Reta Saffo says her younger sister, who died on Tuesday aged 55, did not want to seek treatment for mental illness

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The handbag designer Kate Spade killed herself after struggling with depression, her sister told a US newspaper on Wednesday.

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Spade’s death on Tuesday in her New York Park Avenue apartment, “was not unexpected by me”, the designer’s older sister, Reta Saffo, told the Kansas City Star, the paper of the Missouri city where Spade grew up.

“Sometimes you simply cannot SAVE people from themselves!” Saffo wrote in an email to the Star, painting a very different picture of a woman who made her brand in the “happy-go-lucky” image of herself that many have paid tribute to in the 24 hours since Spade’s death.

Saffo said: “I will say this was not unexpected by me. 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.” She went on to say: “I felt all the stress/pressure of her brand (KS) may have flipped the switch where she eventually became full-on manic depressive.”

Saffo said her sister had been concerned that any inpatient treatment would harm the Kate Spade brand. “She was definitely worried about what people would say if they found out,” Saffo said.

Spade’s husband and business partner, Andy Spade, had sold the brand in 2006 for more than $100m. Earlier this year, it was resold for $2.4bn to the handbag giant Tapestry. In 2016 Spade moved to set up a new handbag company, Frances Valentine.

A statement from the family via in New York spokeswoman on Tuesday had said: “We are all devastated by today’s tragedy. We loved Kate dearly and will miss her terribly.”

The designer’s sister said she had distanced herself from Kate’s situation. “After numerous attempts, I finally let go,” Saffo wrote. “Sometimes you simply cannot SAVE people from themselves!”

Separately, Saffo told CBS News that her sister suffered from bipolar disorder brought on by her “immense celebrity”.

In a statement, Saffo added that her sister was “surrounded by YES people for far too long, therefore she did not receive the proper care for what I believe to be (and tried numerous times to get help for) bipolar disorder”.

Attempts by the Guardian to reach Saffo on Wednesday were not immediately successful.

The New York police department announced on Tuesday that Spade had been found unresponsive in her bedroom at home that morning. She left a note.

In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org