EXCLUSIVE: 'She flirted all the time, went to parties and didn't come home and ridiculed the way he looked and acted': Friends reveal torment of model Katie Cleary's husband before he shot himself dead



Andrew Stern was devastated over the end of his marriage to model Katie Cleary. His suicide last Sunday was a shock to his friends and family

Longtime friend David Pachkofsky has spoken out about how Katie's flirting broke his heart and she would go to a wrap party and not return home



Katie was pictured with Leonardo di Caprio and Adrian Grenier in Cannes in May, a month after he filed for divorce



Family sources reveal that the couple were together until April, when they sold their $3million home

Katie insists they hadn't been together for eight months and that the photos of her in Cannes were a 'non-issue'



Andrew Stern was ‘constantly ridiculed’ and driven to distraction by his ‘flirtatious’, ‘social climbing’ wife Katie Cleary prior to his tragic suicide, a former friend has claimed.



Since successful tech entrepreneur Andrew shot himself in the head on a gun range on Sunday friends and family have been desperately searching for a reason why he would take his own life.

He had split from his wife, model, Katie, 32, and filed for divorce just ten weeks prior, despite her claims they had been separated for eight months.



She was pictured with Leonardo DiCaprio and Entourage star Adrian Grenier in Cannes last month.

Scroll down for video

From triumph to tragedy: Andrew Stern thought he found the girl of his dreams. But their marriage turned into a nightmare. He committed suicde last Sunday

Animal lover: Andrew had three dogs, birds and cats says his friend David Pachkofsky. He worked on a number of animal causes

Now his former friend and housemate David Pachkofsky has told how Katie made Andrew’s life a living hell as she tried to change the down-to-earth Midwesterner, 40, into a ‘Hollywood type’, using him to climb the social ladder and boost her career.



Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Pachkofsky, who says he lived with Andrew in 1999 and stayed in touch with him right up until his death said: ‘He divorced for closure for himself.



‘And when he filed, he could at least say in his head that he is not going to stand by and allow his wife to do these things and walk all over him.



‘Like going to a wrap party and not coming home,' said Pachkofsky.



‘She was taking him to a place he didn't want to go. The part of Hollywood life that she liked but is very superficial.



‘He had to struggle to keep up with the Joneses. She would constantly ridicule him for the way he looked and acted and always let him know that he wasn't in good enough shape.



‘He was never a really good dresser, and she made him dress perfectly for her. That was her doing. Drew's always been comfortable in a T-shirt and really not caring. She was just so hard on him.

She kept trying to create this image for him as handsome and virile to help uphold her image,' Pachkofsky told MailOnline.

Friend til the end: Businessman Pachkofsky mourns the loss of his pal Drew, who he knew ever since they moved to LA at the same time

'She had a negative effect on him. He always felt like he was about to lose her and was always chasing her. She always flirted with men all the time in front of him and this hurt him….



‘The more she pushed him away, the more he'd come on. This was always the case with her and every woman. Just much worse with her because she was his wife and he'd have to tolerate the pain on a whole other level…. She's a very flirtatious girl and it killed him.



‘When he filed (for divorce), it was solely for his own well-being. Closure. That kind of thing. Just to stop his need to chase her….



‘He was down to earth and she's not. It's horrible.’



When contacted for comment by MailOnline, her rep would only say, 'I am not at liberty to give out any information.'

Since Andrew’s death many people have linked his downward spiral to the emergence of the pictures of Katie with DiCaprio and Grenier in Cannes. Katie said it was a 'non-issue.'



Pachkofsky – a businessman who now lives in San Francisco - does not believe this was the case.



He has also dismissed the idea that successful business owner Andrew was struggling financially, or that he was affected by growth hormone drugs used to improve his physique, both rumors that have been circulating.



He said: ‘No the picture didn't do it. It was an on-going thing with her…. It wasn't money or drugs that did him in. That's all b******* as far as I'm concerned.



