How Kate Spade's husband was able to escape the paparazzi, thanks to David Spade

David Spade made the talk show rounds on Wednesday morning promoting his new audiobook, A Polaroid Guy in a Snapchat World. In between the jokes and anecdotes, he took time to remember his sister-in-law Kate Spade, who died by suicide on June 5 at age 55. The designer was married to David’s brother Andy for 24 years, and the couple had a daughter, Frances.

David Spade and Kate Spade (Photo: Getty Images)
David Spade and Kate Spade (Photo: Getty Images)


Speaking to Howard Stern on SiriusXM Radio, David said he had “stuffed all the feelings down inside,” but was grateful to all the people who reached out. “I don’t know what to say, no one knows what to say.”

As to how the family Kate left behind is coping, David said that they escaped the spotlight by visiting him in Los Angeles.

“And then I got my brother to come out with his daughter because they were getting so much attention here [in NYC] and they stayed with me for two weeks. I brought my daughter [Harper, with former partner Jillian Grace] out and those two played and we all hung out. It just got him a break.”

He said that his brother found all the attention from the press and fans after his wife’s death tough to handle.

“He’s not … Katie and Andy were not like the publicity savvy Kardashian’s of the world today. They were old school, lived in New York, stayed cool,” David said. “Katie stayed in a lot. Andy, he was always the CEO, he ran the company, designed the ads, and ran the stores. Together they were so smart in that world, they were so brilliant in that fashion world. I couldn’t believe I was related to either of them.”

“Katie was such a fun, light…” He broke off. “She’d walk around in a polka dot dress with a big yellow bow in her hair … she was always laughy and jokey so…”

He echoed these thoughts while appearing on Good Morning America as well, saying the family was doing “as good as we can. It’s been very tough, obviously.”

He also reminisced about how his former girlfriends who met Kate would dress up specifically to impress the tastemaker. “Katie was very sweet. She knew that they were doing that. Then she would mention something about — say some compliment,” he said. David also referred to the thousands of tributes to his late sister-in-law as “sweet” and as a clear sign of the impact she had on the fashion world.

The actor and comedian, 53, made a $100,000 donation to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

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