On the face of it, it was the perfect romantic gesture from a loved-up man to his new girlfriend.

A luxurious trip around Europe aboard an all-singing, all-dancing cruise ship with stop-offs in stunning seaside destinations with highly desirable restaurants.

Yet I can reveal that Eamonn Holmes’s sunshine holiday with his new, much younger girlfriend Katie Alexander was in fact a ‘freebie’ which he was given after signing a lucrative deal to be ambassador for the giant holiday company Not Just Travel.

Eamonn Holmes was seen touching Katie Alexander’s bottom after getting off the cruise ship in Ibiza

The 64-year-old presenter’s holiday with his 42-year-old girlfriend was in fact a ‘freebie’

In return for the perk, the television anchor was obliged to film content for the firm’s social media platforms while enjoying the break courtesy of its cruise arm, Virgin Voyages, on a ship called The Scarlet Lady.

‘While it looked like Eamonn had whisked Katie off on a no-expense-spared trip away, it didn’t actually cost him a penny,’ explains a travel insider.

‘It was part of his deal with Not Just Travel so, if anything, he was actually paid to go – which was very fortuitous indeed, especially because he could take a plus one with him.

‘There was an element of work,’ adds the source. ‘Eamonn had to film some segments to promote the company. But the fact he didn’t pay certainly lessens the whole idea it was a romantic trip away.

‘Katie didn’t seem to mind though, it was a lovely, sunny break for her as they enjoy their first throes of love.’

Indeed that was evident, particularly when Eamonn was seen cheekily touching Katie’s bottom while sitting in his wheelchair in Ibiza.

His holiday on Virgin Voyages’s Scarlet Lady was actually paid for by a travel company

Sources say Virgin Voyages would have been only too pleased to host Eamonn on the cruise

They couple were also pictured in Barcelona airport as well as when they arrived back at Heathrow.

It was a seven-day getaway, marketed as a visit to the ‘Irresistible Med and Rome’ and starting with Eamonn, 64, and Katie, 42, flying out to Barcelona where they boarded the ship.

From there, they sailed to Toulon on southern France’s Mediterranean coast, then Marina di Carrara – a scenic spot between Tuscany and Liguria on Italy’s north coast. After a stop-off there they sailed down to Civitavecchia, 40 miles north of Rome which still has its old Roman dock, built in the second century.

As for the accommodation, it is likely that Eamonn and his lover had the best on the boat, a 2,100 square-foot mega-suite for which you wouldn’t get much change out of £1,500 a night. The room offers a 24/7 porter, a bottomless drinks bar, a marbled bathroom and hand-woven hammocks to relax in on the ‘terrace’ which has an outdoor hot-tub.

Alternatively, Eamonn and Katie could visit the spa on board with its mud, salt, and steam rooms, sauna, hot and cold plunge pools, and marble hammam benches. All before heading in the evening to the VIP bar. Nice work if you can get it.

Eamonn signed the contract to become a Not Just Travel ambassador in May, saying he found travel ‘magical’. And the free cruise would have been very welcome. For last year, HMRC ruled that he needed to pay ten years’ worth of backdated national insurance and tax leaving him with a reported bill of around £250,000.

Travel sources say Virgin Voyages would have been only too pleased to host Eamonn in his wheelchair as they are keen to attract the older customer.

When they first launched in 2021, they hoped to attract a younger clientele and offered them tattoo parlours, night clubs, sex experts and even drag queens performing on board. It didn’t work apparently, so they‘ve unofficially rebranded and are now targeting older, more traditional cruise customers.

Eamonn and Katie, a relationship counsellor, garnered plenty of coverage during their break, which was their second together since his split in May from his estranged wife Ruth Langsford.

Their first was in August to the presenter’s home city of Belfast, though this latest one was somewhat more glamorous – even if he had to sit in a self-drive electric wheelchair, with Katie at his side, as a result of his crippling back problems.

The trip was said to be a shock for Ruth, star of ITV’s panel show Loose Women, who, like millions of others would have seen the plethora of paparazzi photographs of the couple.

Eamonn’s friendship with Katie began nine years before he separated from Ruth with an exchange on Twitter (now X) way back in 2015, when she commented on one of Eamonn’s posts and he replied.

The Virgin cruise was Eamonn and Katie’s second trip together since his split in May from his estranged wife Ruth Langsford (pictured)

It is likely that Eamonn and his lover had the best on the boat, a 2,100 square-foot mega-suite

It’s not clear when this early exchange blossomed into a friendship, but reports suggest that Ruth discovered that, in the year running up to their split, Eamonn had been showering Katie with gifts. He had accompanied her on a trip to a safari park with her children and even given them tickets to a Beyonce concert.

Since Ruth announced their split in May, Katie has been visiting Eamonn at his home in Kingston in Surrey where he now lives after leaving the £2million marital home he shared with Ruth some ten miles away.

Initially, the romance was kept a secret, but their cruise together has most definitely put it on the map.

And no one will have been more pleased at the turn of events than bosses at Not Just Travel, who are said to be ‘thrilled’ that Katie accompanied him.

‘The deal was Eamonn, but having his new girlfriend definitely made the whole holiday far more interesting from a marketing point of view,’ says an industry insider.

‘Her being there will have raised the profile of the firm so much – money can’t buy that kind of publicity.

‘Signing Eamonn up and giving him this trip has been worth every single penny.’