‘Drew’s… a good-looking guy. No problem getting girls but he had a problem keeping them. He likes to keep to himself. Very quiet and kind of a nerdy guy with a big heart and super nice.

Last photo: Just hours before he killed himself, Andrew was partying with a group of friends at a trendy Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills. He posted this picture on his facebook page

‘…Hollywood dragged him down. Hollywood women did him in. And Katie was the worst of them. Very self-motivated, a real climber, climbing up Drew to get to bigger stars. '



Pachkofsky says he, Andrew and another one of their friends all moved out to LA at the same time but the third friend came back to the midwest, got married, has kids and can count on one hand the number of people he knows got divorced.



‘….There is no doubt in my mind that if Drew got out and went back to the Midwest, he'd be the same but he chose to stay and get caught up in the downward spiral of those around him who wanted fame at any cost.



‘When I lived with him in the same house, it was a total bachelor pad. Nothing but a big screen TV, a couch and a bunch of animals running around. He has three dogs, birds, cats.



‘When she moved in, the house had expensive art work hanging all over the place, decorated expensively and this and that.’



Andrew and Katie were living together in the $3m property in Calabasas, California until April. But immediately after Andrew’s suicide representatives for Katie tried to distance her from Andrew and said they had split eight months ago.



Apparently Katie even told police their marriage was long dead when officers spoke to her about her husband’s passing. She also told them he had a history of depression, sources claim.



Show time: Katie and Andrew dressed up in period costumes for a Boardwalk Empire season premier last year

But sources say the Stern family have been left hurt and upset by Katie’s attempts to ‘put clear water’ between herself and her husband and have revealed the couple were, ‘very much together’ until ten weeks ago – when Andrew reluctantly faced up to the heart breaking reality it was over and filed for divorce.



Katie even arranged a lavish 40th birthday party for her husband at the end of February, held at fancy LA steak house Boa.



It has been suggested Katie, 32, was not happy when tech entrepreneur Andrew suggested that they should downsize their huge home in fashionable Calabasas on the outskirts of LA.



But Andrew’s desire to scale-back was not down to any kind of financial problems, with one friend saying, ‘If Andrew was struggling financially, then I wouldn’t mind struggling myself’.



The family source explained: ‘There was no separation eight months ago. That is just not true and the person who said that was not speaking on behalf of the family. They were together until April.



‘Katie arranged a big birthday party for Andrew at Boa at the end of February and was gushing about how much she loved him, so it is strange that her people are saying they were already separated by that point.



‘They were living together right up until he filed for divorce in April. Until that point they were not physically separated in any way.



‘It is also unfair to make out like he was crippled by depression his entire life. He had his ups and downs like many people and he may have had professional help on occasion, but he wasn’t in and out of treatment centers for years and years.



Dream home: Andrew and Katie loved in a $3 million house in Calabasas. It was sold shortly before his death

‘Apparently when the police spoke to Katie, she not only said they were long since separated, she also made them very aware of his depression.



‘It’s as though she was trying to distance herself from him. It seems like a very strange reaction.’



The source added: ‘Andrew was an incredibly loving guy and he was trying to make the marriage work. It seems as though they just had different ideas and priorities.



‘He wasn’t having financial problems in any way, in fact he was doing very well, but he had suggested maybe they downsize their home, which is worth more than $3m. She has got used to a certain lifestyle and didn’t want to do that.



‘There’s no denying things got much worse for Andrew after the separation.’



Another family source added: ‘Everyone is looking for some kind of trigger or smoking gun for this tragedy, but there really isn’t one specific incident.



‘He was going through a bad time and some people stuck by him while others walked away from him.’

On Wednesday the family released an official statement, saying they wanted people to celebrate keen animal charity campaigner Andrew’s life, rather than focus on his death.



They said: ‘Andrew was an adored son, cherished friend, successful businessman, adventurous athlete, passionate animal rights activist & humanitarian.



