Charles Spencer's New Girlfriend Sues His Estranged Wife Countess Karen Spencer
Spencer announced his divorce from his third wife, Karen, in June
Charles Spencer’s new girlfriend, Cat Jarman, has filed a lawsuit against his estranged wife, Countess Karen Spencer, alleging misuse of private information, according to reports.
Charles, the younger brother of Princess Diana, announced his divorce from his third wife, Karen, in June of this year. The 9th Earl Spencer is now romantically involved with Dr. Jarman, a 42-year-old Norwegian archaeologist with whom he co-hosts the history podcast The Rabbit Hole Detectives.
The misuse of private information claim was filed on Oct. 10, according to the Telegraph. No further details are available.
Charles, 60, declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE, while Jarman’s legal team has yet to respond to requests for comment. Karen, 52, also declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE.
Related: Charles Spencer and Wife Karen Divorcing After 13 Years of Marriage: 'It Is Immensely Sad'
Earl Spencer married Karen Gordon, a Canadian philanthropist and founder of the Whole Child International charity, in June 2011. After meeting the year prior on a blind date at a Los Angeles restaurant, the two were married on the grounds of Althorp, the Spencer family ancestral home, where Princess Diana is buried. The couple share one daughter, named in part for her late aunt — Lady Charlotte Diana, 12.
Charles has seven children from three marriages. In addition to Charlotte, he has four children with his first wife, Victoria Lockwood and two with his second wife, Caroline Freud.
“It is immensely sad,” Charles said in June, as the divorce was announced. “I just want to devote myself to all my children, and to my grandchildren, and I wish Karen every happiness in the future.”
For the divorce proceedings, Charles hired Fiona Shackleton, who also represented then-Prince Charles in his divorce from Princess Diana. The former Prince and Princess of Wales separated in 1992 and finalized their divorce in 1996, almost exactly one year before she died following a car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997.
In August, Karen revealed that she was still living at Althorp, adding in a statement that she no longer had access to her newsletter mailing list and encouraged followers to sign up to a new website that she hoped to launch this fall.
“I look forward to closing this chapter out with you all and launching the next,” she said in her statement in August. “I will be sharing an update on my projects and reflecting on all the wonderful things I have learned during my time here on this beautiful estate.”
She said she would provide “a deeper dive” for “those of you who enjoy more detail.”
Charles and Jarman broke their silence about their romance last week, after the Times asked about rumors that they had “grown close.”
“We are close,” said Charles. “Well, close enough.”
According to the Telegraph, the two met when Jarman was searching for the remains of an ancient Roman villa on Althorp’s grounds for a documentary. Earl Spencer and Jarman co-host a podcast, The Rabbit Hole Detectives, alongside broadcaster Rev. Richard Coles, which launched last year.
“We’re not that domestic, really, are we?” Charles joked of his dynamic with Jarman. “No, I mean, I love Richard just as much, but just in a different way.”
The trio published a book of the same name last week.
Of the Althorp excavation, Earl Spencer wrote on Instagram, “Amazing to think of those long-ago folk enjoying Althorp, 1,000 or so years before my family first farmed here in the 1480s.” He continued, “This team was assembled by my fellow Rabbit Hole Detective podcaster Cat Jarman…such a professional, upbeat and utterly charming group.”
Countess Spencer, in her August statement, also spoke out about the excavation, writing that “Many of you have been asking what we found when we did the excavation. You won’t believe it! Can’t wait to share.”
Earl Spencer said in 2020 of his marriage to Countess Spencer, “Karen and I both appreciate what the other does and look after what we have. Neither of us has found happiness like this before.”
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In March of this year, he published his memoir, A Very Private School, which he worked on for nearly five years. In the book, he revealed he had been sexually abused as a child by a female staff member while at boarding school, and reliving that trauma deeply affected him.
Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE, Charles opened up about Karen’s support during the process of writing the book: “Karen has been supportive,” he said. “I think it was very challenging for her to have a husband going through what was essentially four and a half years of the most profound therapy with very difficult undertones to it. And she supported the idea of me doing it.”
“I think she always hoped I would come out happier and healthier,” he added. “And that seems to be the case, very much. So I’m grateful to have her standing by me while I went through this, what I now realize was an essential process.”
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