Fans have been sharing their thoughts on Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott‘s relationship following reports that they have separated after five years together.
Sam, now 32, and Zara, now 28, began their romance back in 2019 after interacting on social media. They later moved in together and the couple have faced speculation of a potential engagement on several occasions over the years.
Following the news this week – which neither Sam nor Zara have publicly commented on – there’s been speculation over the relationship. It has included some fans sharing their thoughts in a thread about them on Reddit, who brought up the pair having not got engaged in the last five years.
One person, whose comment has more than 300 upvotes, said: “A shame but not surprising. I always found it odd how much they talked about wanting to get married one day but never got engaged. I always sensed Sam wasn’t sure.”
Another fan agreed, saying: “This is it for me for two people who seemed so committed to show themselves as happy and healthy they did not seem in any rush to get engaged and married. That’s always a sign things probably aren’t going as well as they want to make everyone believe.”
Not everyone agreed though, with it noted that a couple not getting engaged is not necessarily a sign of potential issues in their relationship. One person reacted: “It’s common when you meet young to wait a bit to get married.”
Sam and Zara have discussed the prospect in the past. Asked if she wanted to get married, Zara said in a Q&A in 2021: “I know it’s a very individual thing but I personally would love to.” Whilst last year, Sam told the Sun: “I’m so happy being with the person I know I’m going to spend the rest of my life with, I don’t see any sort of rush at all. We speak about marriage a lot, but there’s no pressure to put a ring on it.”
Other fans in the thread this week suggested that Zara having cheated on Sam in 2019 may have affected their relationship. One person said: “It’s hard to come back from getting cheated on.” Another said: “As soon as someone cheats in a relationship it’s pretty much over from then on, but just going off what they put out it’s looked like they’d put everything behind them and now had a good relationship.”
A source suggested to the Daily Mail recently that the relationship “never really recovered” from Zara having cheated, which she later described as a “huge mistake”. The source added: “They had some great times together again, but it just felt like it was never going to be truly serious. They were delaying the inevitable for several months as they had drifted apart and their lives had become very different.”
The news of their apparent break-up comes after Sam and Zara reportedly spent both Christmas and New Year separately. Sam celebrated New Year’s Eve with pals at a social club, whilst Zara stayed at home with their cats.
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A week earlier, Sam volunteered for a charity on Christmas Day, whilst Zara spent time in Essex with her family. As previously reported, Zara shared her pride over Sam’s decision to volunteer though, writing in a post: “So proud of you, it’s so lovely that you chose to give up your Christmas Day to help others.”
Announcing that they had parted ways, a source previously told the Daily Mail: “Sam and Zara have ended their relationship. It’s been an incredibly difficult decision for them to part ways, they still care and have a lot of love for each other. But after a tough year of working hard at their romance, they have split and will be focusing on their individual careers going forward into 2025.”
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