stewart and Charles Simonyi Split in 2008

Martha Stewart said her life was “less exciting” after prison

Netflix Martha The documentary details the changes that occurred after Stewart was released from prison, including her loss of control over certain businesses and aspects of her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Along with these changes, in the Netflix documentary, Stewart stated that her life became “less exciting” in the years following her release from prison because she no longer had the authority to do all the things she could do before. She stated that these changes in her life also impacted her relationship with Charles Simonyi.

Since much of their relationship was based on their mutual love of always striving for the next big breakthrough, the documentary suggests that Stewart’s stagnation after her release from prison strained their relationship and made her less interesting to Simonyi. Although she continued to support him and his career advancement, including founding his company and visiting the International Space Station, the couple ended up separating in 2008 under unfortunate circumstances when Simonyi told Martha he was going to marry someone else.

Charles Simonyi got married six months after his split from Martha Stewart

Martha’s documentary says that Simonyi surprised Stewart with this news

In Marthathe lifestyle icon shares the shocking moment Simonyi tells her he’s leaving her. Stewart says that while they were lying in bed, Simonyi told her that he was going to marry Lisa. Stewart then shared that she had asked, “Lisa who?” Shocked, she recalled, “He didn’t say a word to me.” Even more shocking, Simonyi continued, “And by the way, her parents don’t want me to talk to you again.” In a moment of sincere emotion, Stewart then shares:

I thought it was the most horrible thing a person could do. How can a man who spent 15 years with me do this? What a stupid thing to do to someone you really care about.

After leaving Martha Stewart, Simonyi married Lisa in November 2008. Understandably, Netflix Martha The documentary shares no more about her story after this point, focusing instead on revitalizing Martha Stewart’s career as a well-known software designer and billionaire, Simonyi continued to progress in business and life after splitting from Martha Stewart.

Where is Charles Simonyi now?

Simonyi promoted his career and personal life

Simonyi is still married to Lisa Persdotterthe same woman he married after breaking up with Martha Stewart. They have two children and have settled in Washington state. Simonyi is also a philanthropist who has funded arts and science professorships and fellowships. Outside of his personal life, the billionaire has also advanced in his professional career since separating from Martha Stewart.

In the early 2000s, Charles Simonyi founded the company Intentional Software after leaving Microsoft. Intentional Software designed intentional programming platforms and was later acquired by Microsoft in 2017, bringing Simonyi back under the purview of his previous company. Simonyi also holds 11 patents related to computer programming.

While Martha doesn’t focus any attention on Charles Simonyi after their breakup, it’s safe to say that he continued living his life on essentially the same trajectory while remaining out of the public eye. In contrast, since their 2008 split, Martha Stewart has reclaimed her name and brand and, as the Netflix documentary successfully shows, he flourished in the second wave of his life and career.

Source: People