Zara McDermott and Sam Thompson have called it quits after a five-year relationship, with some suggesting that the relationship was destined to fail from the start due to Sam’s inability to fully move past Zara’s confession of infidelity. The Made in Chelsea stars, who are remembered for their infamous park bench argument, had their fair share of turbulence in the early stages of their relationship, particularly when Zara’s affair with an X Factor boss was exposed.
The couple made their relationship Instagram official in the summer of 2019, just before Zara joined the Made In Chelsea cast. Later that year, in November, Zara participated in The X Factor: Celebrity as part of No Love Lost alongside her Love Island co-stars Samira Mighty, Wes Nelson and Eyal Booker.
It was during this period that Zara, now 28, cheated on Sam with Brahim Fouradi, a music industry executive who has worked on talent shows like The X Factor in his role as AandR director at Simon Cowell’s company Syco. This betrayal is believed to have deeply affected Sam.
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Despite many fans expressing shock and sadness over the breakup news – which came less than a month after Sam posted a heartfelt birthday message for Zara – insiders are said to be somewhat surprised that the couple managed to stay together for as long as they did.
An alleged insider disclosed to MailOnline: “Zara and Sam’s relationship just never had felt like it was heading for the long haul. 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. But 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. They were delaying the inevitable for several months as they had drifted apart and their lives had become very different.”
During a dramatic episode aired in 2020 of the E4 reality series, Zara was caught on camera owning up to her indiscretions. Witnessing a distraught Zara on a park bench attempting to win back Sam: “I have no justification for anything, the way that I’ve behaved, the way that I’ve acted, the things that I’ve done. It’s just disgusting. I just want you to forgive me.”
Sam responded with firm disillusionment: “There’s absolutely no way, because how can there ever be a way. I can’t even trust this.”
A remorseful Zara burst into tears as she implored: “No, stop. Please stop, please. You can, you can. You can do it, you can, please.”
Zara at the time posted an apologetic message on Instagram Stories, admitting her actions and their consequences: “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. All I want to do is make this right and I think the least he deserves is me being honest with myself and all of you. I love you Sam. Forever x’.”
After a period of heartache, Sam Thompson reached a place of forgiveness and chose to reunite with Zara in November 2020. In a frank discussion with the MailOnline, Sam explained his perspective on forgiving Zara: “I believe in forgiveness. I understand the context – and I think in any walk of life you can’t move forward unless you forgive. Forgiveness allows you to heal. You can only heal when you forgive the other person and get over that.”
During an October 2022 episode of Made In Chelsea, Zara opened up about her affair to Jamie Laing, admitting: ‘When it happened I genuinely thought that me and Sam were going to break up, inevitably. I just thought we were hanging on by a tiny thread and we’re going to break up.”
As she prepared for her appearance on the 2023 season of Strictly Come Dancing, there were concerns about whether she would succumb to the infamous ‘Strictly curse’. However, Sam was confident that she had learned from her past mistakes.
On his Staying Relevant podcast with friend Pete Wicks, Sam defended his girlfriend saying: “She was 22… so f****** young. You know when you look at them and you go, ‘She ain’t going to do that again? I could see in her face.! He added: “You’d be some w***** to have done it yourself and can’t forgive.”