Martha Stewart's ex and his wife claim his marriage to Stewart was 'painful and abusive'

Martha Stewart's ex-husband and his current wife have claimed his marriage to the lifestyle guru was "painful and abusive".

The 83-year-old businesswoman was married to Andrew Stewart from 1961 until 1990 and a recent trailer for her new Netflix documentary 'Martha' featured references to the pair's extra-marital affairs, which prompted Shyla Nelson Stewart to issue a statement defending her spouse amid "dark" times in his life.

In a statement also signed by Andrew shared to Shyla's Facebook page, she wrote: “As some of you know, my husband is Andrew Stewart - brilliant publisher, avocational naturalist and nature photographer, and one of the gentlest, most soft-spoken, kind-hearted men I’ve ever known. No one was more surprised than we when, after being introduced as colleagues almost 12 years ago, our connection blossomed into a deep and everlasting love.

"With our shared devotion to the Earth and to our families at the center, Andy and I have built a life of beauty, meaning, productivity, and purpose, infused with true love, which we share as fully as we can with our beautiful blended family of 5 amazing adult children, our 3 adorable grandchildren, our extended family, and many cherished friends.

"Prior to this happy chapter of his life, Andy had some dark ones, including a painful and abusive marriage to Martha (as in, Martha Stewart), which ended almost 40 years ago.

"While Andy quietly moved on and forward with his life, it appears that Martha continues to publicly relitigate the marriage, including comments in a sensationalized trailer for an upcoming documentary on Netflix.(sic)"

The post - which was written on 12 October but has only just come to public attention - contrasted the "striking" differences between Andrew's life then and now and expressed a desire for Martha to be "loved deeply and fully".

They concluded: "The juxtaposition of Andy’s early life with the joy-filled, purpose-led, loving marriage we live today is striking. Every day, we openly express our gratitude for our love and for our life together.

"We both wish everyone, including Martha herself, the experience of loving and being loved deeply and fully, and the peace that comes from such a love.

Shyla + Andy Stewart."

The statement was written in response to the trailer for 'Martha', in which the former talk show host - who has Alexis, 59, with Andrew - hit out at men who have affairs, even while admitting to one herself.

She said: "Young women, listen to my advice. If you're married and your husband starts to cheat on you, he's a piece of s***."

The TV star was then questioned about her own affair, to which she replied: "Yeah, but I don't think Andy ever knew about that."