The bosses of a massive reality dating show are already ‘keen’ to sign up Zara McDermott.
Earlier this week it was reported the former Love Island star, 28, had broken up with her boyfriend of five years, Made in Chelsea’s Sam Thompson.
‘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,’ a source told Mail Online.
However, its now been reported those behind Channel 4’s Celebs Go Dating want her to appear on the next season.
‘Celebs Go Dating bosses are really keen to sign Zara up for the 2025 series – she’s a huge fan favourite and they think she’d be perfect for the show and have men lining up to date her,’ a source has said.
“It might be too soon after the split with Sam, but they think she’d see the real meaning behind the show, which is about stars looking at themselves and their dating patterns,’ they added when speaking to The Sun.
Running since 2016, the dating series sees a group of famous faces guided by experts as they throw themselves back into the dating scene.
The most recent season featured Coronation Street’s Helen Flanagan, Gogglebox’s Stephen Webb and Married at First Sight star Ella Morgan.
While neither Zara or Sam has addressed the rumours of their break-up, another source has since come forward, claiming their half-a-decade-long relationship had been on the rocks for a while now.
The insider said that while the pair had been trying to work things out, it proved too difficult and ultimately resulted in their breakup.
Speaking to OK! Magazine, the source said: ‘Although they have known it’s been over for a while, Sam and Zara are both devastated and heartbroken that they couldn’t make it work as they had so much love for each other.’
‘When they had problems in the summer they vowed to give it one more try and hoped that they could work through their issues, but it proved impossible as they were just at different stages in their lives.’
Break up rumours have been swirling around the couple in recent weeks after Sam shared a cryptic post about his Christmas Day plans being ‘bleak’, before correcting himself and calling it a ‘standard Christmas’.
Fans however noticed he and Zara weren’t together on the festive day as she was with her family in Essex, while he was volunteering.
They also appeared to spend New Year’s Eve apart as Zara shared snaps of herself staying in with the pair’s cats, Albus and Cedric. Sam meanwhile, was at London’s Kensington Roof Gardens with his Made in Chelsea co-stars Reza Amiri-Garroussi and Josh Patterson.
If the rumours of the pair’s split are true, it wouldn’t be the first time they have parted ways.
They first broke up in 2020 just six months after they began dating when Zara appeared on The X Factor: Celebrity, joining a band alongside Wes Nelson, Eyal Booker and Samira Mighty.
Shortly after her stint on the show, it was confirmed the couple had split as she’d cheated on him with music executive Brahim Fouradi.
Zara later went on to write her ex an open letter, admitting she made a ‘huge mistake’, and she didn’t ‘condone being unfaithful’.
A week later, in October 2020, she posted a montage of them together on social media and in an emotional caption wrote about her love for Sam.
The cheating scandal also played out on Made in Chelsea, with Zara telling Sam during one infamous scene she felt ‘disgusted’ by her actions.
The following month the couple were spotted together and soon after Sam confirmed they were back together, saying he ‘believes in forgiveness’.
Zara and Sam went on to share many loved-up snaps of their relationship throughout the years, often seen cuddling into each other and sharing affectionate kisses.
Despite their united front, a source told Mail Online that behind the scenes, it wasn’t as cosy as it looked, and they had struggled to move past Zara’s past infidelity, especially as Sam’s sister, Louise, initially didn’t approve of them giving things another shot.
‘Zara and Sam’s relationship just never had felt like it was heading for the long haul,’ they told Mail Online.
‘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.’
They added: ‘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.’
Metro has contacted Channel 4 and representatives for
Zara McDermott and Sam Thompson for comment.
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