Martha Stewart’s ex-husband, his wife say his marriage to lifestyle mogul was ‘painful and abusive’

Martha Stewart’s ex-husband Andrew “Andy” Stewart and his wife Shyla Nelson Stewart broke their silence on claims made by the lifestyle mogul in the new documentary “Martha.”

In the Netflix film, Martha, 83, accused Andrew of having numerous affairs during their 29-year marriage and also revealed that she had been unfaithful to him. 

“Young women, listen to my advice, if you’re married and your husband starts to cheat on you, he’s a piece of s—,” Martha, who was married to Andrew from 1961 to 1990, said in the documentary’s trailer. “Get out of that marriage.” 

Andrew and Shyla shared their response in a statement that was signed by both of them and posted on Facebook ahead of the documentary’s Oct. 30 release. 

“Hello FB family – this is my first and will be my only public comment on this subject. Since I am not active on any other social media platform, this is the only place I am sharing this,” Shyla wrote in the post she uploaded on her page.

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She continued, “As some of you know, my husband is Andrew Stewart – brilliant publisher, avocational naturalist and nature photographer, and one of the gentlest, most soft-spoken, kind-hearted men I’ve ever known.”

“No one was more surprised than we when, after being introduced as colleagues almost 12 years ago, our connection blossomed into a deep and everlasting love,” Shyla added. 

“With our shared devotion to the Earth and to our families at the center, Andy and I have built a life of beauty, meaning, productivity, and purpose, infused with true love, which we share as fully as we can with our beautiful blended family of 5 amazing adult children, our 3 adorable grandchildren, our extended family, and many cherished friends.”

She went on to address Andrew’s past, writing that her husband had experienced difficult times before they fell in love.

“Prior to this happy chapter of his life, Andy had some dark ones, including a painful and abusive marriage to Martha (as in, Martha Stewart), which ended almost 40 years ago,” Shyla claimed. 

She continued, “While Andy quietly moved on and forward with his life, it appears that Martha continues to publicly relitigate the marriage, including comments in a sensationalized trailer for an upcoming documentary on Netflix.” 

“The juxtaposition of Andy’s early life with the joy-filled, purpose-led, loving marriage we live today is striking,” Shyla added. “Every day, we openly express our gratitude for our love and for our life together.

“We both wish everyone, including Martha herself, the experience of loving and being loved deeply and fully, and the peace that comes from such a love,” she concluded in the post, which featured photos of herself and Andrew.

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Shyla is the president and CEO of Fieldstone Publishing, while Andrew is its publisher emeritus, according to the company’s website. 

Fox News Digital has reached representatives for Martha as well as Andrew and Shyla for comment.

In the documentary, Martha recalled that she and Andrew, who share daughter Alexis, both had affairs while they were married. 

Martha claimed that Andrew “had many different girlfriends” and was “not satisfied at home.” She also accused him of cheating on her with her former assistant, Robyn Fairclough. 

Three years after his divorce from Martha, Andrew married Fairclough, who was 21 years younger than him, in May 1993, but they later divorced.

In the film, Martha also revealed that she kissed a stranger in a cathedral in Florence, Italy, while she and Andrew were on their honeymoon.

In addition, Martha admitted that she “had a very brief affair with a very attractive Irishman,” but she told the film’s director, R.J. Cutler, that she believed Andrew never knew about it.

However, Cutler said that Andrew confirmed he knew about the affair and shared that Martha had “confessed it” to him.

“He says he didn’t stray from the marriage until you told him you had already strayed,” Cutler said.

“Oh, that’s not true. I don’t think,” Martha responded.

“Martha” is available to stream on Netflix.