Who is Kate Moss’ ‘bloodsucking’ ‘boy toy’ BF, Count Nikolai von Bismarck? He’s pals with Princess Eugenie, is a Liverpool FC fan, and is rumoured to have given Kate Middleton a photography lesson

Nov 29 , 2023

Count Nikolai von Bismarck and Kate Moss attend The Portrait Gala 2019 at the National Portrait Gallery in March 2019, in London, England. Photo: Getty Images

Kate Moss seems to be going strong with her boyfriend – “boy toy” Count Nikolai von Bismarck, who’s 13 years her junior.

Despite rumours of a potential split surfacing in the summer, they quashed these speculations when they were spotted together in Paris in September, ahead of fashion week. Not long after, the 49-year-old supermodel and her British photographer beau, 36, were seen again, this time enjoying a date night in Mayfair, London, per British media.

Moss has called Nikolai her boyfriend since 2015, according to British media.

Kate Moss, Lila Moss and Count Nikolai von Bismarck seen celebrating designer Kim Jones birthday party at Laylow in September 2020, in London, England. Photo: GC Images

The 90s fashion icon has a daughter Lila Moss-Hack, 19, from a previous relationship with Jefferson Hack.

Although Moss and Nikolai have a relatively low-key relationship, she opened up about it more in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar last year, stating, “Being in love makes me feel beautiful.” She added, “My daughter Lila inspires me to be the best person I can be.

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“My favourite moments are when all the family are sitting down together having lunch on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the country.”

Here’s what you need to know about the count who stole the supermodel’s heart.

Count Nikolai von Bismarck hails from an aristocratic family

Kate Moss and Count Nikolai con Bismarck attend the Dior Sessions book launch in October 2019, in London, England. Photo: Getty Images

As the son of Count Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen and Countess Debonnaire von Bismarck, Count Nikolai comes from a noble family. His full name is Count Nikolai Leopold Archibald von Bismarck-Schönhausen, but he usually just goes by Count Nikolai von Bismarck. Nikolai has three younger brothers, Tassilo, Caspar and Sascha.

Is Nikolai von Bismarck related to Otto von Bismarck?

Yup. According to Popsugar, Nikolai’s great-great-grandfather was Otto von Bismarck, a significant German statesman and chancellor. Otto was granted the title of Prince of Bismarck in 1871. Interestingly, the city of Bismarck in North Dakota, US, was named after him.

He’s a photographer …

At 13 years old during a trip to Kenya, Nikolai discovered his passion for photography and later pursued formal education in the field at Parsons in Paris, as per British media. He gained experience by assisting renowned photographers Mario Testino and Annie Leibovitz. There are even reports that Nikolai once provided lessons on “abstract photography” to the then-Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton (now known as Princess of Wales).

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… and, erm, a “blood-sucker”?

Nikolai von Bismarck attends the Supriya Lele show during London Fashion Week in September, at The Barbican in London, England. Photo: Getty Images

The media ran with this news when it first sprang up, and now it’s hard to find a profile about Nikolai without finding some sort of reference to his “bloodsucking” tendencies.

But it’s not what you probably think. The “vampire” references seem to be based on a press release for his exhibition in Ethiopia in 2013, where the count was quoted as saying, “For three weeks, I drank cow’s blood for breakfast, washed in the river and slept in a tent that was guarded by kids with AK-47s.”

He has links to the British royal family

Nikolai von Bismarck (left) and Princess Beatrice of York attend a private view of his new photography exhibition In Ethiopia at 12 Francis Street Gallery in 2013, in London, England. Photo: Getty Images

As a count, Nikolai is well connected to fellow aristocrats. It’s no wonder then that he knows members of the British royal family. Per Popsugar, he’s pals with Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, and went to the former’s wedding in 2018 with Moss. Rumour has it he once dated Beatrice when they were teens, per the same source.

He’s a Liverpool FC fan

Count Nikolai von Bismarck attends the British Vogue x Self Portrait Summer Party at Chiltern Firehouse on July 13, in London, England. Photo: Getty Images

In an interview with British media in 2020, the count revealed that his favourite football team is Liverpool FC. “All this while I am nervously hoping for the football to come back on so Liverpool can finally lift the Premier League trophy to ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ – a song most fitting for the months ahead,” he added.

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How did Kate Moss and Nikolai von Bismarck meet?

Kate Moss and Nikolai von Bismarck arrive at The Hotel De Crillon in September 2019, in Paris, France. Photo: Getty Images

Various sources claim that Moss and Nikolai knew each other for years before they started dating around 2015.

In fact, the Calvin Klein model’s friendship with the count’s mum Debbie von Bismarck, 64 – who is almost as close in age to Moss as Moss is to Debbie’s son – goes way back, per The Standard. When Moss allegedly invited Nikolai to stay at her London home with daughter Lila in 2015, he was first assumed to be the model’s “lodger” until it was later revealed that they were indeed together, according to the same report.

Fame and celebrity

Kate Moss has been dating Count Nikolai von Bismarck on and off since 2015 – the pair have a 13-year age gap and the Calvin Klein model has known his mum Debbie von Bismarck for a while
The British photographer has worked with Mario Testino and Annie Leibovitz, attends fashion weeks and is rumoured to have once dated Britain’s Princess Beatrice