Kate Spade's husband says fashion star was suffering from depression, but her suicide was 'a complete shock'

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Kate Spade, the world-renowned fashion designer who was found dead of an apparent suicide, long suffered from depression and anxiety and had been under treatment for five years, her husband and business partner said Wednesday.

"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 Spade said in a 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," he said.

Andy Spade acknowledged that he and his wife had been living apart for the last 10 months, maintaining different apartments a few blocks from each other in Manhattan. He said the couple was not legally separated and "never even discussed divorce."

"We ate many meals together as a family and continued to vacation together as a family. Our daughter was our priority. ... We were best friends trying to work through our problems in the best way we knew how," he said.

Spade, 55, was found dead in her New York City apartment on Tuesday of an apparent suicide, according to police. Spade's older sister, Reta Saffo, said that the fashion icon's suicide was "not unexpected" and that her sister had struggled with mental illness.

In an email to NBC News, Saffo said that her younger sister was a "precious, precious little person" and "genuine in almost every way" but that her fame exacerbated what she believed was a bipolar disorder.

"She was surrounded by 'yes' people, for far too long, therefore she did not receive the proper care for what I believed to be (and tried numerous times to get her help for) bipolar disorder ... stemming from her immense celebrity," Saffo said.

Earlier Wednesday, a source close to the family disputed Saffo's account, describing Spade as a "kind, generous, funny, warm and extremely private person."

In a statement, the source said: "The family is disgusted and saddened that at this time of great sorrow, Kate's sister, who has been estranged from the entire family for more than 10 years, would choose to surface with unsubstantiated comment. Her statements paint a picture of someone who did not know her at all."

In an earlier email to The Kansas City Star, Saffo, who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, said she had frequently flown out to Napa, California, and New York over the last four years to get Spade treatment.

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