One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson appears to have confirmed his relationship with Love Island star Zara McDermott in an Instagram exchange.
In December 2024, it was reported that McDermott, 28, had split from presenter and I’m A Celeb winner Sam Thompson, 32, after five years together. The pair did not address the breakup directly, but Thompson made allusions to a “tough time”.
Three months later, the documentary host was linked to Tomlinson, 33, after the couple were seen out in public together. They have since been pictured holding hands and kissing.
Their relationship, however, appears to have reached new levels of intimacy after the couple decided to publicly show their affection for one another on Instagram.
McDermott, who rose to fame as a contestant on the 2018 series of Love Island, shared a picture of herself working on a BBC Three documentary about Thailand on Thursday (8 May).
“In the edit for my new series all about Thailand,” she captioned the post. “I’m so unbelievably excited about this one. I can’t believe I’ve been making documentaries for five years now… Every year that goes by I feel my confidence in front of the camera, in my producing (and in myself!!) growing so much.
“I feel really proud of this, of our amazing team for creating such a special series with so much depth to it, exploring some pretty serious topics but also capturing the fun too. I learnt SO much making this programme. I cannot wait. @bbcthree (Thailand will be out later this year after my stalking documentary which will be out this summer).”
Tomlinson sent fans into a frenzy with his comment on the post, which reads: “Proud of you x”. The comment received thousands of likes, and hundreds of replies in response.
“You’re so cute, so supportive, i love you,” wrote one person after Tomlinson’s compliment.
The singer’s sister, Daisy, also shared her support on McDermott’s post, writing: “Clever and beautiful” alongside a heart emoji.
News of their relationship comes months after McDermott’s split from Thompson. Rumours of a rift first emerged in June last year, when it was reported that the couple were in “crisis talks”.
At the time, a source detailed Thompson and McDermott’s ongoing struggles to The Sun, claiming: “Since Christmas, Zara and Sam have been really busy with work and have had little quality time to see each other and as a result, their relationship has suffered.
“They’ve both wanted to make the most of their careers and say yes to all the exciting opportunities offered to them. Last weekend it came to a head and they had a big row. It was very upsetting and they needed some time to let the dust settle.”
According to the publication, McDermott left her shared home with Thompson in London to stay with her parents in Essex before flying to Majorca for a modelling job.
