Kate Spade Struggled With Mental Illness For Years, Sister Writes

NEW YORK, NY — Kate Spade, the iconic fashion designer, battled mental illness for years before her apparent suicide Tuesday, according to her sister. In an email to the Kansas City Star, Reta Saffo said Spade's death at age 55 was "not unexpected" after her family's unsuccessful attempts to get her treatment.

"Sometimes you simply cannot SAVE people from themselves!" Saffo wrote to the paper from her house in New Mexico.

Spade, the founder of her namesake handbag brand, was found dead Tuesday morning after she hanged herself in her Upper East Side apartment.

Stress from Spade's international fashion business "may have flipped the switch where she eventually became full-on manic depressive," Saffo wrote.

Saffo and Spade's husband, Andy Spade, tried several times to get her into a treatment program but the designer resisted, seemingly out of concern for her brand's "happy-go-lucky" image, according to Saffo's email.

"She was definitely worried about what people would say if they found out," Saffo wrote.

Saffo says she once arranged for Spade to check into the same facility where the actress Catherine Zeta Jones was treated for bipolar II disorder, a condition characterized by periods of depression and euphoric or irritable behavior known as hypomania.

Spade ultimately decided against checking in for treatment despite her sister's offer to go with her, Saffo wrote.

Spade, a Kansas City native, is survived by her husband and their daughter, Frances Beatrix Spade.

Spade left a note addressed to Frances indicating her death was not the 13-year-old's fault, according to The New York Times.

"We are all devastated by today’s tragedy," the Spade family said in a statement Tuesday, according to the Times. "We loved Kate dearly and will miss her terribly. We would ask that our privacy be respected as we grieve during this very difficult time."

Saffo did not say whether Spade had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but the designer would not have been alone if she had the condition — it affects nearly 3 percent of American adults, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. It's treatable with medication and therapy.

Anyone struggling with mental health can get help by calling National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visiting this website. New Yorkers can also find resources by calling 1-888-NYC-WELL.

(Lead image: A Kate Spade logo is seen on a Madison Avenue storefront. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)