A look back at the famous exes of Zara McDermott and Sam Thompson now they’ve called it quits

Both of them clearly had a thing for their cast mates

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After five years of dating, Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott have finally called it quits. They overcame a lot in their five year romance, including cheating, long distance and Zara’s turbulent time on Strictly Come Dancing. The shocking real reason behind their split explains a lot, but they did share a lot of good times together over the years, including celebrating Zara’s birthday together only last month.

Sam also sent a pretty heartbreaking message to Zara just weeks before their split, which makes the whole thing even sadder.

They’ve been together so long that it’s easy to forget that they both dated a load of other celebs. Here’s a look at all the famous exes of Zara Mcdermott and Sam Thompson.

Zara McDermott and Adam Collard

via ITV

After meeting on Love Island in 2018, Zara dated Adam for eight months. Adam initially had a connnection with Rosie Williams, but instead decided to pursue Zara after having a better connection. Zara was dumped from the island after only 10 days, but waited for Adam on the outside, where they reunited.

Zara later explained online that their relationship wasn’t all that, writing: “At the start of the year I finally walked away from a toxic relationship that was more damaging than I knew. It stripped me of all my confidence going through this in the public eye.”

Out of all of Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott’s exes, Adam Collard was the most notorious. The pair even posted a video of their reactions when they discovered he would be the first ex-Islander to return to Love Island in 2022.

Sam Thompson and Sophie Habboo

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via E4

Meeting on Made In Chelsea back in 2018, Sam and Sophie dated for around six months. Their relationship was explored on the show, however Sophie eventually broke things off in late 2018 as she claimed that Sam was too affectionate towards her. In a statement at the time, she explained how “some girls like that, I don’t.”

Sophie said: “His best [attribute] was he doted on my hand and foot, but his worst was maybe that he doted on me too much. Some girls like that, I don’t. For me, I don’t like someone who’s needy. Independence is key.”

The Made In Chelsea star went on to marry Jamie Laing in 2023, who starred on the show alongside the oair and also happens to be a good friend of Sam’s.

Despite praising his qualities and describing him as a “great boyfriend”, Sophie previously claimed that she would never get back with him: “[I would] absolutely not [go back out with him]. He treated me well, he was lovely to me and he was a great boyfriend. I couldn’t fault him in any way but he wasn’t right for me, unfortunately.”

They remained friends however, with Sam and Zara attending Jamie and Sophie’s wedding in Spain.

Sam Thompson and Tiffany Watson

via ITV

Just a year after Sam joined Made in Chelsea, Tiffany Watson joined the cast in 2014 and the pair became a couple. Their romance was largely documented throughout the show before cheating rumours spiralled.

A year into Sam’s stint on Made In Chelsea, he got into a relationship with new cast mate, Tiffany Watson. Their romance was heavily documented on the show after Tiffany joined in 2014, but cheating rumours soon circulated and the pair broke up. They continued to keep up an on and off relationship up until 2018, when they called things off for good. They eventually became friends and Tiffany moved on, going on to marry professional footballer Cameron McGeehan, whom she now shares a child with.

Sam Thompson and Amelia Lily

via ITV

In 2017, Sam dated his fellow Big Brother housemate and former X Factor star, Amelia. After the show ended, they dated for a while but things inevitably didn’t last and Sam later confessed to not treating her “very well.”

Amelia recently shared that she got engaged to her “best friend” in October 2024.

Zara McDermott and Brahim Fouradi

via YouTube

Whilst Zara and Brahim didn’t date, their relationship hit headlines after they were rumoured to have got together during Zara’s time on X Factor. The rumours later turned out to be true, with Zara admitting she had cheated on Sam with Brahim, a music industry executive working on the show.

Zara went on to apologise to Sam in a lengthy public apology, and also posted a video online dedicated to Sam and their relationship, where she begged him to take her back.

At the time, Zara wrote: “Hey everyone, I just wanted to address the recent speculation in the media. 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.”

Featured image via Instagram @zara_mcdermott @sophiehabboo @adamcollard

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