Netflix documentary Martha, is an intimate portrait of America's 'original influencer,' Martha Stewart. Igniting intrigue about her personal life, many are wondering where her former boyfriend, Charles Simonyi, is now.
Martha Stewart is a woman of many talents - businesswoman, writer, television personality, builder of empires, and comeback queen. After building a successful lifestyle brand, it looked like her business would come crashing down around her when she served five months in prison for fraud in 2005. However, she wasted no time rebuilding her kingdom, and her business was once again profitable by 2006.
Netflix Documentary Martha, covers the rise and fall of the titular heroine, offering a close-up look of her successful and colourful life. Alongside a marriage that saw Martha admit to having an affair very early on, the entrepreneur had other high profile relationships once her marriage came to an end - one of those was with with software architect, Charles Simonyi. In the same way fellow Netflix documentaries Sweet Bobby and This is The Zodiac Speaking threw up questions about their subjects' lives, those tuning into Martha have been asking where Charles Simonyi is now.
Where is Charles Simonyi now?
Charles Simonyi remains married Lisa Persdotter, the daughter of a Swedish billionaire he married in August 2008, just six months after he ended his relationship with Martha Stewart. Simonyi, now aged 76 and his wife, now aged 44, are thought to reside in Washington state with their daughters Lillian, born in February 2011, and Livia, born November 2012.
According to People, Martha and Charles Simonyi became friends in the years after Martha's marriage of 30 years to Andrew Stewart, came to an end. In the documentary, Martha recalls the hurt she felt when her marriage ended, saying, "He's the one who wanted the divorce. Not I. He was throwing me away. I was gorgeous. I was a desirous woman, but he was treating me like a castaway."
At the time she struck up a liaison with Hungarian-born Simonyi, he was one of the chief architects responsible for building some of Microsoft's most successful software. The pair were tight-lipped about their relationship, which began as a friendship in 1993, three years after Martha's divorce.
In 1997, the pair continued to refer to one another as 'friends,' while they often attended high-profile events together. It wasn't until the early 2000s that their romantic status appeared to be confirmed, with Martha frequently seen travelling on Simonyi's yacht, and being involved with remodelling his home in Medina.
Simonyi was there for Martha as she faced trial for lying about a stock trade in 2004, and they continued their romance upon her release in 2005. However, it wasn't all plain sailing, and Martha was upset that her partner only visited her once in prison. The documentary reveals a letter Martha wrote to Simonyi, indicating her feelings of hurt at his lack of contact - part of it reads, "I've not got an email or even a note from you for so long. I'd love to hear from you."
Although their relationship continued on her release from prison, in 2008 the partnership appeared for Martha, to come to an abrupt end. The pair were on the cusp of a trip to visit the President of Iceland, when Simonyi turned to her in bed and said out of the blue, "You know Martha, I'm going to get married, I'm gonna get married to Lisa." She recalls having no idea who "Lisa" was.
In the documentary, Martha explains, "I said, 'Lisa who?' He hadn't told me a word." Simonyi concluded this brutal breakup by adding that Lisa's parents had a particular request, telling Martha, "By the way, her parents don't want me to ever speak to you again."
Martha remains blindsided by their breakup, referring to it as her "second divorce". She tells viewers, "I thought that was the most horrible thing a person could do. How can a man who spent 15 years with me do that? What a stupid thing to do to someone that you actually care about."
