Kate and Andy Spade were having marital difficulties before she died of an apparent suicide by hanging, according to a number of reports. Andy Spade, 55, who was also his wife’s business partner with her Kate Spade and Frances Valentine fashion accessory lines, had been looking to purchase an apartment in Manhattan in 2017, according to The Blast. “Kate and Andy were having relationship problems,” according to a source who spoke with People. Law enforcement sources told TMZ that Spade was depressed in the last days of her life because her husband wanted a divorce, and she didn’t want to end the marriage. Andy Spade also wasn’t living in the home, but in a nearby apartment. Kate Spade, 55, was found dead by a housekeeper at the couple’s Park Avenue residence late Tuesday morning. She reportedly left a letter addressed to the couple’s only child, 13-year-old daughter Frances Beatrix. “This has nothing to do with you. Don’t feel guilty,” the note partly read, according to a report from Page Six. Kate and Andy, the brother of comedian David Spade, started the Kate Spade line of handbags in 1993 before marrying a year later. The brand grew quickly and expanded to include shoes, luggage and other accessories, as well as a home line, stationery, and books. The couple decided to sell the business in 2006 to devote their time to Frances. “I needed a break and I really wanted to raise my daughter,” Kate Spade told People in 2016. “People asked me, ‘Don’t you miss it?’ I really didn’t. I mean, I loved what I was doing, but I didn’t miss it as much as I thought I might.” Get more celebrity news and photos delivered to your inbox for free on weekdays. Sign up for our Coffee Break newsletter here. The couple returned to the fashion world in 2016 when they founded Frances Valentine, which was named partly after their daughter. Kate Spade also legally changed her name to Kate Valentine Spade to have a connection with the brand. She explained that Frances was a longtime family name on her father’s side, while Valentine was the middle name of her maternal grandfather. Kate and Andy met in college while working at a clothing boutique. “We worked together at a clothing store, and I was on the women’s side. He was on the men’s side,” she told NPR. “And one day, his car broke down, and he asked me for a ride home. And we really started off as really great friends.” Kate also told People that the key to their personal and business success together was their opposite approach to things. “We just have different personalities,” she said. “He’s more relaxed, more of a risk-taker, and I’m a little more detailed and uptight neurotic.” If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).<doc-sep>Kate Spade and husband of 24 years Andy Spade had been dealing with marital problems months before her death Before Kate Spade‘s death, the designer and her husband of 24 years Andy Spade had been planning to file for divorce, a source confirms to PEOPLE. “They both had lawyers and were divorcing,” a source tells PEOPLE. “But they hadn’t filed yet.” Get push notifications with news, features and more. The couple’s marital problems had become so difficult, The Blast reported, that in the months prior to Kate’s suicide, Andy had started looking to purchase a new one or two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. “Kate and Andy were having relationship problems,” another source told PEOPLE. Late Wednesday, Andy released a statement addressing his wife’s passing and also denying they were planning on getting a divorce despite living apart for 10 months. “We were not legally separated, and never even discussed divorce,” he said in the statement provided to PEOPLE. 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,” Andy continued. But from the outside, Kate and Andy’s marriage and family life appeared to be picturesque, according to friends of the couple. “They seemed to be the perfect, happy family,” actress and longtime friend of Kate, Cornelia Guest told PEOPLE, adding, “Nobody knows what’s going on with someone. When the doors close, you never know.” Kate once told PEOPLE the secret to their happy marriage was “taking their vows seriously.” “We laugh a lot,” said Spade, who welcomed daughter Frances Beatrix Spade in 2005. “And my daughter has a really funny sense of humor. But when we need to be serious we’re serious, and she can tell the difference, but I think we’ve had a lot of fun. And then also, you know, you take the good with the bad. You take those vows seriously. Through good and bad.” Looking for more style content? Click here to subscribe to the PeopleStyle Newsletter for amazing shopping discounts, can’t-live-without beauty products and more. RELATED VIDEO: Kate Spade’s Husband Reveals She Battled Depression, Says They’d Been Living Apart for 10 Months Police confirmed Kate was found dead Tuesday morning of an apparent suicide at her and Andy’s Park Avenue home in Manhattan. No one was home at her time of death. A housekeeper discovered her, according to a police source, and she left a suicide note for her husband and their only child Frances Beatrix, 13. Kate Spade, née Katherine Noel Brosnahan, was the designer behind her successful namesake label, Kate Spade New York, which she co-founded in 1993 with her then-boyfriend Andy, combining her first and his last names. “My Catholic parents…I told my mom and honestly, she burst into flames,” Kate recalled in NPR’s How I Built This podcast of the moment she told her parents the name of their brand. “She said, ‘But you’re not Kate Spade! Oh, now you’ll never be Kate Spade, now you’ve jinxed it. And why would you name it Kate Spade?’ And I said, Well, it’s my first name, his last name, it’s like Dolce & Gabbana, and she goes, ‘Who the hell’s that?’” The line began by designing its famously colorful handbags before expanding into other accessories and clothing, ultimately turning into a billion-dollar brand. Tapestry, Inc. bought Kate Spade in July 2017 for $2.4 billion. In 2016, Kate shared the advice for working with your husband, telling PEOPLE, “Treat them as well as you would any other employee. What I mean is we need to respect one another as much as you do the other people in the office. I’ve had to learn to be as respectful.”<doc-sep>Celeb obsessed? Get a daily dose of showbiz gossip direct to your inbox Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Kate Spade and her husband Andy Spade had separated and he wanted a divorce in the months before her suicide, new reports claim. TMZ say law enforcement sources report Andy wanted to end their marriage but Kate didn't, and that she was "extremely depressed" in her final days. Other US media reports say Andy was looking for a new place to live in the months before her suicide, and TMZ claim he had moved out of the family home. The fashion designer, who paved the way for other women designers with her stand-out accessories, was found dead in her Park Avenue apartment in Manhattan on Tuesday morning by a housekeeper. Her husband is thought to have been in the apartment when she died, but their 13-year-old daughter Frances Beatrix was at school. And police sources told Page Six that they believe her suicide was "over family problems . . . in her relationship", amid reports of marital issues with Andy. (Image: REX/Shutterstock) (Image: Getty Images North America) A note she left told Frances not to blame herself, and suggested Andy would know why Kate had taken her life. "Bea - I have always loved you. This is not your fault. Ask Daddy!" the note said, according to police. NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea confirmed in a press conference that there was no criminality at play, adding: "At this point, there was a note left. "The contents of that note, as well as the physical state of the apartment and the comments of the witness, lend to the credibility that it is an apparent suicide." Kate and Andy had been married for 24, tying the knot in 1994 a year after they launched the Kate Spade brand. And in an interview with People magazine, Kate herself had spoken of their happy marriage, saying they made it work by "taking those vows seriously". "We laugh a lot," she'd said at the time. "And my daughter has a really funny sense of humor. But when we need to be serious we're serious, and she can tell the difference, but I think we've had a lot of fun. And then also you know you take the good with the bad. You take those vows seriously. Through good and bad." (Image: Getty Images North America) In a 2016 interview, Kate had revealed that she treated her husband as she would any other employee in the workplace. "What I mean is we need to respect one another as much as you do the other people in the office because I can find myself if he's on the phone, opening his door and going, 'Hey, hey, I've got to tell you something,'" she had said. "Now would you really go into someone else's office and say, 'Hey, hey, hey, hey, I've got to tell you something?' No, you'd say, 'Call me when you have a second.' So I've had to learn to be as respectful." But she admitted they had different approaches to their shared work, with Andy being "more relaxed, more of a risk taker" while Kate was "a little more detailed and uptight, neurotic". (Image: FilmMagic) Just last year, Andy said in an interview with BUILD Series that he and Kate were balancing work and home life better this time around, as they went about building their second spin-off brand, Frances Valentine - named after their beloved daughter. "I think the change is that we really manage our time better, so we have our time to be home with our daughter and then we have our time to kind of go to the office and do our work," he said. "We worked day and night for the first 20 years at Kate Spade, so now we kind of try to have a life at the same time." (Image: REX/Shutterstock) Despite their business and love partnership, US sources claim Andy had been seen looking for a new apartment in 2017, due to "marital problems". "Kate and Andy were having relationship problems," an insider told People , while The Blast reported Andy was searching for a one- or two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, and had viewed several available properties around New York City. Around the same time, Kate officially changed her surname from Spade to Valentine - although this was a decision taken to establish a legal separation from her eponymous brand, which had been sold in 2007 for $59million so Kate and Andy could focus on raising their daughter. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, there is help available. Ring The Samaritans at any time of the day or night on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit the website to find your nearest branch.<doc-sep>Products in this story are independently selected and featured editorially. If you make a purchase using these links we may earn commission. Kate Spade's longtime friend says the couple always seemed happy when out together in public Kate Spade's Family Seemed 'Perfect,' Says Friend, but 'When the Doors Close, You Never Know' Despite reports that Kate Spade and husband Andy Spade were experiencing “relationship problems” before her death, actress and longtime friend of the family Cornelia Guest says she never noticed any marital strife between the couple. “They seemed to be the perfect, happy family,” Guest exclusively tells PEOPLE, adding, “Nobody knows what’s going on with someone. When the doors close, you never know.” Get push notifications with news, features and more. “I knew her from being in New York for years and years,” she says. “We saw each other all the time. They were a very social couple, but you have to go out for business, of course. It’s a rat