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Andy Spade, the husband of famed fashion designer Kate Spade who died on Tuesday of what police are labeling a suicide, has broken his silence on the matter.

Andy gave a lengthy statement to The New York Times to address his wife’s death as well as clear up some misconceptions that have emerged since Kate was found dead of an apparent hanging in her New York City apartment.

“Kate suffered from depression and anxiety for many years. She was actively seeking help and working closely with her doctors to treat her disease, one that takes far too many lives. We were in touch with her the night before and she sounded happy,” Andy wrote in his statement. “There was no indication and no warning that she would do this. It was a complete shock. And it clearly wasn’t her. There were personal demons she was battling.”

Andy and Kate Spade

Getty Images (Andy and Kate Spade in 2003.)

Andy, who was with Kate for 35 years and married for 24, went on to explain that reports that Kate Spade wanted to take her own life after her husband filed for divorce were untrue. He says that they were living in separate apartments a few blocks from each other in Manhattan for the past 10 months, but that they remained close and had a good co-parenting relationship when it came to their 13-year-old daughter, Frances Beatrix.

“We were not legally separated, and never even discussed divorce. We were best friends trying to work through our problems in the best way we knew how. We were together for 35 years,” he said. “We loved each other very much and simply needed a break.”

Andy also addressed the alleged suicide note left behind by Kate in which she reportedly told her daughter not to blame herself and to ask her father about the suicide. He only commented in so far as to say that neither he nor his daughter had seen any note, but was “appalled” that the media would share such a private thing.

He concluded by noting that, despite comments made by Kate’s sister to the contrary, Spade had been seeking help for her depression for the past five years, including medication and seeing a doctor regularly. He denied any abuse of alcohol or drugs.