Martha Stewart has revealed she shared a kiss with a stranger in a cathedral while on her honeymoon with now ex-husband Andrew Stewart.
In the upcoming Netflix documentary “Martha,” the 83-year-old lifestyle expert recalled that she and Andrew, who married in 1961, decided to embark on an extended five-month honeymoon in Europe after their wedding.
During an on-camera interview with director RJ Cutler, Stewart recalled that the former couple arrived in Florence, Italy, the day before Easter. The TV personality explained that she visited Florence’s famous Duomo cathedral alone while Andrew stayed in their hotel room.
“He had no interest in going to the Duomo with me,” Stewart said of her ex-partner. “Listening to this incredible music in the cathedral… It was a very romantic place, full of tourists, and I met this very handsome guy.”
Martha Stewart has revealed she kissed a stranger in a cathedral while on her honeymoon with estranged husband Andrew Stewart. (2024 Martha Stewart/Courtesy of Netflix)
She continued: “He didn’t know I was married. I was this young girl hanging out in the cathedral on Easter Eve. He was emotional. I was emotional. It’s just because it was a moving place. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. Such a beautiful expansive dome and paintings all around you.
MARTHA STEWART ADMITS SHE HAD AN AFFAIR DURING MARRIAGE BUT EX ‘NEVER KNEW’
“It was unlike anything I had done before,” Stewart added. “So why not kiss a stranger?”
“Were you, you know, what’s the word I’m looking for?” » asked Cutler.
“Naughty?” Stewart replied.
“Was it mean or was it infidelity?” » asked the director.
“Neither,” Stewart said. “It wasn’t mean or unfaithful. It was just the emotion of the moment. That’s how I saw it. And it was exciting because, I mean, it was a very emotional place . I wish we could all experience such an evening.”
The couple were married from 1961 to 1990. (2024 Martha Stewart/Courtesy of Netflix)
Stewart and Andrew met in 1960 after his sister set them up on a blind date. At the time, she was attending Barnard College in New York and he was 23 years old and studying at Yale Law School.
In the documentary, Stewart, who was raised in a middle-class family in Nutley, New Jersey, recalled that she was impressed when Andrew picked her up for their first date in a Mercedes sedan YELLOW.
“It was unlike anything I’d ever done before. So why not kiss a stranger?”
“I’ve never been in a Mercedes before,” she said. “We went out to dinner. He was very polite and handsome, and he had traveled a lot. That was exciting for me, a sophisticated young man. And he had an American Express card, which was a big deal at the time. And he was just intriguing and playful and kind. By the end of the dinner, I was madly in love.”
Stewart accused Andrew of being unfaithful during their marriage. (Arthur Schatz/Getty Images)
Stewart recalled that she visited Andrew every weekend while he was studying at Yale and that she had never slept with a man before her future husband. The two got married after a year of dating.
While speaking to Cutler, Stewart recalled being amazed by the landscapes and cuisine of Europe and dreading their return to New York after their honeymoon.
“I was 19 and I didn’t want to go home,” Stewart said. “We got back to New York and reality came crashing down.”
Stewart and the publisher welcomed their only child, daughter Alexis, in 1965. In the documentary, the businesswoman admitted that she initially had mixed feelings about motherhood.
“Back then, everyone had babies so young,” Stewart said. “It was kind of the style and I thought it was a natural thing. And it turns out it’s not natural to be a mother at all.”
The lifestyle guru revealed she also had a brief affair. (Arthur Schatz/Getty Images)
Andrew and Stewart separated in 1987 and officially filed for divorce in 1990. In an interview with Cutler during the documentary, Stewart recalled that Andrew had numerous affairs during their marriage and revealed that she had also been to him unfaithful.
“He wasn’t happy at home,” Stewart said of Andrew. “I don’t know how many different girlfriends he had during that time, but I think there were quite a few.”
“Young women, take my advice, if you’re married and your husband starts cheating on you, he’s an asshole,” she said. “Get out of this marriage.”
“But I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t walk away,” she admitted.
“Didn’t you have an affair early in the relationship?” » asked Cutler.
“Yeah, but I don’t think Andy ever knew,” Stewart replied.
“He said he knew about it,” Cutler said.
“He did it?” » asked Marthe.
“Yes, you confessed to him,” Cutler replied. “He says he didn’t walk away from marriage until you told him you already walked away.”
Andrew and Stewart share a daughter, Alexis. (Scott Morgan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
“Oh, that’s not true. I don’t think so,” Stewart replied.
“But what happened?” » asked Cutler. “You had an affair.”
“I had a very brief affair with a very attractive Irishman,” Stewart explained. “And it was just nothing. It was nothing. In terms of… it would never have broken up a marriage. I would never have broken up a marriage over that.”
“It was nothing,” she reiterated. “Nothing. It was like the kiss in the cathedral.”
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Stewart said his affair was “nothing.” (Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)
In “Martha,” Stewart also accused Andrew of cheating on her with his former assistant Robyn Fairclough.
“Robyn worked for me and she had lost her apartment or something,” she recalls.
Stewart said she told Fairclough she could move into a barn on the property the cookbook author shared with Andrew.
MARTHA STEWART ADMITS SHE HAD AN AFFAIR DURING MARRIAGE BUT EX ‘NEVER KNEW’
“When I was traveling, Andy started with her,” Stewart said. “It was like I made Andy a snack.”
When asked if she confronted Fairclough, Stewart confirmed she did and “kicked her out immediately”.
“You know, what are you doing? Andy betrayed me. Right on our property,” Stewart said.
“Not nice,” she added.
Director RJ Cutler interviewed Stewart for the new documentary “Martha.” (Stéphanie Augello/Variety via Getty Images)
Three years after his divorce from Martha, Andrew married Fairclough, who was 21 years his junior, in May 1993. However, they later divorced.
Andrew is currently married to Shyla Stewart. Shyla is the president and CEO of publishing company Fieldstone Publishing, while Andrew is publisher emeritus, according to the company’s website. The couple shares five children, according to People magazine.
Fox News Digital has reached out to a representative for Andrew for comment.
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Stewart did not remarry, although she was in an on-and-off relationship with billionaire Charles Simonyi for 15 years until their separation in 2008. During an episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in 2022, Stewart revealed that she previously dated Anthony Hopkins, but broke up with him because she “couldn’t stop thinking of him as Hannibal Lecter”.
“Martha” will be available to stream on Netflix on Wednesday. (2024 Martha Stewart/Courtesy of Netflix)
Hopkins played serial killer Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 horror thriller “The Silence of the Lambs” and won an Academy Award for his performance.
In a recent interview with People magazine, Stewart revealed that she and Andrew haven’t spoken in two decades.
“I haven’t spoken to him in over 20 years,” she told the outlet. “Unfortunately.”
“Martha” will be available to stream on Netflix on Wednesday.
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