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Andy Spade, Husband Of The Late Kate Spade, Shares His First Statement


Andy Spade, the husband and partner to the late accessories designer Kate Spade, has broken his silence for the first time since his wife’s passing on Tuesday. In a statement provided to The New York Times, Andy called his wife “the most beautiful woman in the world.”

In his statement, Andy says, “Kate was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was the kindest person I’ve ever known and my best friend for 35 years. My daughter and I are devastated by her loss, and can’t even begin to fathom life without her. We are deeply heartbroken and miss her already.”

He then explained that his wife had suffered from “depression and anxiety for many years,” adding that she was actively seeking help and working closely with medical professionals.

“We were in touch with her the night before and she sounded happy. 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,” he added.

Andy also stated that the couple had been living separately for the last 10 months. Their daughter, Frances, lived between the two homes, which were just a few blocks apart. According to Andy, he still spoke to his wife every day, ate meals alongside her and continued to vacation together as a family.

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

To clear up tabloid rumors about his wife’s death, Andy added that everything besides these facts is false.

“She was actively seeking help for depression and anxiety over the last 5 years, seeing a doctor on a regular basis and taking medication for both depression and anxiety. There was no substance or alcohol abuse. There were no business problems. We loved creating our businesses together,” he wrote. And, perhaps most distressing of all, he added “…yet to see any note left behind and am appalled that a private message to my daughter has been so heartlessly shared with the media.”

Andy closed the message by saying his main concern is now with his daughter. He signed off with, “Kate loved Bea so very much.”

Following the news of the designer’s alleged suicide, women across generations took to social media to share their memories of the designer and just how much owning a bag she so carefully designed meant to them.

Related Content:
How Kate Spade Built an Empire: A Timeline
My First Kate Spade: 12 Women on How the Designer Impacted Their Personal Style
How Kate Spade Fans Are Paying Tribute to the Late Designer



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Paul Ryan Just Announced He Won't Seek Reelection in November—Read His Full Statement


After a morning filled with speculation, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R–Wis.) officially announced that he will not be seeking reelection in November and will retire from the U.S. House of Representatives in January at the end of his current term. The 48-year-old has served in Congress for almost 20 years, and in a statement he called his job “one of the greatest two honors of my life.”

According to The New York Times, the decision came as a surprise to many in the Republican party, since as late as last week Ryan hosted a donor retreat in Texas. In Ryan’s official statement, he stressed that his desire to spend more time with his family ultimately drove his decision. In prepared remarks announcing his retirement, he spoke of losing his own father at 16 and added, “I just don’t want to be one of those people looking back at my life thinking I wish I’d spent more time with my kids. If I spend another term, they will only know me as a weekend father.”

He went on to speak about what he believes have been great achievements during his time in office: “Probably the two biggest achievements for me are, first, the major reform of our tax code for the first time in 36 years, which has already been a huge success for this country, and that’s something I’ve been working on in my entire adult life. Something I’ve focused on since becoming speaker is to rebuild our nation’s military, and after addressing our military readiness crisis, that was a top priority we got done last year as well. These I see as lasting victories that will make this country more prosperous and more secure for decades to come.”

President Trump, who hasn’t always been the most vocal supporter of the speaker, took to Twitter to give his thoughts: “Speaker Paul Ryan is a truly good man, and while he will not be seeking re-election [sic], he will leave a legacy of achievement that nobody can question. We are with you Paul!”

While Ryan may fancy the new tax bill as his lasting legacy, others will likely look back on his time in office with a bit of a different lens. Ryan has repeatedly attempted to defund Planned Parenthood, for example; then there were his attempts to overturn the Affordable Care Act—both moves that were widely criticized by professionals in the medical community as well as progressive politicians and voters alike. The new proposed health care plan, for example, would also have reportedly left millions of Americans uninsured.

Many had hoped that Ryan would be a stabilizing force in the Trump administration—someone who could stand up to the volatility of a president with no background in governing. But Ryan often evaded questions about Trump’s tweets, saying in a CNN town hall: “Do I wish there would be a little less tweeting? Of course, I do.” As former presidential candidate Evan McMullin wrote on Twitter, “Paul Ryan was the hope of the GOP, but he wilted when his leadership was needed most. Instead of checking Trump, he helped normalize him.”

