Who Is Caroline Stanbury's Husband Cem Habib?
This worldly gentleman of #LadiesofLondon is just as smashing as his wife.
When you're married to someone like Ladies of London star Caroline Stanbury, it can be difficult to find your place in the spotlight. Caroline's husband Cem Habib only appears briefly on the show from week to week, but when he does, there's just something about this handsome devil that makes you want to learn more. And you should feel that way, because Cem has a lot going for him.
Cem has shown that he's a supportive father and husband (especially as Caroline struggles to keep her business afloat this season). "No matter what he remains calm," Caroline tells The Daily Dish of her husband. "[It's] the exact opposite of me, [as] I overreact and send him in to clean up my mess!"
In addition, he also has a successful career of his own — one which requires him to travel the globe. "He speaks six languages and has the best memory ever," Caroline adds. "[It's] giantly annoying for me who likes to forget certain things." If we didn't know any better, we'd think when Cem isn't on Ladies of London, he's off being James Bond. Despite jetting all over the world, Cem and Caroline make time for date night once a week. "Every Friday we do a movie dinner night with all our children and have a sleepover in our room. They all have their own mattresses and they sleep on the floor next to us! They look forward to it every week and so do we," she said.
Once you get to know Cem, you'll quickly understand why the usually hard-to-please Caroline has kept this gent around for more than 10 years.
He's Not Originally From London
This show might be called Ladies of London, but we all know it's really an international affair. Cem, who is originally from Turkey, is a perfect example of that. Though he still returns to his native land every once in a while, London is truly his home now.
Cem Means Business
Just like Caroline is a shrewd businesswoman, her husband Cem also knows a thing or two about getting a return on investment. Cem is a partner for a private equity firm, according to his LinkedIn page. He also has to travel to Kazakhstan a ton for his job, and we've seen Caroline cope with his absence this season of Ladies of London. Previously, Cem worked for the investment management company Cheyne Capital where he was "one of London's most high-profile hedge fund managers," according to a 2010 story from Reuters.
These days, Cem seems to be involved with the live streaming app MyEye, and he's in good company. David Beckham is a founding investor in the British start-up that's posing some competition to the well-known mobile platforms Meerkat and Periscope. Does that mean we could one day see Posh and Becks on Ladies of London? We can only hope. And you thought Caroline was the only star in the family.
He Hangs Out With a Fellow Bravoleb
It's not uncommon for Bravolebs to get to know each other while their respective shows are on the air. Cem seems to have taken a particular liking to Mohamed Hadid, the ex-husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Yolanda Foster, who has also appeared on RHOBH (even if he did publicly beat him at backgammon).
He Has a Lot of Other Famous Friends
We thought fashionista Annabelle Neilson was the Ladies of London star with all of the fabulous friends, but Cem gives her a real run for her money. Do a quick scroll through Cem and Caroline's Instagram feeds, and you'll see him posing with many famous faces, from Naomi Campbell to Nicole Scherzinger to British TV personality Vernon Kay. Let's just hope Cem was nice enough to let Caroline bask in all of that star power, too.
He Spoils Caroline with Lavish Gifts
Perhaps Caroline was inspired by Cem's knack for picking out perfect presents when she founded the online luxury gift retailer Gift Library. In the past, Cem has treated Caroline with a marble sculpture of a handbag for an anniversary present, a canary yellow diamond ring after the couple's twins were born, and basically anything that she puts on her gift list, no matter how hard the items may be to track down. Caroline does seem like the kind of woman that always gets what she wants, after all.
He Could've Been in a Boy Band
*NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys were the two boy bands that ruled the late 1990s and early 2000s, but maybe that's because Cem and his friends never picked up a mic. One look at this #TBT photo of Cem (second from the left) and his friends during a trip to Jamaica in 1996, and your 12-year-old self is guaranteed to scream.
He Gets a Kick Out of People Misspelling His Name
Cem Habib isn't exactly the most common name around, so people have a tendency to misspell it. Cem likes to document these valiant attempts at his name on Instagram, which have ranged from "Hem" to "Jam." Well, at least he has a sense of humor about the whole thing.
He Has a Hidden Talent
Cem may not understand Caroline's handbag obsession, but he did design the inside of the wardrobes for the master bedroom suite of their former home in London's Kensington neighborhood. He took on the very arduous task of configuring the space so that there was room for all of Caroline's clothes, shoes, belts, and everything else she owns. Clearly, fighting over closet space is an argument this couple has never had.
Check out Caroline's current closet, below.
He's a Music Fan
It looks like Cem loves music, and he wants you to know that with his many Instagram posts featuring famous artists. But if you saw the likes of Taylor Swift, Jessie J, and "Don't You (Forget About Me)" band Simple Minds perform live, you'd totally brag about it, too.
