EAMONN Holmes and his new lover started exchanging flirty online messages 12 years ago, The Sun on Sunday can reveal.

When their banter started in 2012 it included Katie Alexander’s husband, George.

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Katie Alexander sits in the captain’s chair for photo she shared onlineCredit: Instagram

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Eamonn Holmes and Katie head out in IbizaCredit: Darren Fletcher

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Ruth Langsford and Eamonn at Derby in 2019 before their splitCredit: Getty
At one point the businessman even joked to the TV presenter: “Think she’s flirting with you.” And George, a diehard Manchester United fan like Eamonn, added on Twitter: “Good job we’re both Red.”

The Sun on Sunday told in May how Eamonn’s 14-year marriage to Loose Women favourite Ruth Langsford collapsed after she found messages between him and another woman on a laptop.

Last night, a source said: “We knew Eamonn and Katie got together via social media, but no one knew how far back they went.

“Ruth will be shocked they were in contact 12 years ago. I don’t think she would have known.”

They went on: “Eamonn gets a buzz out of replying to messages from fans. He and Katie had a real connection, and it blossomed into something more.

“But at the outset George joined in with the online banter. He would never have guessed Katie was going to get together with Eamonn years down the line.”

Our latest revelation comes as mum-of-three Katie, 42, showed off her holiday snaps from a seven-day cruise with 64-year-old Eamonn in September.

George, 53, and marriage therapist Katie divorced in 2022 after 12 years together.

He later became aware that Eamonn and Katie were meeting.

It emerged that Eamonn had been showering gifts and treats on Katie and her children in the months before the marriage ended.

She even stayed at a luxury hotel in Surrey just ten minutes from Eamonn’s marital home.

Ruth, 64, now wants a divorce and has hired £400-an-hour lawyer Catherine Costley.

She previously worked under the country’s top divorce lawyer, “Steel Magnolia” Baroness Fiona Shackleton, who represented the King in his split from Diana, as well as Sir Paul McCartney.

Meanwhile, Eamonn is getting ready to make his first red carpet appearance with Katie at the black tie Irish Post Awards at London’s five-star Grosvenor House Hotel on Thursday.

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Katie poses on the ship’s balcony in a plunging black dressCredit: Instagram
The presenter is hosting the event which will be attended by stars including Micheal Flatley, Una Healey, Laura Whitmore and Bananarama’s Siobhan Fahey.

An insider said: “Katie adores getting dressed up and wearing dresses and heels. It’s a big night for Eamonn and she wants to be there to support him.”

The Sun on Sunday can also reveal that Eamonn’s long-term personal assistant quit suddenly last week. Nicola Finn was admired in the showbiz industry for her running of his Surrey-based business Holmes & Away.

The more it emerges what Eamonn’s up to, she’s realising she’s much better off without him.

Source

Katie is now temporarily helping run his diary. Pals said her new role shows how besotted Eamonn has become as the couple “plan for the future together”.

A spokesman for Eamonn said the TV anchor — who had a double hip replacement in 2016 and uses a wheelchair after back surgery last year — has no plans to permanently replace Nicola with Katie full-time.

Ruth, in the meantime, has been having a glow-up, getting hair extensions, eating healthily and trying out new fashion.

A source said: “She’s getting her life back on track and looking to the future.

“The more it emerges what Eamonn’s up to, she’s realising she’s much better off without him.”

Ruth and Eamonn met in 1997. She gave birth to their son, Jack, in 2002. Eamonn has three children from his first marriage.

The couple won millions of fans presenting ITV’s This Morning together between 2006 and 2021.

Kate booze cruise

KATIE Alexander shows off her sea legs as she poses in a captain’s hat and denim shorts on a Mediterranean cruise with Eamonn Holmes.

As well as the pic in the skipper’s seat, she shared snaps of her with a bottle a bubbly and an Aperol spritz on the £15,000 seven-day holiday.

Katie with an Aperol spritz on the £15,000 seven-day holidayCredit: Instagram

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Katie showing off her sea legs while enjoying a bottle of bubblyCredit: Instagram
Another photo was taken on the balcony of Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady.

In it, mum-of-three Katie wears a black £315 Nadine Merabi dress with a plunging neckline.

She recently posted the images from her September holiday with Eamonn on Instagram.

She teamed them with Markus Howard song, Just Keep Swimming. The lyrics include: “Through every storm, every twist and turn, there’s a lesson here, something to learn.”

Eamonn, using a wheelchair, was spotted stroking Katie’s bottom as they headed out in Ibiza Town.