Kate Spade Housekeeper Called The Designer Her ‘Best Friend’
Kate Spade’s housekeeper and her son were almost part of the Spade family, and Mark Roldan, 23, the housekeeper’s son, says that his mother considered Kate to be more than an employer, but as a best friend. The housekeeper was the one who found Spade and ran to get help after discovering her lifeless body.
Page Six says that Spade took him in addition to his mom on vacations with her to places like Napa Valley, and also mentored him on his career in fashion.
“My mom was one of the people that found her. She is a little shaken, especially with trauma such as this. It just really hit our family and I’m pretty sure the Spade family as well. It was just really shocking to find out her best friend Kate Spade and also a big influence in my life just passed.”
Roldan says that it was so important to have someone of Spade’s stature in the industry believe in him.
“She believed in my vision. There would be times we would be in California — you know she brought me to Napa Valley and showed me: ‘This could all be yours if you do the same thing I did. Really push and push and push day in and day out.'”
The husband of the influential designer Kate Spade, who died of suicide, said she had been treated for severe depression https://t.co/Cu97UNdZxb
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 6, 2018
Mark says his bond with Spade was like that of a mother and son and says he even surprised her with flowers on Mother’s Day. He says that she came to the door in her pajamas, and he captured it on video.
“It’s Mother’s Day, that’s why I’m in my pajamas.”
Roldan says that Spade was always a genuine person, and his mother, in particular, is still in shock.
Spade’s housekeeper told police that the designer was cold to the touch when she found her in her bedroom along with a note left on her bed. The building manager cut Spade down and attempted CPR, but it was unsuccessful and the designer was pronounced dead on site.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea says that there was no foul play involved.
“At this point, there was a note left. The contents of that note, as well as the physical state of the apartment and the comments of the witness, lend to the credibility that it is an apparent suicide.”
The full note has not been released to the public at this time, but sources say that within it, Spade wanted her daughter, Frances Beatrix, to know that this had nothing to do with her.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. For readers outside the U.S., visit Suicide.org or Befrienders Worldwide for international resources you can use to find help.
