It's been nearly two months since designer and entrepreneur Kate Spade died, but in a recent tribute to her, her husband and daughter chose to celebrate her life by focusing on her birth.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Andy Spade took to Instagram for the first time since his wife's death by suicide and shared a photo of an out-of-season Christmas tree that he and their 13-year-old daughter, Frances Beatrix, decorated.
"She was born Christmas Eve, 1962," he wrote of Kate. "She loved the Midwest, the desert, and the city."
He then went on to explain how their simple but poignant Christmas-inspired tribute came about.
"I was lucky enough to have dear friends let my daughter and (I) stay at their home through a difficult time," he continued. "This tree was standing alone beside the house so we ordered those multicolored, old-fashioned lights from Amazon or Target and another dear personal friend gave me a really long extension cord and Bea and I cut a star out of the cardboard box the lights came on and wrapped it in Reynolds wrap (TM) like we do every Christmas."
At the time of Kate's death, she and Andy were living separately, but in a statement he issued in June, he explained that they were still partners to the end.
"We were not legally separated, and never even discussed divorce," he explained at the time. "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."
Andy is the brother of comedian David Spade. On the day Kate died, David shared a Christmas-themed memory of his sister-in-law, too.
"Fuzzy picture but I love it. Kate and I during Christmas family photos," the "Hotel Transylvania 3" star wrote. "We had so much fun that day. She was so sharp and quick on her feet. She could make me laugh so hard. I still can't believe it. It's a rough world out there people, try to hang on."
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.