Michael Gove spotted in five-star hotel with TV producer Sam McAlister – only weeks after split from wife Sarah Vine

TOP Tory Michael Gove and TV producer Sam McAlister chat on a five-star night out — only weeks after he split from wife Sarah Vine.

The pair were pictured in the bar of a posh London hotel in July 2021.

An onlooker at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Knightsbridge said: “Mr Gove looked captivated — like he was hanging on her every word.”

Weeks earlier, Mr Gove and ex Ms Vine revealed they were “finalising their divorce”.

It comes after Housing Secretary Mr Gove, 55, and Ms McAlister were snapped leaving a Christmas party together — but pals insisted they were just close friends.

They are said to have gone their separate ways after being pictured outside the venue.

Ms McAlister won widespread praise for helping to persuade Prince Andrew to give his “car crash” interview to Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis in 2019 about his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. She is also an author and after-dinner speaker.

In a statement Gove and Vine said they had “agreed to separate”.

They said they had drifted apart but would remain “close friends”.

Newspaper columnist Ms Vine later denied rumours Mr Gove had affairs and said he only had one mistress – politics.

Months later, Mr Gove was snapped – in a shirt and suit with no tie – “raving” with his arms in the air of the dancefloor of Aberdeen club Bohemia.

He told jungle and techno fans at the venue in the early hours: “I love to dance.”

Mr Gove was sacked by Boris Johnson before Mr Johnson was ousted from Downing Street in July.

But new PM Rishi Sunak brought him back into the fold – at his old job at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

We approached Gove for comment.