Martha Stewart’s Fellow Former Inmates Shed New Light on Her Prison Time

US television personality Martha Stewart arrives for the Wall Street Journal Magazine 2023 Innovator Awards at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City on November 1, 2023. The annual awards, now in their 12th year, recognize talents from a range of disciplines, including fashion, art, literature, entertainment, architecture, design, technology, and philanthropy. (Photo by Andrea RENAULT / AFP) (Photo by ANDREA RENAULT/AFP via Getty Images)

With Martha Stewart in her thirst trap era, it's easy to forget that, not so long ago, she was in her prison era.

Now, several of her fellow former inmates are offering a firsthand glimpse into her time in the big house—which totaled only five months after she was found guilty of one count of conspiracy, two counts of making false statements, and one count of obstruction of agency proceedings in 2004.

In a preview of the final episode of the CNN miniseries The Many Lives of Martha Stewart, which is set to air this Sunday, Feb. 4, obtained by People, her friends from the minimum-security prison are dishing on the time spent with the beloved homemaker–and, of course, there was plenty of food involved, and another broken rule or two.

Meg Phipps recalled Stewart once having dessert delivered to her at Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia, after the two began to communicate with one another by handwritten notes.

"Someone from that cottage or dorm, you had to wait for someone to take that in for you,” she remembered. One day, Stewart reached out, sending a pie along with her note suggesting the two meet in person.

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

But, according to Susan Spry, who was also incarcerated during that time, “Everyone smuggles food out of kitchens. I mean what else are you going to make?”

Spry also offered some insight into Stewart's prison duties, which, despite her expertise, did not fall within the kitchen. Instead, she worked as custodial staff in the administration building. “She kept it clean. She cleaned toilets. She cleaned the warden’s toilet,” Spry said.

Elizabeth Walker, a former supervisory chaplain at Alderson, added that Stewart was also responsible for sweeping the floors and taking out the trash, noting that "she was very good" at her job—an effort, perhaps, to impress those she was living with for the time being.

Walker recalled a speech Stewart gave at Christmastime, where "she wrote about what peace is." Despite having had her own television shows, Stewart's hands shook as she spoke to the crowd. "She wanted to do a good job for the women she was with…that impressed me,” she admitted.

When her release date rolled around, the group held a potluck to send her off—including a dessert made by Stewart herself.

“We brought different dishes, but Martha did bring a caramel flan, and I don’t know how she made it,” Phipps remembered. “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.”

Though today Stewart is BFFs with the one and only Snoop Dogg, Spry hopes to reconnect with her "prison friend." Upon her release, she remembered Stewart saying, "I don’t think I had enough time with you girls...I will see you again." She's "still waiting," but knows it will happen someday.

Next: Martha Stewart Accused of Stealing Famous Recipe by Former Employee