Zara McDermott has certainly had a turbulent love life since she first appeared on Love Island seven years ago. Over the years, Zara has appeared on various telly shows and found love with people from all entertainment backgrounds. But while some of have been full of love, she has previously branded one “toxic.”
One relationship in particular almost saw the 28-year-old former Department for Education policy advisor turn her back on fame and return to her life before Love Island. Now, the reality star is said to be head over heels with former One Direction heartthrob, Louis Tomlinson, after enjoying a string of low-key dates.
More recently, she is believed to have headed from Dubai and jetted to Los Angeles to reunite with Louis. The pair enjoyed a trip to see Stereophonics perform live on their world tour. Here, we take a look at Zara’s love life and her cheating which saw the break down of one relationship.
When she entered Love Island, Zara coupled up with Adam Collard who was known for his lothario ways on and outside of the show. However, she was dumped from the show just ten days later. Although she might not have been on the show, Zara and Adam continued with their romance for several months before calling it time in February 2019.
However, it’s claimed that Adam dumped Zara via text message which led her to post a rather devastated Story on her Instagram page. Amidst her heartbreak, she said: “I have tried so hard to be the best person I can possibly be and to make it work.
“Sometimes in life, you just aren’t enough for someone – no matter what you do for them or how much you try to be.” Several months later, she also hinted that their romance was “toxic”. She said that at the start of the same year, she walked away from a “toxic relationship that was more damaging than I knew,” and considered leaving her fame behind and returning to government.
Three months after her split from Adam, Zara found love again with Made In Chelsea legend, Sam Thompson in May 2019. Sam previously revealed that Zara “slid into” his direct messages, admitting: “It was great and I’m glad she did.” Just weeks after meeting, the pair hard launched their relationship and went Instagram official.
By August, Zara was also joining Sam on series 18 of Made In Chelsea and the scenes aired across TVs in October of the same year. At this point, the couple appeared to have it all and had cemented themselves as one of reality telly’s best couples.
This, however, soon changed. Zara joined The X Factor: Celebrity spin-off in 2019 with her Love Island pals Wes Nelson, Eyal Booker and Samira Mighty. Although Sam was supporting Zara throughout her latest venture, the cracks started to show and her eyes soon turned to another man.
She slept with music boss Brahim Fouradi, who previously worked as Simon Cowell’s A&R director while appearing on the show. Although she initially denied the claims, she admitted to them one year later. While appearing on Made In Chelsea, she told Jamie Laing about her infidelity, leaving him angry and causing him to walk off the Made In Chelsea set.
Having confessed to Sam about her cheating, she took to Instagram and issued a grovelling apology. She said: “A huge mistake I made a year ago has recently come to light and I want to face this head on.
“I don’t condone being unfaithful and I made a huge mistake at a time in my life where I was hugely selfish and immature. I believe I have learnt so much from my mistake. I want to apologise to my Sam for everything I have put him through, for the pain, the embarrassment, the anger and the hurt.”
One scene has since gone down in Made In Chelsea history, when Sam confronted Zara about the incident. Clearly heartbroken, he said: “The seediness of when you’re consistently s****ing, when you’re calling me to tell me that you can’t come home, when the rest of your band are at home, in bed with their other halves.”
When Sam said he could no longer continue with their relationship, she famously burst out: “You can, you can do it. You can. You can,” while tears streamed down her face. Despite splitting, they went on to rekindle their relationship a few months later. Sadly, their relationship once again broke down and they split in December last year with sources saying there had been no scandal or fall out but their busy work schedules played a part in their decision.
Although friends claim their romance is in its “early days”, Zara and Louis have certainly been having fun together. While no information about how the pair met has been revealed, a source previously claimed to know the real reason Zara had been “dating up”. They claimed: “She’s always done well to reinvent herself over the years and has been prepared to make the necessary changes to her career and personal life to take things to the next level.”
Speaking to The Sun, the source revealed her ‘true passion’ of making music had taken a ‘back seat’ in recent times. They said: “A relationship with Louis would allow her to submerge herself into music and let her focus on her passion that she has neglected in recent years.”
The pair were first spotted together in March as they enjoyed a loved-up cosy date at a hotel in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. They were seen by fellow diners as they ate fancy fish and chips costing £100 while also sipping on cocktails during their cosy date. “They looked every bit the happy couple,” one onlooker said of the pair.
Following months of speculation, Zara appeared to soft launch her romance with Louis on Instagram on Thursday night. She shared a snap of her breakfast while out in Malibu and eagle-eyed fans spotted one of Louis’ tattoos in the picture. The pair also shared almost identical snaps while attending a Stereophonics concert in the Californian city earlier this week.
Neither Louis or Zara have commented on their romance but he has liked her recent Instagram uploads.
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
