Earl Spencer’s girlfriend Cat Jarman denies affair and ‘homewrecker’ allegations from his ex-wife Countess Spencer

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Earl SpencerThe woman’s friend has insisted she is not a housewife amid allegations the couple have begun an affair.

Cat Jarmana Norwegian archaeologist, said claims that their romance began while they were both still married are ‘hurtful’ and untrue.

The Earl’s former wife, Countess Spenceraccused her husband of having an affair of 13 years with Ms Jarman, 43, in a high-profile legal battle.

“Both marriages were over when Charles and I started a relationship, and had been for some time,” Mrs Jarman told the Mail on Sunday.

“These allegations are very difficult to refute in any case, but it was the way it was done: it was recorded in legal documents, where it could be reported without the risk of being accused of defamation. That was so hurtful and anyone who knows me knows it wasn’t true.

“I think I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it’s very painful when there’s not even the slightest element of truth to it. It just feels very unnecessary, and the fact that it was so public. It’s just disturbing.”

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Ms Jarman had launched a legal claim against the Countess, who divorced the Earl in December, alleging misuse of private information in October 2024.

Ms Jarman claimed the Countess shared her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis with the Count, 61, and others without her consent. The case was settled in December for an undisclosed amount, without admission of liability.

In a statement read out at the High Court this week to mark the end of the legal proceedings, she said she was “deeply saddened” by the disclosure of her diagnosis.

Ms Jarman met the Earl, brother of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, while working on an excavation at his ancestral home Althorp for a Channel 4 documentary in 2021.

She said she and her husband, Tom Jarman, had been separated “for years” but kept it quiet for the sake of their children.

During the trial, the Countess accused the Earl, with whom she shares a daughter, of having an affair with Ms Jarman before informing her by text message in March 2024 that their marriage was over and then “completely refusing” to discuss it in person.

Explaining her own timeline, Ms Jarman said she and the Count had been friends for “quite some time” before it blossomed into a romance.

“Neither of us were looking for anything else,” she said. “We really weren’t. I think that was the key. And the timing was important to both of us. We both needed something new, but maybe didn’t know we were doing it.”

‘Devastating effect’ on the family

In court, the countess claimed the affair “became apparent” when she compared notes with Mrs Jarman’s former husband, who then told her his wife had multiple sclerosis.

Ms Jarman said the Countess’s subsequent decision to publicize her condition had a significant impact. She said: “The whole thing had a devastating effect on our whole family. It took a long time to put the pieces together.

‘It was wrong that she shared personal medical information. Shared something [like an MS diagnosis] must be a matter of choice.”

After her trial, the earl praised his partner’s “quiet courage” in suing his ex-wife after it emerged he had funded Ms Jarman’s business with a loan.

“Cat handled every aspect of this with grace, integrity and quiet courage,” he said.

“She was only seeking what was her right: the same right to privacy that every human being deserves.”

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