Sam Thompson looks focused on solo walk after shock Zara McDermott ‘split’

Sam Thompson has been seen out and about in London after reportedly spitting up from his girlfriend of almost six years, Zara McDermott.

The Made in Chelsea alumni, 32, wore a tan leather-look bomber jacket and blue cropped trousers as he strolled out in South London after the news broke.

While Sam rose to fame on the E4 reality show in 2013 and went on to be crowned king of the jungle, Zara forged her career as a TV personality after she joined Love Island in 2018.

The pair got into a relationship after Zara slid into Sam’s direct messages, and they went on to go through a very emotional ride as the model, 28, appeared on Made In Chelsea alongside her beau.

One memorable episode in 2020 saw Zara in floods of tears on a bench, pleading with Sam to take her back after she cheated on him multiple times with music boss Brahim Fouradi when she worked with him on X Factor: Celebrity the year before.

‘I know you won’t believe a word I say, but I know we’ve built such a bond over the last year since everything’s happened, and I know this has been bubbling in my mind for so long,’ Zara pleaded with him, as Sam called her behaviour ‘seedy’.

Zara even wrote Sam an open letter apologising for cheating on him.

Eventually Sam did reconcile with Zara, but almost five years later and it seemingly wasn’t meant to be after all.

‘There has been no scandal or fallout between them, it’s just the result of a difficult year, where they both had to spend a lot of time focused on their own projects,’ a source told Mail Online.

However, it’s now been claimed that Zara cheating on Sam in the early days of their relationship played a part in their apparent split.

A ‘friend’ close to the couple has said the end of the relationship didn’t come as a surprise, with his sister Louise Thompson initially not approving of the pair getting back together too.

‘Zara and Sam’s relationship just never had felt like it was heading for the long haul,’ they told the publication.

‘They never really recovered from Zara’s cheating; most couples would have struggled lasting for as long as they did afterwards.

‘Zara had some big making up to do, especially with Louise, she really wasn’t happy when Sam took her back.’

They added: ‘She managed to make it work and they had some great times together again, but it just felt like it was never going to be truly serious.’

The source went on to say the couple had ‘delayed the inevitable for several months’ after they had ‘drifted apart’.

Meanwhile another friend described them as an ‘odd pairing’, labelling Sam a ‘man child’ and Zara ‘quite mature’.

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