race. You don’t create a brand like that sitting on your a–. It’s her name on the door, no matter who you are working for.” kate-spade Credit: Charles Eshelman/Getty; Rabbani and Solimene Photography/Getty Guest (above right) also says the designer’s loving relationship with 13-year-old Frances Beatrix was very evident: “They were so close. She was just a cute little girl.” Looking for more style content? Click here to subscribe to the PeopleStyle Newsletter for amazing shopping discounts, can’t-live-without beauty products and more. Like many others, Guest is still mourning the loss after news broke yesterday that the American designer and founder of namesake label Kate Spade New York was found dead in her N.Y.C. of an apparent suicide. “It’s so sad. She was beautiful and elegant and charming. She stayed true to form. She was always smiling, always happy, she had beautiful manners, and she always looked beautiful,” Guest says. She adds, “Every girl wanted to have a piece of Kate Spade. She was such an inspiration. It was aspirational and charming and whimsical and elegant. I still saw her around after the sale of her brand. Any time you create something like that, it’s got to be hard to step away. She was always creating.” According to a report from The Blast, Kate’s husband of 24 years had been looking to purchase a new one or two-bedroom apartment in New York City due to marital problems before her death. “Kate and Andy were having relationship problems,” a source told PEOPLE of the couple. Patrick McMullan Archives Credit: Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan/Getty Andy, who is the brother of actor and comedian David Spade, was in the apartment at the time of his wife’s suicide while their daughter was at school, as reported by the Associated Press. David paid tribute to the beloved handbag creator on Instagram Tuesday, hours after news of her death was made public. “Fuzzy picture but I love it. Kate and I during Christmas family photos. We had so much fun that day. She was so sharp and quick on her feet. She could make me laugh so hard,” wrote David, who is the brother of Kate’s husband of 24 years and Kate Spade New York co-founder, Andy Spade. “I still can’t believe it. It’s a rough world out there people, try to hang on,” David added. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel actress Rachel Brosnahan, who is Kate’s niece, also shared fond memories of her aunt on Instagram after the news broke. "The Woodsman" Off Broadway Opening Night Credit: Walter McBride/Getty “Knowing Katy, this is how she would want to be remembered,” wrote the 27-year-old actress. “She had a light that words can’t capture but touched everyone she came into contact with. She was exceedingly kind, beautifully sensitive, insanely talented, funny as heck and one of the most generous people I have ever known. She was effervescent.” She added, “Hug your loved ones extra tight today.”<doc-sep>
Months prior to Kate Spade‘s death, her husband of 24 years Andy Spade had reportedly been apartment hunting. “Kate and Andy were having relationship problems,” a source tells PEOPLE of the couple, who were parents to 13-year-old daughter Frances Beatrix. Andy was looking to purchase a new apartment in New York City due to marital problems, according to The Blast, which also reported that Andy was shopping for a new one or two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. Andy, who is the brother of actor and comedian David Spade, was in the apartment at the time of his wife’s suicide while their daughter was at school, as reported by the Associated Press. Police confirmed the designer was found hanging from a red scarf Tuesday morning in her bedroom at their Park Avenue home in Manhattan. The scarf had reportedly been tied to her door. A housekeeper discovered her, according to a police source, and she apparently left a suicide note. RELATED: Inside Kate and Andy Spade’s 24-Year Marriage: ‘They Seemed to Be a Perfect Couple’ Andy and Kate Spade In 2016, Kate sat down with PEOPLE for an intimate photo shoot at the home she shared with her husband and daughter, and shared the advice she wished she had taken at a younger age. “Don’t rest on your laurels. The end result isn’t as important as the effort that goes into it. Jump all the way in. Don’t be afraid. And don’t worry so much,” she said. “My dad always says ‘Just float.’ He’s very zen. Not every little pebble is a boulder. And it’s kind of how I approached [my new brand]. I feel a little less nervous. I should be more nervous, but I’m not going to take it so crazily hopefully.” RELATED: From Humble Beginnings to a Handbag Empire: Kate Spade’s Life in Photos Kate Spade and daughter Frances Beatrix Kate Spade, née Katherine Noel Brosnahan, was the designer behind her successful namesake label, Kate Spade New York, which she co-founded in 1993 with her husband Andy. Story continues The line began by designing its famously colorful handbags before expanding into other accessories and clothing, ultimately turning into a billion-dollar brand. Tapestry, Inc. bought Kate Spade in July 2017 for $2.4 billion. Looking for more style content? Click here to subscribe to the PeopleStyle Newsletter for amazing shopping discounts, can’t-live-without beauty products and more. Also in 2016, Kate shared the advice for working with your husband, telling PEOPLE, “Treat them as well as you would any other employee. What I mean is we need to respect one another as much as you do the other people in the office. I’ve had to learn to be as respectful. As for their different personalities at work and at home, Kate said, “We just have different personalities. He’s more relaxed more of a risk taker and I’m a little more detailed and uptight neurotic.” Video: Fashion Designer Kate Spade found dead of apparent suicide If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).