Inside the viral swimsuit snap, the luxe Skylands hot tub glow-up, and how Martha keeps rewriting the rules of aging at 85.
ByBernadette Giacomazzo
August 4, 2026
Key Takeaways
- For her 85th birthday, Martha Stewart posted a confident swimsuit shot from a new hot tub at her Skylands estate, calling it “AMAZING” and adding another viral, age-defying moment to her social media canon.
- Marquee Brands celebrated her milestone with a tribute video featuring famous friends like Today anchor Savannah Guthrie, who hailed Stewart as “an icon” and “a legend.”
- Stewart also spotlighted ongoing renovations at her Maine estate and leaned into her glamorous persona, from joking about finding an “Italian prince” at the 2026 Milan Olympics to insisting she wears makeup even for early-morning workouts because “there’s men in the gym.”
If there were any questions about whether Martha Stewart planned to slow down at 85, she answered them from a hot tub.
The lifestyle mogul celebrated her milestone birthday on August 3 by sharing a swimsuit photo on her Instagram Stories, lounging in a brand-new hot tub with perfectly styled hair and her trademark confidence fully intact. Keeping the caption short, Stewart declared, “The new hot tub is AMAZING!”
The post quickly became the latest addition to Stewart’s growing collection of viral, age-defying social media moments. She also marked the occasion with a celebratory video shared by Marquee Brands, the company behind her lifestyle empire, featuring birthday wishes from a host of familiar faces.
Among them was Today anchor Savannah Guthrie, who described Stewart as “an icon” and “a legend.”
The birthday update also offered another look at Stewart’s ongoing renovations at her Skylands estate in Seal Harbor, Maine. Earlier this year, she revealed that the property’s outdoor spaces—including a massive pool project—were undergoing a significant makeover ahead of summer.
“Pool house construction must commence, terracing and landscaping must be completed, and outdoor furniture restored and readied,” Stewart wrote in April. She added that she was excited to see the finished space filled with “kids and friends.”
The latest post continues a year in which Stewart has leaned into the persona that’s made her one of the internet’s most unlikely social media stars. In recent months, she confidently declared herself “a very good catch,” explaining that she knows “how to cook,” “how to clean,” and “how to keep a house.”
She also joked that she was hoping to meet her “Italian prince” while attending the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.
Her beauty routine has been just as much of a talking point. Stewart recently revealed that she refuses to leave the house—even for a 6:30 a.m. workout—without showering first and putting on makeup.
“I have to because there’s men in the gym,” she said, adding that she doesn’t want to “look awful.”
