Kim Kardashian knows a thing or two about a public romance and on Tuesday she deployed one of the weapons in her relationship arsenal - the smitten beach photoshoot. 

Kim, 45, and new beau Lewis Hamilton, 41, were pictured frolicking in the Malibu surf, cooling off during a paddle board session with a PDA-packed dip in the ocean.

Whilst Kim, who wore a bikini top and a black wetsuit unzipped to her waist, certainly looked smitten with with the F1 ace, was the beach shoot just another performative display from the media savvy mogul?

Body language expert Judi James admits at first glance the 'fashion-spread perfection' of the photos look like a prime example of performative PDA but in fact there are subtle signs the romance is the real deal.  

The timing of the photos are suspicious, with less than two weeks to go until the Kardashian family's biggest red carpet opportunity of the year. 

'With the Met Ball one final dress fitting away and with her two sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner currently canoodling with white-hot A-listers Timothee Chalamet and Jacob Elordi, its easy to imagine Kim might be under pressure to hard-launch Lewis as she is clearly doing here,' says James.

'The styling and fashion-spread perfection of these new ‘romantic’ surf poses do give the impression of something performative-looking, in which case the photos would form an ‘announcement’ function to let the world know they want to be seen as a serious item'. 

But looking closer, James reveals there is evidence to suggest this new romance is the real deal, with three body language clues revealing how the couple really feel about one another.

'Firstly there’s the setting. The beach shots and the encircling hugging in the shallow water are photogenic. But Kim also led Lewis out to deep water where they were all but invisible from the cameras,' James notes.

'PR pics usually stop once the poses are done but this looked more like a real, shared swim-date'.

Secondly 'Kim’s animated facial expressions with Lewis during their swim also suggest genuine delight and playful pleasure.' 

'Kim’s pro look for the cameras is usually a more static display of her beauty but here she has a wide smile that clenches her eyes almost shut, making her look more spontaneous and less self-aware.'

Finally, Lewis' 'touch rituals' give the game way. 'Some of the poses involve very intimate body closeness and touching that should imply a genuinely sensual, easy-going vibe.'

'Their hugs in the sea involve torso closeness and there is the one photo where Lewis has his hand placed firmly around the curve of Kim’s famous derriere in a gesture that you’d normally only see in a close relationship.'

The new couple were first linked in early February when news of their secret, romantic weekend trip to the UK was leaked.

Kim and Lewis chose the celeb-favourite spot of Estelle Manor for their weekend away, before using a string of major cultural events as the venues for their first public dates. 

They first went public at the Super Bowl in February, sitting together in the same VIP booth, after having been friends for more than ten years. 

In March Kim jetted over to Japan when Lewis was competing in the Tokyo Grand Prix. 

They were most recently spotted together during weekend one of the Coachella Festival in California this month and have since gone Instagram official. 

A source previously said that the couple have an 'intense' relationship and added that her family 'adores' him.