The latest social media post from Eamonn Holmes’ girlfriend Katie Alexander was, shall we say, particularly revealing about her state of mind. Not so much for the words she used to caption the snap of herself on a beach – but for the distinctive jewellery she wore to accessorise her turquoise bikini and Gucci sunglasses.

Her necklace was made of red thread and was accompanied by a matching bracelet on her left wrist – a set which appears to show a commitment to the spiritual teaching of Kabbalah.

Its followers and aficionados wear the red cord jewellery as a kind of talisman to ward off the evil eye, negative energy and any other misfortune. And this protection, say those who know Katie, is much needed at the moment.

The image was posted just days after I revealed how Eamonn’s family had unexpectedly come together, his two ex-wives and all, to protect him as he struggles to recover from his recent stroke.

In the rather cryptic caption Katie wrote to go with the picture, she mused: ‘There is a quiet kind of strength in becoming comfortable with who you are.

‘No longer needing to prove, explain or seek validation – just choosing peace, protecting your energy and finding beauty in the life you’re creating.

‘Softness is strength. Peace is luxury. And knowing your worth changes everything. Starting with yourself.’

Eamonn Holmes, 66, and Katie Alexander, 45, have been dating since 2024

But I can now reveal the truth behind her words.

For Katie is in fact ‘utterly tormented’ and is feeling ‘very, very upset’ at the latest turn of events involving her 66-year-old boyfriend. Friends believe she has been ‘cast aside’ by Eamonn’s former wives Ruth Langsford and Gabrielle Holmes and their children as they have joined forces.

‘The Holmes clan have pulled together to form a close unit as they navigate what Eamonn’s future is,’ says a source familiar with the situation.

‘But Katie has been left out in the cold, on her own, and that is very upsetting for her.

‘There is no love lost between Katie and Ruth, or between her and some quarters of Eamonn’s wider family, but Katie feels they aren’t being very kind to her, as she is desperately wishing for him to come out the other side from his stroke as much as they are.

‘There are some people close to Eamonn who think Katie is after his money and the fame that goes with being his girlfriend. That is the narrative some have put out about her which is deeply unfair.

‘She adores Eamonn and is absolutely heartbroken that he has been unwell for so long. It’s devastating for her – and is only being made worse because she feels she isn’t being treated nicely by Eamonn’s family.’

Katie, some 22 years Eamonn’s junior, has been dating the TV star since his marriage to Ruth, 66, broke down in the summer of 2024 – though there is suspicion they had known one another rather well before that.

Previously married, therapist Katie has two children with her ex-husband and lives with them part-time in Yorkshire.

But she also set up a base at Eamonn’s £5,000-a-month rented penthouse apartment in Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, soon after he moved in after leaving his £3.4million marital home in nearby Weybridge.

He and Katie were regulars at glamorous showbiz events and holidayed together on a cruise around the Mediterranean, with Katie being snapped pushing Eamonn in his wheelchair.

There were even rumours they might marry as soon as Eamonn and Ruth’s divorce was settled.

Eamonn with his first wife, Gabrielle, and their newborn son Niall in 1993

But all of this came to an abrupt end in April when Eamonn was found by a carer having suffered a stroke and was raced to hospital by ambulance.

The last time Eamonn was seen in public was in June, with Katie at his side. Posing in his NHS hospital robe and struggling to crack a smile, he vowed to fans that he would get back on their screens.

‘I can’t wait to be out of this gown and back in a suit and tie,’ he said. ‘Watch this space, I’ll be back after this break.’

That optimism has been replaced by a deep worry for his future.

While Eamonn has remained in hospital, Katie has been told to leave the Kingston apartment where she has been partly based for the past three years.

Sources tell me this was a decision made by Ruth and Eamonn’s children from his first marriage – Declan, Rebecca and Niall.

I’m also told the flat has been handed back to the landlords as Eamonn is unable to live there, with Katie reportedly ‘devastated’ at having to clear her things out.

‘The rent was really, really expensive and Eamonn has been in hospital for a very long time,’ says my source. ‘It was a case of throwing good money after bad.

‘However, Katie was staying there when she wasn’t with her kids in Yorkshire. It meant she could be close to Eamonn for visits, but Eamonn’s family decided it should be handed back, which meant Katie had to vacate.

‘Their decision is pretty understandable but it was still upsetting for Katie. This was the place where she and Eamonn shared so much of their time. He might have been struggling physically but he is a charming, very funny man and they had many good times there.’

Those who know Katie were also quick to point out that as Eamonn and Ruth’s divorce became increasingly toxic, and the GB News presenter fell out with his son Declan (extraordinarily, he sided with his stepmother, rather than his father), Katie was the one who was consistently there for him through his health woes.

There is ‘no love lost’ between Katie and presenter Ruth Langsford, whose marriage to Eamonn broke down in 2023

These began with a double hip replacement in 2016, followed by agonising back problems caused by a dislocated pelvis and slipped discs, which eventually left him relying on a wheelchair.

Spinal surgery in 2022 failed to rectify his problems and multiple falls and further procedures only increased his pain.

‘Katie made him smile when things really weren’t pleasant for him,’ says a source. ‘Others ran away but she was there, at his side.

‘Eamonn has been in the wars and Katie gave him some sense of having a decent quality of life.’

One wonders what Ruth’s take on this view would be. She endured her own hard times with Eamonn. Their split was a sad ending for one of TV’s best-loved couples, which came as a shock to many.

Their relationship had lasted 27 years, starting three years after Eamonn and first wife Gabrielle split amid the strain of his career taking off in London while she stayed in their native Belfast.

When Eamonn and Ruth got together in 1997, she was co-hosting BBC TV’s The Really Useful Show.

In 2002, she gave birth to their son Jack and they married eight years later in a star-studded wedding at Elvetham Hall in Hampshire.

As hosts of ITV’s This Morning, they were known for their giggles and occasionally giving away a little too much about their marriage.

But since their split they have been at war over money and the marital home.

Next month, they were due to come face-to-face at Brighton family court after failing to agree a financial settlement over their combined wealth.

Ruth launched court action for a ‘financial remedy’ hearing after negotiations broke down.

‘Katie made him smile when things really weren’t pleasant for him,’ says a source

However, there is a suggestion that given Eamonn’s illness, such a gruelling legal battle may no longer be appropriate.

‘Circumstances have now changed,’ says my source. ‘Eamonn would be very unlikely be in any position to get to court.

‘His health and wellbeing is now the priority for Ruth and his family. And Ruth would never see Eamonn’s children go without, she’s enormously close to them.’

As for Eamonn’s future, he won’t be returning to GB News, the network he joined in 2022 after he was axed by ITV.

Well-informed sources confirmed to me his illustrious broadcasting career was over after it became apparent he no longer had the physical strength to meet the demands of live broadcasting each morning.

He has not been seen on the news channel since March 11 and had suffered a series of embarrassing on-air mishaps in the period before his illness.

In March last year, he fell off his chair live on TV and a month earlier appeared to fall asleep on air.

He has spoken previously of his need for physiotherapy each morning just to get himself out of bed and ready to go on screen.

‘It has all come to a sad end for Eamonn, which is heartbreaking for everyone. But it shouldn’t be forgotten that through these last hard years, Katie was the one at home looking after him and keeping him chirpy,’ says my source.

‘Surely that should count for something.’