Martha Stewart's father slapped her over her engagement to a Jewish friend

Martha Stewart opens up about her relationship with her father Edward Kostyra in her new Netflix documentary.

The famous housewife, 83, recalled her father's angry reaction when she got engaged to Andrew Stewart. The couple met when Martha was studying at Barnard College in New York City and Andrew was studying law at Yale University. They were founded by Martha's classmate and Andrew's sister.

Martha said she “fell in love” with Andrew after their first date and they got engaged soon after – which Kostyra wasn't happy about.

“I went home and told my dad, and my dad hit me,” she said. “Slapped myself hard and said, 'No, you're not going to marry him.' He's a Jew.'”

“I remember getting that slap,” she added. “I wasn't surprised at all because he was a fanatic and impulsive. But I said, 'I'm going to get married no matter what you think.'”

Martha said her mother, nicknamed “Big Martha,” helped her make her “beautiful” wedding dress.

“The wedding day was very happy,” she said of marrying Andrew in 1961. “It was the beginning of my life.”

The former “Martha Stewart Show” host grew up in Nutley, New Jersey, as one of six children. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a failed businessman.

Martha called her father “a perfectionist” and recalled, “Dad taught each of us how to garden.” He could grow anything. I was the ideal daughter. I wanted to learn, he had a lot to teach and I listened.”

“My father was the most beautiful father,” she continued. “He loved me. And it was clear to everyone that I was his favorite. He thought I was more like him than the other children. He completed the task that was given to him. Not his work. He was a failure at his job.”

Martha continued: “He could have done pretty much anything he wanted and he was stuck in a sales job. Sometimes he started the day with a large glass of coffee and red wine. So is this an alcoholic? Perhaps. But he never looked like a drunk. He never stumbled around or threw things or broke things. That wasn't my father. But he was a dissatisfied, unhappy person.”

Martha's relationship with her father became more strained when she met Andrew during her studies.

“We went out to dinner. “He was very polite and handsome and had traveled a lot,” she recalled of the couple’s first date. “It was exciting to meet a cultured young man. And he had an American Express card, which was a really big deal back then.”

“He was just fascinating, playful and kind. “By the end of dinner I was madly in love,” Martha said. “Andy was so nice. Not at all like my father. He sent me money for a train ticket and I visited him at Yale every weekend.”

Martha also revealed that she lost her virginity to Andrew at the age of 19. “I had never slept with anyone before,” she said. “He was very aggressive and I liked it.”

Martha and Andrew married in 1961 and had their daughter Alexis Stewart four years later.

The famous chef's father died in 1979 while she was still married to Andrew. Her mother died in 2007.

Martha and Andrew divorced in 1990 and Andrew later married Martha's assistant Robyn Fairclough.

In the Netflix documentary, Martha claimed that Andrew cheated with Fairclough. She also claimed that she was having an affair of her own that Andrew didn't know about.

“Young women, take my advice: If you are married and your husband starts cheating on you, he is a bastard,” Martha said. “Get out of this marriage.”

In 2020, Stewart reflected on her “terrible” divorce from Andrew and shared that the exes had not spoken.

“Divorce was a terrible thing for me because we were the first in my family to get divorced,” she told People. “And the fact that we haven’t spoken since the divorce is even more painful.”

“Martha” is streaming on Netflix.