Who Is Cat Jarman? All About Charles Spencer’s Girlfriend and Podcast Cohost

Charles Spencer is dating again amid his divorce from his third wife, Karen Spencer. 

The 9th Earl Spencer and younger brother of the late Princess Diana announced his split from Karen in June 2024 to The Mail on Sunday.

“It is immensely sad,” Spencer told the outlet of his divorce. “I just want to devote myself to all my children, and to my grandchildren, and I wish Karen every happiness in the future.”

In October 2024, Spencer confirmed his romance with Norwegian archaeologist Cat Jarman, his podcasting cohost on Rabbit Hole Detectives.

That same month, Jarman filed a lawsuit against Karen — claiming misuse of private information regarding her MS diagnosis. Charles declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE.

“With Cat, I can be myself,” Charles told The Mail on Sunday in November 2024. “She knows who I am, who I really am. I don’t have to pretend to be something I am not. And she brings out the best in me.”

So, who is Cat Jarman? Here’s everything to know about Charles Spencer’s girlfriend.

Jarman and Spencer cohost a podcast together

Spencer and Jarman launched their podcast, Rabbit Hole Detectives, alongside Reverend Richard Coles in February 2023. Each episode of the podcast chases “the provenance of historical objects both real and metaphorical,” per the description.

“I essentially get the freedom to just research all kinds of fun topics, historical topics, origins of pretty much anything,” Jarman said of the podcast in her Institute of Irish Studies talk.

She and Spencer began dating amid his divorce

After Spencer announced his divorce from his estranged wife Karen in June 2024, The Mail on Sunday also reported that he was “becoming close to” Jarman, who is currently separated from her husband.

In addition to their podcast, Jarman has also been helping Spencer unearth a Roman villa in Althorp.

“It was an absolute privilege to work with Charles as the first archaeologist in the grounds of this 500 year old park,” Jarman wrote on Instagram in November 2021 announcing her work on the project. “Can’t wait to share the full results!”

Spencer eventually confirmed his relationship with Jarman — calling her his “partner” during an appearance on Good Morning Britain in October 2024.

Spencer is 18 years older than her

While speaking to The Mail on Sunday in November 2024, Spencer acknowledged the 18-year age difference between him and Jarman.

“I’ve never been with a much younger person,” he told the outlet, adding that his archaeologist girlfriend is “very canny, very emotionally mature.”

Jarman attended the University of Bristol

Jarman studied archaeology at the University of Bristol where she received her doctorate degree in 2017, per her bio on her literary agency’s website. Her research focused on the late 9th century Viking Great Army in Derbyshire, England, which she learned about through studying a mass Viking grave site of over 300 people. Her findings later informed the 2019 documentary Britain’s Viking Graveyard and PBS’ The Lost Viking Army.

Now, Jarman is an honorary senior research associate at the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the school and the director of the archaeological research unit.

Jarman is an archaeologist and author

After receiving her doctorate, Jarman continued her archaeological work, specializing in the Viking field, specifically on women and Rapa Nui (Easter Island). She has led excavations at the Anglo-Saxon and Viking site Repton as well as at the newly discovered Viking winter camp in Foremark, per her bio.

“I’m always looking for new stories to tell,” Jarman said of her work in a conversation for the Institute of Irish Studies in Liverpool in November 2023. “I do a lot of broadcasting and podcasts as well.”

In addition to her fieldwork, Jarman has published her findings in two books, 2021’s River Kings: A New History of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Roads and 2023’s The Bone Chests: Unlocking the Secrets of the Anglo-Saxons.

The former traces the origins of a piece of jewelry that was found in England from India, and the latter tells the story of her research into ten broken wooden chests that contained the bones of royals.

In her talk at the Institute of Irish Studies, she shared that she enjoyed writing the scientific parts of her latest book the most, describing it as her “comfort blanket.”

She is a mother

Jarman has been open about her struggles of being a full-time working mother on Instagram. In a February 2023 post, she wrote about how she took her children on a trip with her as they were on break from school, something she rarely gets to do.

“While their world stops for a week, mine doesn’t. Thankfully, my children are older now and need less supervision, but I still want them to enjoy their time off,” she wrote in the caption alongside photos of her children by the sea. “I travel a lot for work but rarely get to take my children with me so this time, I sneaked in a mini-break by the sea to coincide with a meeting.”

She filed a lawsuit against Karen Spencer

In October 2024, Jarman sued Charles’ estranged wife, Karen Spencer, alleging misuse of private information. She later revealed to the Daily Mail that Karen allegedly disclosed her 2016 multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis without permission.

“Karen learned that I have MS. It was also confirmed to her that this was not something that was widely known. And yet she then went to Charles and said: ‘You do know she has MS, don’t you?’ ” Jarman told the outlet in December 2024. “I’m still not entirely sure who else she shared this private and sensitive information with, which is the point of this legal action.”

Countess Spencer did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.