What Martha Stewart's Former Fellow Inmates Say She's Really Like

Martha Stewart is a multimedia mogul and a convict. It was during her time in prison that the world's most famous homemaker earned the title of America's first self-made billionaire woman, though her status has since returned to just multi-millionaire. But neither hitting billionaire status nor being locked up did much to change Stewart's essence. At least that's what her former fellow inmates suggested. Two of them described Stewart as a hard-working felon who made an effort to add a homely feel to their confines.

Stewart was at the Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia between October 2004 and March 2005. The serious crime that landed Stewart in prison involved accusations of illegal insider trading during the sale of her ImClone Systems stock in 2001. During her 2004 trial, she was found guilty of obstruction of justice and making false statements to investigators, CNN reported. She faced up to five years in prison but received the minimum sentence of five months.

Even if her fellow inmates recalled an optimistic Stewart who did the best with what she was given, Stewart has made outrageous claims about her time in prison. In the 2024 Netflix series "Martha" (via People), she recalled being put in solitary confinement for accidentally bumping into an officer. Even though the Alderson prison is nicknamed "Camp Cupcake," Stewart's time in prison was not a sweet experience. Still, former inmates emphasized she made no attempts to be treated like she was different from them. 

Martha Stewart did her best to get through her five months in federal prison. And she did it the only way she knew how — by making her life and the lives of those around her a tad bit sweeter. One day, fellow inmate Meg Phipps was surprised to find a note from Stewart, not because she had written to her but because of what was sent along with it. "She also sent that note with a baked apple," Phipps said on "The Many Lives of Martha Stewart" (via People).

The addition of the treat suggested Stewart had wasted no time figuring out a way to make desserts with the limited means provided by the prison. "[It] 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. Besides sharing her kitchen talents with her prison friends, Stewart also took her work seriously.

While incarcerated, Stewart worked in the administration building. "She kept it clean. She cleaned toilets. She cleaned the warden's toilet," another fellow inmate, Susan Spry, said. Spry's account proved Stewart kept the promise she made after her sentencing. "I'll be back. I will be back. I'm used to all kinds of hard work, as you know, and I'm not afraid," she said outside the courthouse (via The New York Times).