Nearly 20 years after Martha Stewart was released from prison, one of the former inmates spoke about serving time next to the famous entrepreneur.
In a clip of CNN’s The Many Lives of Martha Stewart, Susan Spry, who claims to be Stewart’s “prison friend” spoke about how the entrepreneur smuggled food to bake for friends. “Everyone smuggles food out of kitchens,” Spry said. “I mean, what else are you going to make? Unless it’s smuggled food.”
Meg Phipps, another prisoner who was at West Virginia’s Alderson Federal Prison Camp alongside Stewart, said she received a surprise dessert from her as well. “How we communicated was by note,” Phipps said. “A handwritten note and someone from that cottage or dorm, you had to wait for someone to take that in for you.”
Phipps said she received a note with a baked apple from Martha Stewart. “She had already tackled the idea of cooking in your dorm or cottage by using the microwave,” Phipps continued. “And what resources that you could find? Because the baked apple had caramel on it and probably some cinnamon, I suspect some of this may have come from the cafeteria, which we’re not supposed to do.”
Phipps went on to share details about Martha Stewart’s last day at the prison. “We brought different dishes, but Martah did bring a caramel flan,” she added. “And I don’t know how she made it. It’s a big part of what made prison tolerable is the fellowship of cooking and celebrating someone going home. She thanked people for making her time there go as well as it did.”
Stewart served time in prison between 2004 and 2005 being confined to her home. She was found guilty of lying to investigators about a stock sale, which took place in Dec. 2001.
Martha Stewart Once Said ‘Nothing Is Good’ About Her Time In Prison
TODAY previously reported that during a 2017 interview with Katie Couric, Martha Stewart spoke about how she definitely didn’t enjoy her time in prison.
“It was horrifying,” she admitted. “And no one – no one – should have to go through that kind of indignity, really, except fur murderers, and there are a few other categories. But no one should have to go through that. It’s a very, very awful thing.”
When asked if she found prison to be a “growth experience,” Stewart said there was nothing good about being in prison. “that you can make lemons out of lemonade? What hurts you and makes you stronger? No. None of those adages fit at all. It’s a horrible experience. Nothing is good about it, nothing.”
Stewart went on to add that she didn’t like being separated from her family or “being maligned.”