Inside Zara McDermott’s biggest heartbreaks as she SPLITS from Sam Thompson – from Strictly scandal to photo leak hell
THERE’S no doubt about it – Zara McDermott has suffered her fair share of heartbreak in the public eye.
From the recent Strictly Come Dancing scandal to her naked photo leak hell, Zara, 28, has battled a lot, but now, it appears that things could be even more upsetting, as just yesterday it was reported that Zara and Sam Thompson have split.
Kicking off 2025 with a bang, it was announced that the brunette beauty, who shot to fame on Love Island, and Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson, 32, have ended their relationship after ‘growing apart’.
The couple ‘never recovered’ after she cheated on him and then spent Christmas apart, with it now being confirmed they’ve ended their relationship after ‘a tough year’.
A source close to the couple said: “Sam and Zara have ended their relationship. It’s been an incredibly difficult decision for them to part ways, they still care and have a lot of love for each other.
“But after a tough year of working hard at their romance, they have split and will be focusing on their individual careers going forward into 2025.”
The source also told MailOnline: “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.”
Following the split, Sam joined some of his Made In Chelsea pals while enjoying a wild New Year as his ex-girlfriend Zara McDermott stayed in their Chelsea home.
And after Zara’s quiet New Year’s Eve night in, here we take a look back at her biggest heartbreaks – from being body-shamed by trolls to her jaw-dropping X Factor fling.
Strictly scandal
Earlier this year, Zara spoke out after Strictly star Graziano Di Prima was sacked from the show.
Zara previously praised Sicilian dancer Graziano when they were eliminated from the series in 2023, however, she then said she had been “wrestling with the fear of opening up” in a poignant post on Instagram.
It was then reported that the Italian star, 30, acted inappropriately towards her before he was axed from the BBC series.
According to sources, the incident involved him allegedly hitting, kicking, and spitting at Zara during rehearsals.
Whilst claiming the Strictly call was a “dream come true”, Zara then said: “Reports have been made about my treatment on the show and there were witnesses to some events, as well as videos of particular incidents, which are incredibly distressing to watch.
“I have wrestled with the fear of opening up – I was scared about public backlash, I was scared about my future, I was scared of victim shaming.
“But after a lot of conversations with those I love, I’ve gained the strength to face these fears, and when I was asked to speak to the BBC, I spoke candidly about my time on the show.
“The culture within our society makes it difficult for people to speak up, especially in a world where social media opinions and voices are so loud.”
Zara's Strictly Statement In Full
“Reports have been made about my treatment on the show and there were witnesses to some events, as well as videos of particular incidents which are incredibly distressing to watch.
“I have wrestled with the fear of opening up – I was scared about public backlash, I was scared about my future, I was scared of victim shaming.
“But after a lot of conversations with those I love, I’ve gained the strength to face these fears, and when I was asked to speak to the BBC, I spoke candidly about my time on the show.
“The culture within our society makes it difficult for people to speak up, especially in a world where social media opinions and voices are so loud.
“This is something I’ve seen through working with countless women on my documentaries.
“I would like to thank the BBC & BBC Studios for their swift action and incredibly high level of support, as well as everyone who has reached out to me – it really truly means a lot. Love, always. Zara.”
TV insiders said Graziano was let go from the BBC show following an internal investigation into a number of physical incidents involving Zara, who appeared with him on the show in 2023.
At the time, a BBC source told The Sun: “They moved very quickly in this situation and have offered Zara support she needs. It’s a shock for everyone involved.”
The dancer then took to Instagram saying he has “deep regrets”.
I was scared about public backlash, I was scared about my future, I was scared of victim shaming
Zara McDermott
Graziano wrote: “I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly. My intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime.
“Respecting the BBC HR process, I understand it’s best for the show that I step away.”
He continued: “While there are aspects of this story involving external influences that I can’t discuss at this time, I remain committed to being strong for my family and friends.
