Reta Saffo Reveals Sister Kate Spade’s Cryptic Message Before Suicide

Famous designer Kate Spade took her life Wednesday, a news that shocked the world but reportedly not her elder sister, Reta Saffo.

Saffo knew her sister was suffering from mental illness for the last three to four years and chose to self-medicate with the help of alcohol instead of seeking professional help.

“I will say this was not unexpected by me,” Saffo told the Kansas City Star via email. “I'd flown out to Napa and NYC several times in the past 3-4 years to help her to get the treatment she needed [inpatient hospitalization]. She was always a very excitable little girl and I felt all the stress/pressure of her brand [KS] may have flipped the switch where she eventually became full-on manic depressive…”

“I'd come so VERY close to getting her to go in for treatment. I'd spoken with them on the phone. They agreed to fly in and talk with her and take her with them to the treatment center. She was all set to go — but then chickened out by morning. I even said I [would] go with her and be a 'patient' too [she liked that idea] I said we could talk about it all — our childhood, etc. That I could help her fill in any blanks she might have,” Saffo added.

Saffo said although her sister did not directly share with her any plans of taking her own life, she did hint as much during one of their very last conversations.

“After numerous attempts, I finally let go,” Saffo wrote. “Sometimes you simply cannot SAVE people from themselves! One of the last things she said to me was, 'Reta, I know you hate funerals and don't attend them, but for me would you PLEASE come to MINE, at least. Please!' I know she perhaps had a plan, but she insisted she did not.”

She added none of the family members, including Spade’s husband Andy, could do or say anything to convince her sister to get professional help.

Despite helping her pack her bags, telling her how comfortable it would make her feel and explaining how her daughter, Frances Beatrix, would be perfectly taken care of, Saffo said Spade would always opt out of the plan at the last second because “the 'image' of her brand (happy-go-lucky Kate Spade) was more important for her to keep up. She was definitely worried about what people would say if they found out.”

Spade’s elder sister added the designer’s plan to suicide might have been set in motion in August 2014, when she became fixated with the news of actor and comedian Robin William’s death by suicide.

“We were freaked out/saddened but she kept watching it and watching it over and over. I think the plan was already in motion even as far back as then,” Saffo said.

Lastly, Saffo said she will miss her sister dearly.

“She was a dear little person. So dear — so kind, so funny. I'll miss our 6-7-hr-long phone conversations between NY and NM,” she said.