Eamonn Holmes‘ new girlfriend had a son when she was 21 – with the father almost 40 years her senior, MailOnline can reveal.

Katie Alexander was working in a shop as a sale assistant when she fell in love with 59-year-old coach driver Michael Devine.

Their son Ben was born in 2002 with the couple splitting after five years together.

Now aged 81, Mr Devine fondly remembers their time together and said it was ‘brilliant’ that she has found love with the GB news presenter.

Holmes, 64, and his wife Ruth Langsford shocked the showbiz world in May when they announced they were divorcing after 27 years together and 14 years of marriage.

Striking blonde Alexander has often been seen with Holmes and sparked engagement rumours when she was seen earlier this week sporting a diamond ring on her engagement finger. She later confessed it was costume jewellery.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Mr Devine said his son, 21, told him Katie and Holmes were an item.

He said: ‘Ben told me Eamonn and Katie were together, but he doesn’t say much, he’s more interested in kicking a football around.’

Mr Devine, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, added that he has a close relationship with his son and sees him at least once a week.

Even though he and Katie, who works as a £45-an-hour relationship counsellor and therapist, split almost two decades ago he remains on good terms with her.

‘We’ve been split up for a lot of years now, but I see my son regularly, maybe once a week, he said.

‘I do see Katie now and again, but she is down in London.

‘There are no hard feelings whatsoever towards Katie, she’s a nice woman, she really is.

‘I wish her well. Absolutely brilliant, is Katie.’

Mr Devine said his work as a coach driver meant he spent long periods away from home which put a strain on the relationship.

He took the blame for the break up adding: ‘It was me working away that caused the break up. I was freelance and transporting people and that was that.’

Their son was born at Dewsbury District Hospital on August 10th and took the surname of both parents with his last name listed as Robshaw-Devine.

His birth certificate shows that Alexander was working as a clothing sales assistant while Mr Devine listed his occupation as a coach driver.

The couple were living in the village of Heckmondwike in West Yorkshire when they registered the birth.

Alexander is understood to have had two other children and a divorcee. Her ex husband George Alexander was 11 years her senior.

She divides her time between her home in West Yorkshire and Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, where Holmes has rented a £2m home following the marriage split.

The two are thought to have first met after Katie interacted with one of Eamonn’s posts on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Since the end of his marriage, he has been spotted with Katie on various outings, and even took her to Old Trafford to watch his beloved Manchester United.

The pair have also been spotted at the four-star Brooklands hotel in Weybridge, a short drive from his new home.

His marriage to Langsford, his co-presenter on the ITV show ‘This Morning’ for 15 years, came to a crashing halt earlier this when she discovered messages from another woman on his laptop computer.

He moved out of the marital home in Surrey with Langsford,64, telling friends there was ‘no way back’ as a couple.

They had met in 1997 and in 2002 she gave birth to their son, Jack.

As presenters on ‘This Morning’ they became one of the most popular couples on TV but lost their roles in 2020. Holmes joined GB news while Langsford retained her position as a member of the panel on Loose Women.

Friends have said she is particularly hurt that her ex’s girlfriend works as a relationship counsellor who specialises in ‘affair and betrayals.’

Alexander runs her counselling business from Eastthorpe Hall in Mirfield, West Yorkhsire.

She offers telephone and online sessions but also ‘walk and talk’ interactions for people who prefer to be outdoors.