Martha Stewart Announces Her Unconventional Death Plans
The 84-year-old television star even has her last meal planned out.
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Is it any surprise that Martha Stewart‘s post-death plans are as unique as the television legend’s long, strange career?
Stewart, 84, revealed her unusual burial plans on the 50+ & Unfiltered podcast with Shawn Killinger. In response to a question on whether she prefers to be buried or cremated, Stewart said, “Oh, I’m going to be composted.”
The home and hospitality tycoon further explained, “When one of my horses dies, we dig a giant hole really deep in one of my fields. We have a pet cemetery, and the horse is wrapped in a clean white linen sheet and very carefully dropped down into this giant, lovely grave,” adding, “I want to go there.”
Stewart’s love of animals is well known. The lifestyle superstar has often written about her many pets on her blog, including her dogs (two chow chows and three French bulldogs), cats, geese, chickens, peafowl, horses, donkeys, and a pony.
Killinger brought up the possible legal issues with this arrangement, but Stewart offered a simple answer: “It’s not going to hurt anybody. It’s my property.”
Stewart explained that the traditional burial style was a no-go for her. “These coffin things and all that stuff, no way. That’s such a racket,” she said, and alluded that she may not want a tombstone.
Martha Stewart took Ann Curry horseback riding for NBC News' "Today" show in 2012.
Peter Kramer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Stewart owns a farmhouse in Bedford, New York, called Cantitoe Corners. According to the New York State Department of State website, there is no prohibition for backyard burial, but “local governments may prohibit or restrict this.”
What about her last meal? Naturally, she’s already planned that, too. Her own land will also provide that, as Stewart thinks it will probably be scrambled eggs with butter from her chickens. “They’re the most delicious things on earth,” she told Killinger.
Stewart pictured collecting eggs at her then-home, Turkey Hill, in Westport, Connecticut, in August 1976.
Susan Wood/Getty Images/Getty Images
During the interview, Stewart discussed her looks and aging, revealing that she has her “face waxed like once every three months.”
Stewart also stated her intent to never go under the knife. “I have this theory that if one takes care of oneself really well and follows strict, but not life-threatening kinds of disciplines, one can look good, feel good, and be good for a whole life,” she said.
Her mother, who passed away in 2007 at age 93, felt very differently. Stewart said that her mother, Martha Kostyra, asked the TV star for help getting a facelift at 85—just a year older than Stewart is now. In response, Stewart took her to famed plastic surgeon Gerald Imber in New York. Stewart also noted that neither she nor her mother ever had gray hair.