Kate Garraway and rumoured partner Liam Halligan take relationship to the next level, marking an important milestone

Kate Garraway marked a significant milestone in her relationship with Liam Halligan over the weekend, sharing one of the first photos of them together on her social media.

The Good Morning Britain presenter reposted a photo of the group of friends, including Kate and Liam, celebrating someone’s birthday. Sharing the post to over half a million of her X followers, Kate added, "We love you James!" to her post, a nod to the birthday celebrant in question.

However, the birthday boy has slightly been overshadowed by the significance of Kate’s first post with Liam. In a move that’s often dubbed ‘hard-launching’ or ‘going official’, sharing a photo of one’s partner on social media is perceived as confirming that they are an official item.

It was only a couple of months ago, at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, that Kate first publicly addressed the rumours that she’d been starting up a new relationship with Liam. .

She told reporters there of the budding romance, "It is lovely. We basically haven’t really had time for a proper date! I don’t want to jinx it! I don’t want to say anything because I will jinx it! I will jinx it."

She added, "We all love an Irishman, don’t we?"

When asked if the pair were hoping to find the time to properly date, she joked that Liam has been hoping for the same. “He says to me, 'Now we're in the papers, is there a chance we can actually have some dates?'"

Born and raised in London to an Irish family, Liam is an economic journalist and the presenter of The Telegraph’s Planet Normal podcast.

While Kate had kept things relatively quiet at the start of their dating, Liam addressed the speculation early on, telling Talk TV, "I’ve known Kate for years and we’ve recently become close. We laugh a lot and really enjoy each other’s company."

“We’ve known her for a long time, I knew Derek [Kate’s former husband], I was a political commentator, of course I knew him. In recent years for different reasons, we have both become single, against our wishes, so, in recent weeks and months, Kate and I have become good friends.

“This may or may not turn into something long-term but there is a definite spark between us - and we’re both excited to see what happens."

Liam is the first man Kate has been linked to since the loss of her husband, Derek Draper in 2024.

Kate and Derek met in 2004, set up on a blind date by one of Kate’s former GMTV colleagues. Married in 2005, the two shared a daughter, Darcey and a son, Billy. After contracting Covid-19 in 2020, Derek suffered extreme complications, including damage to his major organs and contracting sepsis.

After a lengthy battle that Kate documented in two books, The Power of Hope and The Strength of Love, Derek suffered a cardiac arrest before passing away in early 2024.