Emily Atack’s mum Kate calls her boyfriend Alistair her ‘nephew’ in throwback social media post

EMILY Atack’s mum Kate Robbins called her boyfriend Alistair Garner her ‘nephew’ in a throwback social media post.

The Sun exclusively revealed how Emily’s new man is her step cousin who she grew up with and has known for three decades.

Emily Atack's mum Kate once called her boyfriend Alistair Garner her 'nephew' — Emily Atack’s mum Kate once called her boyfriend Alistair Garner her ‘nephew’Credit: Getty

And it looks like Kate, 65, saw Alistair as very much part of the family, years before he became Emily’s partner and the father of her child.

In 2019, the singer posted a snap of him wearing her old jacket from the 80s to Glastonbury.

She wrote in her caption, “In 1982 I had this rather moody publicity shot taken. Yes, cringe.

“Forward to 2019 Glastonbury and my nephew @bigfattyalan is wearing the same jacket (minus tassels) good recycling.”

Emily announced this week she is expecting her first child with the scientist, but has kept their romance underwraps.

We later revealed that Alistair is the son of her late uncle – Dr Stephen Garner – who married Emily’s aunt Jane Robbins in 1994.

Emily, who is already five months pregnant, has only been pictured publicly with Dr Alistair on one occasion – in September of last year – and has shared very little details about the romance.

An insider said: “Emily and Alistair consider themselves more family friends but they are cousins who aren’t related by blood.

“They grew up together and have always got on really well, but last year they started to get closer.

“It has been a really natural evolution of their friendship and they both have strong feelings for each other.

“Emily and Alistair were thrilled when they found out they were expecting and are really looking forward to becoming parents.

“Their respective families are totally supportive and have told them they think they’re a lovely couple.

“It is a really exciting time for them.”

The pair often spent time together on family holidays with the large Robbins brood.

Emily was very close to her uncle Steve – who fans say looked like Richard Gere – and was heartbroken when he died last year.

Dr Steve – who was an oral surgery specialist – passed away from cancer in July 2023.

Emily and Alistair have set up home together to prepare for their child’s arrival.

Alistair attended the University of Manchester, where he gained his PhD and also worked as a lecturer.

According to his Linkedin profile, he is a “materials scientist and electron microscopist specialising in the degradation of high performance alloys for nuclear and aerospace applications”.

His current job is thought to be a Senior Consultant at Jacobs, a huge American company.

Emily didn’t mention him directly in her pregnancy statement, but made his presence known as she said: “We can already sense the baby is reclined on a mattress of peanut butter and jam sandwiches in there, demanding more chocolate buttons.”