Zara McDermott joins Strictly as the first reality TV star the show has ever booked – against the show’s long-standing rule.
The 26-year-old rose to fame on the 2018 series of Love Island. She’s gone on to bag herself a reality TV boyfriend and has even tried her hand at documentary-making.
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Who is Zara McDermott?
Zara was born in 1996 and made her TV debut aged just 13. Her parents appeared on the BBC TV series Wanted Down Under in 2009, which saw families look into starting a new life in Australia. But after appearing on the follow-up, Wanted Down Under: Revisited the following year, the family decided to stay in the UK.
Who was Zara with on Love Island?
After her first taste of fame, she became a government adviser, working under Damian Hinds. But in June 2018, her life took a completely different turn when she entered the Love Island villa. as soon as she entered, it was clear that she fancied Newcastle lad Adam Collard. Adam was already with Rosie – who even did a lingerie shoot to try and get him back – but Adam and Zara hit it off. After having her man stolen from her, Rosie was dumped from the island soon after. The pair coupled up – before Adam recoupled with another girl in Casa Amor.
After the series ended, the pair rekindled their romance. But eight months into their relationship, Adam split up with Zara – just before Valentine’s Day. He had been on a night out with Love Islanders Jack Fincham and Sam Bird. But shortly after, Adam reportedly went back to Newcastle to give the relationship some space.
A source told The Sun: “As a girlfriend, it isn’t always comfortable to see your partner partying with other women you don’t know. They ended up having a big argument over Adam’s antics and he’s since gone home to give them some space.”
At the time, Zara posted a heartfelt statement on Instagram. It read: “I am heartbroken to announce that Adam and I have parted ways. I love him very much and will always have a special place in my heart for him and our time spent together. I have tried so hard to be the best person I can possibly be and to make it work. Sometimes in life, you just aren’t enough for someone; no matter what you do for them or how much you try to be.”
Who is Zara McDermott dating?
Zara dusted herself off after the setback with Adam, and ended up with Made in Chelsea‘s Sam Thompson. That also landed her a part in the reality series, which she was on from 2019 to 2020.
The pair are happy now, but they were involved in a televised scandal when it emerged Zara had done the dirty on Sam.
During her stint on The X Factor: Celebrity, she was in No Love Lost – a Love Island supergroup. Zara was joined by co-stars Wes Nelson, Samira Mighty and Eyal Booker. But Zara had been ‘getting to know’ a music industry exec, who worked behind the scenes.
Who did Zara cheat on Sam with?
It turned out that Zara had cheated on Sam with Brahim Fouradi. He was working on the X Factor as an A&R manager, and he and Zara hit it off.
Of course, with Zara and Sam being MiC stars, the split played out on the show. She sobbed while she confessed to cheating on him. Zara later told Sam’s friend Jamie Laing: “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 were going to break up.”
Zara and Sam back together
It was reported at the time that Sam has a suspicion that Zara was up to something.
A source 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.”
But the couple rekindled their romance in October 2020, after Zara shared a video montage of their time together. It started with the message: “To the love of my life, I want you to know how much I adore you. This video will show you why.”
She wrote: “Remember… you are everything. You are my moon and all my stars and everything in between. I miss you. I love you more and more every day.”
The video did the trick, with the pair getting back together soon after.
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