Earl Charles Spencer, 60 breaks silence on new relationship with Dr. Cat Jarman, 42

Earl Charles Spencer has found love again amid his ongoing divorce with Countess Karen Spencer, and is feeling happier than ever, according to a new interview. 

The 9th Earl Spencer, who is the brother of the late Princess Diana, has spoken for the first time about his new relationship with Norwegian architect Dr. Cat Jarman, who is 18 years his junior. 

In conversation with The Mail on Sunday, the Earl said: “I’m too old for hearts and flowers stuff, but the best way to describe it is that with Cat, I can be myself. She knows who I am. Who I really am. I don’t have to pretend to be something I am not. And she brings out the best in me.” 

The couple first met in 2021 when Cat came to Althorp House, the Spencer family’s ancestral seat in Northamptonshire, England, for an archaeological investigation. 

Their relationship started as a working one, with the now couple launching The Rabbit Hole Detectives podcast with Reverend Richard Coles in 2023, which dissects the provenance of historical objects, both real and metaphorical. 

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Earl Spencer filed for divorce from his wife Karen in June 2024, which according to the MailOnline, has not yet been completed. “A lot of my close friends have said how happy they are that I am with someone like Cat because it shows enormous progress from where I was before,” the father-of-six said, adding: “Look, it’s good to be with someone who is just so… nice.”

He described his new love as “completely different to anyone I’ve ever been with before,” adding that their age gap made him initially doubt the possibility of romance. 

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“The thing is, I am 18 years older than Cat and so there wasn’t even the possibility,” he acknowledged. “I’ve never been with a much younger person. I wasn’t even thinking romance. I was at the tail end of a marriage. It just wasn’t a possibility. I’ve never tried to do a hard sell on Cat. She’s very canny, very emotionally mature. With her I don’t pretend to be anything I am not. She knows exactly who I am – and who I am not.”

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Last month, it was revealed that Earl’s girlfriend Cat has started legal proceedings against his ex-wife, Countess Karen Spencer over “misuse of private information”.

The court filing was made in October, however further details about the case haven’t been released. For the case, Cat is being represented by legal firm Simons Muirhead Burton, while Karen will reportedly be representing herself in the legal case.