‘No one is without flaws, but Andrew was a giving & generous spirit who touched so many lives in a positive way. For those of us who loved him, there will never be an answer to 'why?' We choose to honor his memory by remembering how he lived, not how he died.’



And it seems even his friends who were with him the night before he took his own life are at a loss as to explain why he did what he did.



On Wednesday we revealed Andrew was in 'good spirits' the night before he killed himself and had been out celebrating at a friend’s birthday in Beverly Hills.



The cat's meow: The couple had some things in common: they adored animals. Their three kittens get cozy

He was with a group of about 15 people at the dinner party at Italian restaurant DOMA. He even posted a photo on his facebook page of him and some pals at the event on Saturday night.

Just hours later at around midday on Sunday he turned a gun on himself at a shooting range in Van Nuys, 15 miles from the upmarket eatery.



After dinner the group went on to a Hollywood nightclub and Andrew is believed to have joined them there too.



A source told MailOnline: 'The night before he died he went to dinner and he was in good spirits. Apparantly he was being super nice and super appreciative towards everyone.



'It was a girl’s birthday party and there were probably about 15 people there including Andrew.

'The group all went out afterwards to some new club in Hollywood to see a DJ.



'I don't think he was drinking, he didn't do drugs, I've never seen him do anything like that (recreational drugs or drink).



'He was in good spirits, so everyone was so shocked he did that the next day, no one could believe it.'



Stern's funeral took place on Tuesday in Los Angeles at the Mount Sinai Memorial Park and mortuaries in Simi Valley. It was a Jewish ceremony.



His wife Katie attended. His business partner and close friend David Abelson spoke. A rabbi was flown in from his hometown in Ohio.



The source told MailOnline the photos of Katie with Leonardo DiCaprio and Entourage star Adrian Grenier didn’t help Andrew’s state of mind.



They said: 'I don't think she did anything with Leonardo. She was very passionate about her animals, she did a documentary called 'Give Me Shelter', so everyone she meets she is handing out DVDs, so I think with Leo she was just pushing her animal agenda.



'She works non-stop on animal stuff. Leo has that girlfriend so I don't think anything happened between them at all. At the same time she is being shot by the paparazzi at a film festival and he's at home dealing with all the mental stuff, so it probably did not help.'



The source added that they had never known Andrew to be into guns and thinks the visit to the shooting range was purely a suicide mission.



He said: “He was not at all into guns or that kind of stuff he was into animals and his dogs and helping people. I think he just went there to do it.



‘I heard he had been shooting there for a little bit and then turned the gun on his head.’



Paying tribute to Andrew, the friend said: ‘He was a really smart business guy, he made a ton of money. He was super smart, he was always so generous, he never lets anyone pay for anything, he doesn't think twice.



'He played tennis, I think he was going to be a professional tennis player at one point.



Common cause: "Don't be afraid to stand up for what's right,' Andrew wrote on his Instagram. 'Do not support ringling brother circus. They abuse their elephants and tigers'

'He was super friendly to everyone around him, just a great guy, with a great heart. He is going to be really missed.’



The tragedy comes just four weeks after Katie Cleary was pictured getting close to DiCaprio at the Gotha nightclub in Cannes.



The pair were seen chatting and dancing closely, while DiCaprio was pictured whispering into the model's ear. The apparent closeness came even though DiCaprio is dating Victoria's Secret model Toni Garrn.



Katie, who is from Glenview, Illinois, appeared on the first series of America's Next Top Model while she was still a college student, before landing the role of 'briefcase beauty' on popular game show Deal Or No Deal.



The brunette has since had minor roles in The Break Up, Iron Man 2 and Entourage, while appearing in advertising campaigns for Sketchers, Nike and Elastiderm.



She was also spotted out and about with Entourage cast member Adrian Grenier while in Cannes.

Stern had set up his own successful marketing firm after graduating from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and moving to Los Angeles.

