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Martha Stewart's father was against her marriage to a Jew

Martha Stewart's father was against her marriage to a Jew

In a new Netflix documentary, Martha Stewart reveals in articles from Business Insider and that her father slapped her when she got engaged to her fiancé Andrew Stewart because he was Jewish The Independent.

She says: “I went home and told my father (about the engagement) and my father hit me. And he slapped me hard in the face and said, 'No, you're not going to marry him. He's Jewish.' I remember getting that slap.

Martha Stewart added of her father's behavior: “I wasn't surprised at all because he was a bigot. And he was impulsive.” Despite her father's disapproval, she made it clear that she would not call off their engagement, telling her father, “I'm getting married, no matter what you think.”

Martha Stewart and Andrew Stewart tied the knot in 1961 before divorcing in 1990. Reflecting on her wedding day, Martha Stewart said, according to Business Insider and: The Independent.”

The wedding day was very happy, very beautiful. It was the beginning of my life.” Her mother stepped in to help her make her wedding dress, which Martha said was “beautiful.” Martha Stewart and Andrew Stewart have a daughter, Alexis Stewart, who is 59 years old. Martha Stewart has confessed to having an affair during her marriage to Andrew Stewart.

The Netflix logo is seen on a TV remote control, in this illustration from January 20, 2022. (Credit: DADO RUVIC/REUTERS)

Opening up about childhood and relationship with father

In the documentary, Martha Stewart talks about her childhood and describes the complicated relationship she had with her father Edward Kostyra. She said her drive for perfectionism came from her father, noting that there was a habit of being a “perfectionist” in the family, which started with him. Reflecting on her relationship with her father, she says, “I was the ideal daughter. I wanted to learn, he had a lot to teach and I listened.” She added: “It was very obvious to everyone that I was his favorite. He thought I was more like him than the other children.” Martha Stewart said, “I was entrusted to iron his linen shirts,” referring to her father's trust in her.

However, she also described her father as a “dissatisfied, unhappy person” who sometimes started the day with a glass of red wine with coffee. She said, according to Business Insider and The Independent “So is this an alcoholic? Perhaps. But he never looked like a drunk. He never stumbled around throwing things or breaking things.” Martha Stewart described her father: “He wore the Harris tweed jacket and the turquoise tie that matched his beautiful blue eyes. My father was the prettiest father.” Despite his good looks, she claimed that while her father was a “perfectionist,” he was “a failure at work” because he was “stuck in a sales job.”

Martha Stewart's siblings also shared their experiences with their father. Her brother, Frank Kostyra, claimed he and his siblings received the “whooping cry” from their father at a “standard” that they “dreaded.” He said their father would whip his children with a ruler or the end of a belt. Another brother, Eric Scott, said their father “couldn’t feed six kids” and they needed food. He added that if their father gave his children an order and they “did not obey it, they paid the fine.” Eric Scott added: “To this day I despise gardening.”

Martha Stewart claimed that her father was very critical of his children when they were gardening. She said: “He stood over you like a sergeant. Mean. Mean. 'You're not doing it right'” and pretended to be her father. She also mentioned that they had their gardens and that her family would trade things there “for goods that (they) couldn't grow.” In the documentary she says of her father: “Dad taught each of us how to garden. He could grow anything.”

Martha Stewart's sister Kathryn Evans also appears in the Netflix documentary. Her younger sister Laura Plimpton died in 2014 at the age of 59 as a result of a massive brain aneurysm. Her younger brother George Christiansen died unexpectedly in 2017 at the age of 64 after suffering what is believed to be a heart attack.



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