“I wish the Strictly family and the BBC nothing but success in the future.”
He concluded the post: “I also want to thank everyone who has supported my career, both professionally and personally. When the time is right, I will share my story.”
Naked photo leak hell
Not only did Zara find herself at the forefront of the Strictly scandal, but she previously admitted to suffering “10 years of pain” after being a victim of image-based sexual abuse when she was just 14 years old.
The former reality TV star turned documentary host opened up about her suffering in a BBC3 documentary in 2021 after being pressured into sending a naked picture to one of her classmates, who then shared it around her school.
She told The Sun: “It’s been 10 years of pain. It still affects me to this day and I don’t think it will ever go away. I was so scarred from that experience.”
The media personality, who according to Companies House has seen her wealth soar from £142,726 to £309,913 in the space of 12 months, alleged she was not given adequate support by her teachers, claiming they were “embarrassed” and had “no compassion” for her.
The idea of not living anymore was better than having to deal with the pain I was going through every day
Zara McDermott
She continued: “You want people who are older and more experienced, like teachers, to be compassionate. There was no compassion for me.
“They were so embarrassed by my behaviour that they didn’t want me in school. Do you know what that does to a young girl?”
Zara claimed she was suspended from school and tormented by bullies – and even considered taking her own life.
She added: “My life was unbearable. The idea of not living anymore was better than having to deal with the pain I was going through every day.”
X Factor fling
After “10 years of pain”, just 16 months into her relationship with Sam, it was previously revealed that Zara had a fling with music exec Brahim Fourad while taking part in The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019.
The Sun exclusively revealed in September 2020 that a livid Sam dumped Zara after discovering her infidelity.
Sam ended their relationship after getting wind of what happened between her and Brahim during her stint on X Factor: Celebrity.
At the time, a source close to Zara told The Sun: “Sam suspected quite early on that something was going on between Zara and Brahim, and there was a big confrontation.
“She was spending increasing amounts of time with him backstage, and hanging around after hours.
“Sam found out and kicked off. He’s devastated about how things have turned out.”
The couple broke up but Sam eventually forgave Zara for her actions, after she cried on TV whilst asking for forgiveness.
Inside Zara and Sam's romance
Sam and Zara got together in 2019, after the brunette bombshell slid into his DMs.
They finally confirmed their romance later that year, after droves of flirty comments left underneath each other’s photos, including Zara writing “I love you” under a shirtless snap of Sam.
Fans quickly flooded the comments with love for the pair, including Sam’s older sister and MIC legend Louise, who gave her seal of approval by writing “cutie pies!!!”
Dating expert Tina Wilson claimed that Zara and Sam’s relationship has always been “more public than that of most other reality stars”.
She explains: “With gushing social media posts and public declarations of love, they enjoy flaunting their relationship for all to see.
“PDA has essentially defined Zara and Sam as a couple.”
However, now insiders have insisted that his family – especially sister Louise, 34 – have struggled to forgive Zara for her infidelity.
A source said: “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.”
The insider added to the MailOnline: “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.”
Body-shaming and “triggering” posts
In more recent years, after finding fame on Love Island, Zara admitted that she was “trolled quite badly” due to her weight when she finished the ITV dating show.
In 2022, she filmed her documentary, Disordered Eating, and spoke out about her experience.
She said on BBC Breakfast: “I wasn’t the smallest girl there but I was a perfectly healthy weight but sadly the trolls decided to tell me I was too big.
“I then went on my own health and fitness journey and lost some weight as a result of that.
“I wasn’t suffering from an eating disorder myself but I knew there was a massive demand for weight loss content so I was just posting not knowing the detrimental impact it was having on my followers. I was just meeting the demands for that content.”
But despite this, she was then criticised by fans for the ‘tone deaf’ programme, leaving people “triggered” by her weight loss.
Zara told The Sun: “I was absolutely devastated to hear that. That was definitely hard to hear.
“You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t walk away from that feeling really upset.”