Dishevelled: Kate Rothschild with Jay Electronica last week
Pulling hard on a cigarette as she sauntered down the road, the unkempt brunette in the hoodie barely drew a glance from photographers outside Ronnie Scott’s nightclub in Soho last week.
The flashbulbs duly exploded into action for Kate Moss, Noel Gallagher, Stephen Fry and many more. But what of the girl in the tracksuit and grubby trainers? She would have looked more at home begging for change.
It was only when her companion was refused entry to the club, sparking an unseemly argument with door staff, that the penny dropped. This was no beggar; it was Kate Rothschild, mother-of-three and heiress to one of the world’s most illustrious — and notorious — banking dynasties, with her rapper boyfriend, the extravagantly monikered Jay Electronica.
‘To be quite frank I was shocked when I saw the pictures,’ a long-standing family friend of the Rothschilds told me this week. ‘One tries not to jump to conclusions, but when she goes out looking like that it is terribly worrying.
‘The past 18 months have been particularly difficult for Kate. Everyone had been hoping that things would settle down, but she is increasingly out of reach. Fundamentally, she is a wonderful girl with a sensible head on her shoulders. She’s also a great mum. But there is a wild, creative side which has a tendency to give everyone around her sleepless nights.
‘From what I hear of the events the other day, they made quite a spectacle of themselves. What was she thinking?’
Indeed, Kate Rothschild’s life has undergone a total transformation since 2005, when she was happy to describe herself as a housewife. Now she is a rock chick, hanging out with rappers.
It is certainly hard to believe that Tuesday’s apparition is the stunning girl who lit up the gossip columns a decade ago in the society wedding of the year.
The marriage of of Ben Goldsmith and Kate Rothschild ended in divorce in April 2013. Kate, then 21, was a vision of understated beauty as she wed Ben bringing together two of Britain's most fabulously wealthy dynasties
Kate's marriage spectacularly imploded in 2012 after Ben uncovered her year-long affair with Jay after reading texts between the two
‘He got into a massive argument with the bouncers because they wouldn’t let him into the club,’ says a witness to the fracas, which ended with the couple being admitted. Then, when they left, Jay was clearly the worse for wear because he started trying to open car doors, saying he was going to drive them home. Kate had to drag him away.
‘Then he got into another argument — I think it was something to do with the ridiculous shorts and knee-high socks he was wearing — and Kate just leaned against a car, looking fed up.
‘Eventually, they headed off home, but not with any dignity.’
Dignity, sadly, has been in short supply since Kate’s marriage spectacularly imploded in 2012 after Ben uncovered her year-long affair with Jay after reading texts between the two. He was so angry that he is alleged to have slapped her and kicked a child’s toy at her.
Cue the police being summoned and a hugely unedifying public spat on Twitter, which culminated in divorce. Since then, Kate’s life has changed almost beyond recognition. Always interested in the performing arts, she had been dabbling in the music industry and had set up her own business, Roundtable Records, for whom Jay was a star client, before the marriage broke down.
She has now swapped life within the London society bubble for a more chaotic existence with Jay. A number of society invitations have been discreetly withdrawn, not least because many of her and Ben’s mutual friends were unimpressed by the public manner of their split.
‘Kate leads a dual life,’ adds the family friend. ‘She is a fantastic mother, utterly dedicated to her three children, but when not on mummy duty she and Jay have a very different lifestyle.
‘When I met him I found him perfectly charming. In a curious way, he’s not at all dissimilar to Russell Brand because he is very passionate and articulate in an unconventional manner.
‘He’s a peacock, but a very masculine peacock. Whereas Ben is socially confident and comfortable dealing with huge financial deals, he wouldn’t be able to change a tyre. Jay could strip down the entire engine and put it back together. I think Kate finds that exciting. There is a passion in this relationship which was sadly lacking with Ben, for all that they were best friends.’
Like Brand — currently in a relationship with Kate’s erstwhile sister-in-law, Jemima Khan — Jay is not your typical ‘bit of rough’.
His home, secured with the assistance of his ever-attentive manager, Kate, is a fifth-floor apartment in Belgravia. The few who have been invited in speak of a minimalist space with record decks, ashtrays (he and Kate are unreconstructed smokers) and bookshelves lined with weighty tomes including Sartre’s Being And Nothingness and The Communist Manifesto.
Kate shares Jay's social conscience and believes his brand of spiritual rap can make a difference to the world
Jay nips around London on a motor scooter and spends the evenings at gigs with his girlfriend.
Kate, who lives with her three children in a £20 million mansion in nearby Kensington, likes nothing more than to drop round to Jay’s at the end of the day and cook dinner.
Kate, who lives with her three children in a £20 million mansion in nearby Kensington, likes nothing more than to drop round to Jay’s at the end of the day and cook dinner.
‘It’s not like they’re jetting around the world and he’s hanging on her coat tails,’ adds the friend. ‘They’re living quite a basic existence and he’s very old-fashioned — when they go out, he pays his way.
‘It’s his combination of incredible talent and unassuming manner which appeals to Kate. She’s a thoroughly nice girl who just wants to be normal. She loves urban music, and she’d far rather go to Nando’s than sit in a VIP suite sipping Bollinger and chatting to chinless wonders.
‘They’re both square pegs in round holes. Perhaps that’s what has kept them together through everything.’
Certainly, they have weathered more storms than anyone expected. Last year, rumours abounded of an impending split when Jay was said to be spending time chatting up Cara Delevingne and her fellow models. But harmony returned. Today, Kate is happily divorced, combining motherhood with her new life. Family time is, in the words of a well-heeled contemporary, ‘a life of Batman costumes, cupcakes and play-dates’.
Those who have observed her at close quarters say she is following her heart. Kate is understood to believe that were it not for her illustrious surname, she would have followed a different path. She shares Jay’s social conscience and believes his brand of spiritual rap can make a difference to the world.
In America, many influential figures still have high hopes for him. Beyonce’s husband Jay Z, the billionaire overlord of rap, has signed him up. Yet for all his undoubted talent, he has yet to produce the goods.
His debut album has been so long awaited it has become an industry joke. Occasionally, he gets drunk and takes to Twitter railing against his critics.
His reputation as a womaniser is enhanced by the fact he has a daughter with Erykah Badu, the Grammy award-winning singer. Sadly, he has never seen much of the little girl, who lives in America.
Kate’s faith in Jay seems unshakeable, but her music business is still to take off. According to her company accounts, Roundtable Records had stocks of £1,885 and cash of £761, but owes Kate £365,606.
Kate’s faith in Jay seems unshakeable, but her music business is still to take off. According to her company accounts, Roundtable Records had stocks of £1,885 and cash of £761, but owes Kate £365,606.
Looking on the bright side, her relationship with her ex-husband has improved markedly as they share custody and strive to do their best for the children.
While Ben, 33, remains hurt by her behaviour, he, too, has moved on and lives near to the family home with his new partner, Jemima Jones, 26, a lingerie model now working as a film producer. It is a conventional life, but he is happy.
Whether the same can be said of Kate is questionable.
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