Following the end of his third marriage, Princess Diana’s brother moved on with a much younger woman. However, the couple soon found themselves embroiled in a scandal involving leaked private information and an intense legal dispute.
Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer and younger brother of Princess Diana, is no stranger to the spotlight, but his private life has recently captured even more attention. After divorcing his third wife, the Earl found companionship with a television archaeologist 18 years his junior.
However, what began as a fresh start quickly turned controversial when private details about his new love’s health were allegedly leaked by his estranged ex-wife, igniting a legal battle. Take a closer look at the Earl’s divorce from his third wife and meet his much younger girlfriend.
A Marriage on the Rocks
In June 2024, the news broke that Earl Spencer and his third wife, Karen Spencer, the Countess of Spencer, were getting divorced. The couple’s 13-year marriage reportedly unraveled under the weight of personal challenges, including the strain caused by the Earl’s memoir.
The book, which recounted the harrowing abuse he endured during his boarding school years, is said to have taken a heavy emotional toll on the relationship.
The Earl and Countess had informed the staff at Althorp, the Spencer family’s historic Northamptonshire estate, about their decision to divorce in April 2024.
The couple, who married in June 2011 on Althorp’s grounds— where Princess Diana is buried — had been introduced the previous year on a blind date in Los Angeles.
Countess Spencer, a Canadian philanthropist, had been a steady presence by the Earl’s side throughout their marriage, overseeing various projects at Althorp and supporting his public endeavors.
By late August, the Countess confirmed in an Instagram post that she was still living at Althorp, adding to the intrigue surrounding the state of their relationship.
In November, she took to Instagram again, sharing in part, “It’s been a challenging time, but also one filled with so much generosity and kindness,” offering a glimpse into the emotional complexity of the situation.
While the details of their separation remained closely guarded, the announcement marked the end of a chapter for the Earl, whose personal life has often been in the public eye.
With the couple’s high-profile split capturing significant attention, the story took an unexpected turn when Princess Diana’s younger brother introduced his new romantic partner — and allegations about a personal betrayal emerged.
A New Love and a Controversial Revelation
In an interview published by The Mail on Sunday on November 24, Earl Spencer opened up about finding love again with Dr. Cat Jarman, a television archaeologist. Their connection began as colleagues working on a project at Althorp.
Reflecting on the early days of their relationship, the Earl shared, “So we were friends, then we were colleagues. […] We were fascinated by the same things. And she made me laugh. Laughter was key.”
Despite the closeness that eventually developed between them, the father of seven insisted that romance was not on his mind initially.
“[I] wasn’t looking, neither of us were,” he explained. “I am 18 years older than Cat, and so there wasn’t even the possibility. 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.”
Their relationship grew over time, but its idyllic beginnings were marred by a dramatic and deeply personal revelation. Dr. Jarman, who had kept a significant aspect of her health private for years, found herself at the center of a public controversy when her medical history was leaked to the public.
She revealed that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) eight years earlier, during the final stages of her Ph.D. “I woke one morning with crippling pins and needles, shooting pains in my spine, as if I was being Tasered. I completely lost the power of my right hand — I couldn’t even hold a pen,” she recalled.
The condition took nine months of intense treatment before she regained full use of her hand. Dr. Jarman had gone to great lengths to keep her diagnosis private, fearing its impact on her career and personal life.
She shared, “None of my TV colleagues knew. Even Charles did not know. When you have a new partner, you have to gauge when and how to tell them something this huge, and I hadn’t yet done so.” However, her condition became public knowledge in a manner she did not choose.
The Countess of Spencer allegedly learned about Dr. Jarman’s MS during a conversation in which she questioned whether Dr. Jarman had been romantically involved with the Earl before the end of their marriage — a claim both Earl Spencer and Dr. Jarman categorically denied.
“She found out from someone close to me — someone I don’t want to drag into this,” Dr. Jarman explained. “But in the course of a conversation about whether I had been having an affair with her husband…Karen learned that I have MS. It was also confirmed to her that this was not something that was widely known.”
What happened next shocked Dr. Jarman. The Countess reportedly disclosed her diagnosis to the Earl and several others. “I just felt utterly sick. I went into a panic, particularly over the implications for my career,” she said.
“I understand that she was hurting, but why would you share private medical information like that, without consent, especially when you knew it was private — and secret? It has been the most stressful time, and with MS, you are told that it is most important to avoid stress,” Dr. Jarman stated.
Earl Spencer, upon learning of the diagnosis, reacted with compassion and understanding. “He has been incredible,” Dr. Jarman said. “He completely understood why I hadn’t felt able to tell him at that stage. He knows it was a very personal thing.”
The Countess, however, continued to share Dr. Jarman’s private information, according to court documents filed by the television archaeologist. The legal action claimed that the disclosure caused “distress, upset, and embarrassment.”
Dr. Jarman explained, “I resorted to writing to the Countess, via lawyers, asking her to desist from sharing intimate details about my life. And I also asked her for a list of everyone she had told.” The Countess reportedly ignored these requests, prompting Dr. Jarman to take further legal steps.
In October, with Earl Spencer’s full support, Dr. Jarman filed a lawsuit against the Countess, seeking damages and an injunction to prevent further disclosures.
The court documents emphasized the sensitive nature of the information, stating, “Dr. Jarman did not, at any time, provide her consent to the Countess to disclose that information to any third party or intimate anything to that effect.”
“This lack of consent should have been obvious to the Countess, given the nature of the private information and the circumstances in which it was imparted,” the court documents continued.
Despite the legal action, Dr. Jarman remained firm in defending her position. “The end of the marriage was categorically not my fault,” she shared. “He did not leave her for me at all. The marriage was most definitely over before anything developed between us.”
The Countess has signaled her intention to defend herself against the claims, setting the stage for what could become a high-profile legal battle.
As the legal battle between Dr. Jarman and the Countess of Spencer unfolds, it underscores the profound impact of privacy breaches and unresolved tensions. However, the Earl’s support for his new partner amid these revelations demonstrates their growing bond as a couple.