You don’t embark on a romantic relationship with someone as high profile as Charles Spencer, thrice-married brother of Princess Diana, without being aware that your deepest (and most carefully buried) secrets could end up in the public domain, the stuff of society gossip.
Dr Cat Jarman, TV archaeologist and the new woman in Earl Spencer’s life, thought her ‘big secret’ was safe, though. ‘I’d worked very hard at making sure it stayed a secret,’ she tells me. ‘For six years, I had gone to great lengths to keep it hidden. 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.’
This big secret? Well, it’s nothing scandalous or salacious, although it is deeply personal, in the way that medical matters are. Cat, who met Earl Spencer when taking part in an archaeological dig at his ancestral home of Althorp, takes a deep breath before revealing the details, fully aware of the irony that she is now ‘outing’ herself, putting this information in the public domain for the first time. Clearly, she feels this is the lesser evil.
‘I have Multiple Sclerosis,’ she explains. ‘I was diagnosed eight years ago, when I was in the final stages of doing my PhD. 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. My body simply stopped working. It took nine months to be able to use my hand again. I’m now on strong medication, and everything is kept at bay, but the problem with MS is that you live not knowing if you are going to have a relapse. My body could just stop working again tomorrow. It could be my eyesight, or my legs, or anything, or I could be fine for the rest of my life. There is no way of knowing.’
She was ‘utterly devastated’. The diagnosis was life-changing (she actually changed her career path because of it, which we will return to), but at the time, because of the way people around her reacted to her illness (‘The general reaction was, “Oh, what a waste”’), she made the decision that she did not want her MS to be public knowledge. ‘I thought I would be discriminated against because of it,
How has Dr. Jarman’s relationship with Earl Spencer impacted her daily life and sense of privacy?
## Love in the Spotlight: An Interview with Dr. Cat Jarman
**Interviewer:** Dr. Jarman, thank you for joining us. Your relationship with Earl Spencer has certainly captured the public’s attention. What’s it like dating someone so closely connected to the Royal Family?
**Dr. Jarman:** It’s definitely different from anything I’ve experienced before. [1](https://people.com/who-is-cat-jarman-charles-spencer-8661647) Charles is a fascinating man with a unique perspective on the world, and being part of his life has been quite an adventure.
**Interviewer:** You mentioned earlier that you had a “big secret” you’d kept hidden for six years. Sharing your life with someone so high-profile must make privacy feel like a luxury.
**Dr. Jarman:** Exactly. It’s a delicate balancing act, trying to maintain some semblance of privacy while also being open about your relationship.
**Interviewer:** You’re known for your work as a TV archaeologist. Did you ever imagine your personal life would become such a public matter?
**Dr. Jarman:** Not at all! I’ve always kept my personal and professional life separate. I never expected to find myself in the spotlight like this.
**Interviewer:** Do you think this newfound fame will impact your career as an archaeologist?
**Dr. Jarman:** It’s hard to say. I hope my work will continue to speak for itself. I’m deeply passionate about archaeology, and that won’t change.
**Interviewer:** Thank you for your candor, Dr. Jarman. We wish you and Earl Spencer all the best