Speculation in D.C. will now turn to who might replace Ryan as speaker of the house, but that would presume that Republicans maintain their majority in the November midterm elections—something that’s not a certainty. Others are wondering if this means more Republican retirements lie ahead. As for Ryan’s future, he’s not giving any clues outside of spending time with his family. But before Donald Trump arrived on the scene in 2016, he was considered a front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2020. Perhaps he will entertain thoughts about the highest office in the land once again? Some of his Twitter fans are ready to sign up and campaign right now. We will all just have to wait and see.





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Aly Raisman Releases Powerful Statement Following Nassar Sentencing: 'Today Was an Important Victory but There Is Still Work to Be Done'


On Wednesday, in a Michigan courtroom, hundreds of survivors of Larry Nassar’s criminal sexual misconduct got some form of justice when Judge Rosemarie Aquilina sentenced the former USA Gymnastics team doctor to up to 175 years in prison. This on top of the 60 years in a federal prison he’d already received for child pornography convictions.

Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman is among the almost 160 women who gave a victim impact statement in the courtroom over the past week. Last night, she posted a message of gratitude to the many people involved in the case. First she thanked her fellow survivors noting that “there are going to be good days and there are going to be tough days but continue to take strength in the impact your courageous voice has had upon each of us, but also for all the other girls, boys, women and men out there who remain in the shadows but maybe now see a pathway to the light.

Raisman, 23, thanked the prosecutors and law enforcement officials for holding Nassar accountable for his actions; the gymnastics community and her fans around the world for all of their messages of support; and of course, her family and friends. She had some special words for Judge Rosemarie Aquilina who emerged as a fierce ally for the victims.

“To Judge Aquilina, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your leadership, your professionalism, your compassion, and your commitment to allow each and EVERY ONE of us survivors the opportunity to share our impact statements in open court was extremely important and meaningful. As I shared in court, I wasn’t planning to speak, but thanks to the army of survivors and you, I am forever grateful that all of our voices are finally heard. Thank you for listening to us all.”

Finally, Raisman reminds us all that this story is not over. In thanking the media for “their efforts to shine a light on the biggest case of sexual abuse in sports history” she says that this is “bigger than Larry Nassar, or Steve Penny, or any of the [USA Gymnastics] board members who resigned this week.” She calls for an independent investigation to uncover “how this disaster happened” in order to make sure this never happens again.

“Today was an important victory but there is still work to be done.”

Read Aly’s full statement below:





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Adriana Lima Just Made a Huge Career Statement


Victoria’s Secret Angel Adriana Lima shared a lengthy, personal Instagram post this weekend about how she’ll approach her modeling job opportunities differently in the future, saying she won’t take off her clothes anymore “for an empty cause.” She was apparently inspired to post her message after being asked to film “a sexy video of me to be posted and shared in social media,”—and although Lima, who’s walked in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 18 times, admits she’s done many of those types of videos, something felt different this time because of what a friend had recently said to her.

Here’s what she wrote:

“A friend approached me to share that she was unhappy with her body, then it made me think…. that everyday in my life, I wake up thinking, how do I look? Was I going to be accepted in my job? And in that moment I realized that majority of woman probably wake up every morning trying to fit in a stereotype that society/social media/fashion etc imposed…. i thought that’s not a way of living and beyond that…. that’s not physically and mentally healthy, so I decided to make that change….. I will not take of my clothes anymore for a empty cause…..?✨ #Embraceyouself #natureisbeautiful #naturalissexy #LOVEYOU ?✨”

Her caption accompanied a photo of additional text that included more context for this big career statement. She wrote: “I have my own things/insecurities too, I am not afraid anymore to express them, they are part of me… we ‘as woman’ can’t be continuing living in a world with such superficial values, it’s not fair for us, beyond fair, it’s physically and mentally not healthy what society is imposing in ‘us’ to be, to behave, to look.”

Read her full message, below:

It’s unclear what Lima means by an “empty cause” and what this declaration will mean for her career in the future. She said just recently after this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show—the brand she’s most famously associated with—that she planned on participating in the show for at least two more years to round out her career to 20 shows. But some fans are questioning her future with the brand after this post and the fact that several commenters noted that Lima unfollowed Ed Razek (the senior creative executive at Victoria’s Secret and the most public-facing person from the brand interacting with models) and several other of the brand’s models.

Whether Lima will share more about what inspired this decision or not—or if she’s taking off her wings for good—remains TBD.

Related Stories:
–Alessandra Ambrosio Is Officially Retiring From the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show
–Post-Weinstein, These Are the Powerful Men Facing Sexual Harassment Allegations
–This Model Is Giving Women in the Industry a Platform to Share Sexual Harassment Accounts



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