Martha Stewart candidly shared her perspective on aging and how she is “living to the absolute fullest” at 82.
The lifestyle guru explained that she doesn’t worry about getting older in an interview with AARP for the magazine’s 65th anniversary bonus issue.
“Aging isn’t something I think about,” Stewart told the outlet. “How old I am, slowing down, retiring — I just don’t dwell on that.
Martha Stewart shared that she doesn’t give aging much thought and embraces “living to the absolute fullest” at 82. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Image)
“People talk about aging successfully, but I think of it as living gracefully and living to the absolute fullest.
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“I’m about trying new things and learning new things every single day. Staying fresh, being interesting and interested. Staying curious, staying busy, developing new friendships.”
The “Martha Stewart Living” founder added that she hasn’t had any health problems, doesn’t take any medications and has healthy blood pressure.
“And at age 77, I stopped wearing glasses after wearing corrective lenses from the time I was 16,” she revealed. “I’m not bragging about it. Something weird happened. I got an infection in my eyes, and my doctor gave me steroids for it, and the result was 20/20 vision. They call it second sight. I’m pretty fortunate.”
The lifestyle guru detailed her daily routine, which involves waking up at 4 a.m. and doing Pilates three days a week. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
Stewart shared that her routine involves waking up “early, early, early” around 4 a.m. and doing Pilates at 6:15 three days a week.
“I ride horses. I travel. On a recent trip to Maine, I was hiking and boating and doing all the fun things you do there,” she added. “But I also work hard every day on things that challenge me and invigorate me.”
The entrepreneur explained that she was striving to follow in her mother Martha Kostyra’s footsteps when it comes to aging.
“My mother was my idol because she was so vibrant and healthy and strong,” she said. “She had six children, lived to 93 and was the ultimate example of successful living.”
Stewart said her mother inspired her to create the Center for Living at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York that is devoted to caring for people over 65.
“The idea is that aging is not about dying; it’s about living well,” she explained. “Because people are aging so differently now. The average life span has increased. By 2034, there will be more people over 65 than under 18. New communities are popping up where older people are caring for themselves and exploring life in new ways.”
Stewart said her late mother Martha Kostyra was “her idol” and the “ultimate example of successful living.” (Lorenzo Bevilaqua/WireImage)
Stewart recalled that she paused for just a moment when she was approached by Sports Illustrated about posing in a bathing suit on the cover of its swimsuit issue earlier this year before she thought, “Oh, why not?”
“My daughter, Alexis, was very kind,” Stewart told AARP. “She just said, ‘Cool, go for it,’ which was a lot kinder than ‘That’s crazy, Mom.'”
Her next concern was getting into cover model shape in just two months before the shoot, which she took on as an “assignment.”
“I immediately cut out bad foods, worked out, worked on my arms and on elongating my muscles. And the shoot came out great,” she said. “People told me it made them feel good about themselves, and that’s important to me. If you take care of yourself, you can live an active, healthy, long life.”
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Martha Stewart said her daughter Alexis was supportive of her posing for Sports Illustrated. (Sports Illustrated/Larry Busacca/Getty Images North America)
She added that one thing that energizes her is spending time with people who are younger than her, adding that most of her friends are at least 20 years younger, including rapper Snoop Dogg, 51, who she calls her “BFF” (best friend forever).
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“People love to ask me about my friendship with Snoop Dogg, and we really are BFFs,” she said. “It’s an education to get into the brain of someone like him.”
She said that she thought it was “bulls—” a recent article interviewing 50 artists about 50 years of hip hop didn’t include Snoop.
“So, I communicated that to Snoop, and he just said, ‘Maybe I’m not interesting enough.’ Trust me, Snoop is interesting enough. But I understand, I’m a mover-oner. I try not to hold grudges or stay upset about silly things. You can rant and rave. But, then, you know, cool off and let it go.”
Martha Stewart said she and Snoop Dogg really are best friends. (Getty Images)
Stewart is working on a documentary about her life and writing an autobiography and her 100th recipe book.
“These are big, difficult, years-long projects, but I don’t want to have regrets, or ‘would’ve, could’ve, should’ve,’ which is a horrible feeling,” she said.
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She named her two main setbacks in her life as her divorce from her only husband, publisher Andrew Stewart in 1990, and her time in prison in 2004 on conspiracy charges after being accused of insider trading.
“That’s pretty good, having only two,” she mused. “And I have a couple of regrets, but nothing major. You know, why didn’t I collect more art? Why didn’t I pay more attention to so-and-so, who was courting me? Why did I blow him off?”
Martha Stewart with her granddaughter Jude in 2014. (Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)
She also called her two grandchildren her “greatest teachers,” saying she plans to take Jude, 12, and Truman, 11, with her to Japan “because they love Japanese food and because there are so many interesting places to visit there. It’s the children’s enthusiasm for the world that captivates me. Their eyes are wide open.
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“They want to see everything. But so do I. So much is still undone. I’ve accomplished a lot but certainly not everything. Who in the world has done everything they’ve wanted to do? Nobody.”
On her legacy, she said if someone remembered her in 100 years, she hoped they would simply say: “Did you make Martha’s apple pie? Because it really is the best recipe.”
