Martha Stewart 'Smuggled Food' To Fellow Inmates While Serving Time In Prison!

Martha Stewart is a badass!!

A new CNN miniseries entitled The Many Lives Of Martha Stewart just debuted its first couple episodes, and a portion of that docuseries is focused on the time she spent in prison in 2004. As you’ll no doubt recall, the home and lifestyle expert served five months in federal prison that year after being found guilty on multiple charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice related to illegally selling shares of stock.

Now, two decades after the fact, some of the women who served time with Martha at Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia are speaking out. And it turns out they have a LOT to say!

One formerly incarcerated woman named Meg Phipps recalled in the doc how Martha once delivered her a very sweet (and very unexpected) dessert in her housing unit. She explained how prisoners would pass notes to each other to get the ball rolling on things:

“How we communicated was by note, a handwritten note and someone from that cottage or dorm, you had to wait for someone to take that in for you.”

Then, she recalled receiving a note one day from Stewart about how the pair ought to meet. And it was sent along with a baked apple! Phipps recalled how she realized the implications of that:

“She also sent that note with a baked apple, which meant she had already tackled the idea of cooking in your dorm or cottage by using the microwave and what resources that you could find — because the baked apple had caramel on it and probably some cinnamon.”

Amazing! And since sneaking food from the cafeteria was strictly prohibited, Phipps explained her assumption that Stewart (or somebody!) had SMUGGLED THE FOOD out of kitchen to make the baked apple:

“I suspect some of this may have come from the cafeteria, which we’re not supposed to do.”

Amazing! And ingenious. And like we said, that seems super badass on Martha’s part!

A second former inmate named Susan Spry also spoke in the doc about the cookbook author. Spry explained:

“Everyone smuggles food out of kitchens. I mean, what else are you going to make? Unless it’s smuggled food.”

Spry also told cameras she and Stewart became close while they were incarcerated together, even going so far as to call the TV host her “prison friend.” Spry remembered how Martha worked inside the prison administration building, and it was her duty to clean toilets there:

“She kept it clean. She cleaned toilets. She cleaned the warden’s toilet.”

And, like, come on. Martha is the domestic lifestyle expert. Nobody really wants to clean toilets, but we’re certain she did a bang-up job!!

Another Alderson alum — former supervisory prison chaplain Elizabeth Walker — also recalled in the CNN series how Martha cleaned toilets, swept floors, and emptied trash. Walker said:

“She was very good. She did her job.”

The women interviewed in the docuseries also get surprisingly emotional in their recollections of Stewart. Instead of just doing her time and leaving ASAP, it sounds like Martha bonded with the women inside — and left a lasting impression. Spry recalled how shocked she was to first see Martha when the television chef arrived at the facility:

“I remember the first image I had of her and I said, ‘that can’t be Martha Stewart. It just can’t be.’ Whoever this woman was looked like us. You still have to go through all the indignities of becoming a prisoner. I’m sure they strip searched her. Took away all her possessions. Gave her a uniform like the rest of us had.”

Phipps echoed that last point of Spry’s — and added this about the unsettling realities of prison life:

“It’s a great equalizer. The women there are wide ranging from the homeless up to the wealthy.”

But Martha found her way — as we’ve learned with that baked apple anecdote! And when the star left prison months later, the rest of her inmates held a potluck in her honor. Phipps recalled how Martha brought a caramel flan to the impromptu event:

“We brought different dishes, but Martha did bring a caramel flan, and I don’t know how she made it. It’s a big part about what made prison tolerable is that fellowship of cooking and celebrating someone going home. She thanked people for making her time there go as well as it did.”

Awww!

And while speaking through tears, Spry reminisced on the last thing Stewart said to her nearly two decades ago:

“She said ‘I don’t think I had enough time with you girls’ and she said to me, ‘I will see you again.’ So I’m still waiting, but I know I’ll see her again.”

Damn! Like we said, surprisingly emotional and touching!

The first two episodes of The Many Lives Of Martha Stewart are available on demand now via CNN‘s platforms. They’ll also re-air on the network on Saturday night. And the final two eps of the miniseries will premiere on Sunday night. So you can get Martha’s entire story — prison and all the rest of her life — this weekend!

What do U make of the smuggled food talk, tho, Perezcious readers?! Crazy, right?? Share your thoughts down in the comments (below)!

[Image via Life Stories/YouTube]