21-07-2025
£2m bill for legal battle between Earl Spencer's ex-wife and girlfriend
The legal battle between Earl Spencer's estranged wife and his new girlfriend is set to cost more than £2m, a court has heard.
Cat Jarman, who has been dating the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, for almost a year, is suing his third wife after accusing her of sharing private medical information.
The Norwegian archaeologist, 43, lodged a High Court claim against Countess Karen Spencer, the Earl's wife of 13 years, last October.
She has since alleged that she was forced to reveal her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis in a high-profile newspaper interview to end gossip online.
On Monday, Master Mark Gidden heard that both parties had reached an agreement on future estimated legal costs amounting to more than £2.2m.
Kirsten Sjovoll, for Jarman, told the judge the overall agreed future costs for the claimant stood at £1,217,880, while the defendant's legal costs were £1,000,087. The court did not hear how much Jarman is suing the Countess for.
The barrister claimed the defendant's legal costs were 'excessively high', noting that Countess Spencer's tally was already exceeding more than half a million.
Master Gidden disagreed, noting: 'To my mind, they are costs falling within a range that is to be expected.'
Speaking about the apparent discrepancy in spending, Clara Hamer, for Countess Spencer, said: 'Just on the big picture point…when you're dealing with a case of this magnitude and the issues involved that's not such a great gulf.'
She claimed Countess Spencer's legal costs so far amounted to £511,404, while Jarman's were £329,365.
'The court is not a slave to comparison,' she went on, adding: 'Similar work in the hands of different legal teams may result in different costs.'
Jarman previously revealed she had 'worked very hard indeed' to keep her MS diagnosis hidden from many people she knew, including the Earl, 61, in the early days of their relationship.
When she lodged the court case in Autumn last year, the details of her diagnosis remained confidential.
She later gave an interview to MailOnline in which she revealed she had the condition, and said in court documents that she was concerned about her 'loss of autonomy and control' over her own medical information.
Countess Spencer, meanwhile, accused her estranged husband and Jarman of attempting to 'garner publicity for their relationship' in the press.
She said Jarman's decision to give an interview to MailOnline in which she revealed her diagnosis was 'hopelessly inconsistent' with her legal case.
'Deliberately disclosing the fact that she has MS to the world in a manner calculated to give it maximum publicity is not only entirely inconsistent with any claim to privacy, but it also nullifies the ostensible purpose of these proceedings,' the defence reads.
The Countess, who was married to the Earl for 13 years and shares a daughter with him, has robustly defended herself against Jarman's allegations. She and the Earl are in the midst of divorce proceedings.
The Earl confirmed he was in a relationship with Jarman live on ITV's Good Morning Britain in October last year.
The couple later gave an interview about their relationship in November, during which he said she 'brings out the best in me'.