Sam Thompson has broken his silence for the first time since it was reported he had split from girlfriend Zara McDermott following a make or break 2024
Sam Thompson has finally broken his silence following rumours of a New Year’s Day split from Zara McDermott. The I’m A Celebrity spin-off presenter confessed to feeling “hungover” while recording the Staying Relevant podcast with his bestie Pete Wicks after a wild night out. In an episode aptly named The Morning After The Night Before, the duo looked visibly exhausted from their festive celebrations the previous evening. It seems the recording took place before the breakup news hit the headlines.
Sam boasted about their “rock stars” antics at their Christmas bash and mentioned knocking back “about 30 Kamikazes” during the festivities. Pete recounted the events of their raucous night, saying: “So last night was a Christmas party, this is the morning after the night before. It’s 11 o’clock, everyone had to be in and we purposely did this because it’s a little test for everyone just to see who made it. Everyone made it.”
The couple reportedly did a “run-through” of the previous night, with Pete confessing that things “got weird”. The group initially met at a hotel bar.
Pete pointed out to Sam: “Sam, at the start of the evening, quite awkward from you. I don’t think you knew how to behave on your first Christmas party as a boss. Sam walked in and told everyone that they looked lovely – apart from Pippa, who he said ‘You look alright’, which was quite nice from you because you usually tell her she looks like s*** and then he goes ‘She’s like my sister, so it’s fine.’ But you then shook their hands!”
Sam defended himself: “You’ve got to feel it out – first work Christmas party, people are judging! Our employees are judging us on that night out so I just didn’t know whether they wanted to be touched, how they wanted to be touched, and held – so I just went for the handshake,” reports the Mirror.
This comes as Sam and Zara are both reported to be “devastated” after their relationship became “impossible”. “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,” an insider revealed to OK!
They continued: “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.”
Sam and Zara sparked split rumours after spending the festive season apart. Sam celebrated New Year’s Eve at Kensington Roof Gardens with his Made in Chelsea pals, while Zara stayed home with their cats.
Just a week before, Sam was spreading Christmas cheer volunteering for charity, as Zara enjoyed family time in Upminster, Essex. The distance continued as Sam filmed the I’m A Celebrity spin-off show Unpacked in Australia, with Zara tied up with a BBC documentary back home.
While neither Sam nor Zara have confirmed the breakup, Sam hinted at new beginnings in a New Year’s Day Instagram Story, exclaiming: “New year! 2025 baby come on let’s have it! I can’t wait. The New year is going to be amazing and you’re going to have the best year ever. And you know I’m always right,” followed by what seemed like a kiss to his followers.