Sam Thompson opens up about forgiving Zara McDermott as he confirms reunion
The Made in Chelsea star said "we all make mistakes"
Last updated 7th Dec 2020
Made in Chelsea star , Sam Thompson, has revealed that he has taken Love Island's Zara McDermott, back following their rocky break up which played out on the show.
Following their split in September, viewers have been gripped by the couple’s rocky romance following Zara’s confession that she cheated on Sam early on in their relationship.
The posh pair, who were together for 16 months, had a very public split which saw the former Love Island star break down a number of times on the hit E4 show to her friends about the mistakes she had made.
However, Sam has revealed that the couple are back together and told the MailOnline “We all make mistakes”. Sam, who has apparently learnt from his own past said he believes in forgiveness, “I understand the context – and I think in any walk of life you can’t move forward unless you forgive.”
Sam defended his forgiveness based on his past experiences, “I am actually the person who’s made a mistake and come back stronger and have gone through everything.”
Love Island winners - where are they now:
2005 - Celebrity Love Island - Jayne Middlemiss
TV presenter and model Jayne Middlemiss was the first person to win Celebrity Love Island, alongside Fran Cosgrave.
Nothing happened between the pair when they left the villa, with Jayne continuing with work in TV, including shows such as Celebrity Masterchef and Pointless.
She's now a radio presenter!
2005 - Celebrity Love Island - Fran Cosgrave
Fran Cosgrave, who is the former Westlife bodyguard, went on to land his own spin-off TV show alongside Calum Best and Paul Danan, before releasing his autobiography in 2006.
Fran dated Atomic Kitten singer Natasha Hamilton, with the pair welcoming a son together, but they've since split.
Fran has since taken a step back from the world of showbiz.
2006 - Celebrity Love Island - Calum Best
Despite being on the show in 2005, Calum Best re-entered the Celebrity Love Island villa in 2006, this time winning the show alongside Geordie girl Bianca Gascoigne.
2006 - Celebrity Love Island - Calum Best
Since leaving the villa in 2006, Calum has kept himself in the spotlight, appearing on a number of other shows such as Celebrity Big Brother and Famously Single.
He also appeared on Celebrity Ex On The Beach in 2019. In 2021, Calum worked on a documentary about his late father, George Best, titled George Best: True Genius.
2006 - Celebrity Love Island - Bianca Gascoigne
Entering the Celebrity Love Island villa as a glamour model in 2006, Bianca won the show alongside Calum Best.
2006 - Celebrity Love Island - Bianca Gascoigne
Although nothing materialised romantically between Bianca and Calum outside of the show, the model went on to achieve success, appearing on shows such as Gladiators, Celebrity Big Brother and Celebrity Coach Trip. She even auditioned for The X Factor in 2012!
In May 2021, Bianca split from Katie Price's ex-boyfriend Kris Boyson after a year of dating. In early 2023, Bianca welcomed a baby boy called Blake Sunshine with her boyfriend Arron Wright.
2015 - Love Island: Jess Hayes and Max Morley
When Love Island returned to our TV screens in 2015, Jess Hayes and Max Morley were crowned the winners, taking home a massive £50,000 each.
Just 40 days after leaving the villa, the pair split up, leaving viewers of the show heartbroken.
2015 - Love Island: Jess Hayes
Despite splitting from Max, a few years later Jess found true happiness with her boyfriend Dan Lawry. The pair welcomed their first child together in 2019, a baby boy called Presley James Lawry.
2015 - Love Island: Max Morley
Max has kept himself relatively out of the spotlight since he won the show, but in 2019 he was dating Love Island 2018 star Laura Anderson... This soon fizzled out!
In November 2021, Max became a dad for the first time after his son was born.
2016 - Love Island: Cara de la Hoyde and Nathan Massey
After coupling up on day one of Love Island 2016, it was love at first sight for Cara de la Hoyde and Nathan Massey, who went on to beat Olivia Buckland and Alex Bowen in the series two final.
2016 - Love Island: Cara de la Hoyde and Nathan Massey
Despite splitting for a short period, Cara and Nathan rekindled their romance after discovering Cara was expecting the couple's first baby.
After Cara gave birth to baby Freddie, Nathan then proposed to his girl back in the Love Island villa, with the pair getting married in 2019.
Cara and Nathan then welcomed their second child, a baby girl called Delilah, in August 2020.
2017 - Love Island: Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies
It didn't take long for Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies to couple up on Love Island series three, with the pair going on to win the show ahead of Chris Hughes and Olivia Attwood.
Despite this, the pair ended their romance just before Christmas in 2017, but they have remained friends!
2017 - Love Island: Kem Cetinay
As well as landing a record deal with his Love Island BFF Chris Hughes (and a TV show to follow), Kem appeared on Dancing On Ice and had a stint on This Morning as their showbiz reporter.
In 2019 he was also unveiled as Primark's first ever male ambassador. Kem also took part in Soccer Aid in 2021, 2022 and 2023 playing for The Rest of the World.
2017 - Love Island: Amber Davies
Despite being romantically linked with the likes of Chris Clark and Liam Payne, Amber remained single since her split from Kem, until she went public with her new boyfriend in October 2020.
Pursuing her dream of being on stage, Amber landed her dream role in Dolly Parton's West End musical 9 To 5 alongside the likes of Louise Redknapp, and she received amazing reviews.
She also played the lead role in musical Bring It On, and she's currently taking part in Dancing On Ice 2024.
2018 - Love Island: Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer
The nation fell in love with Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham when they coupled up and won Love Island in 2018.
Despite high hopes for the couple, Dani and Jack announced they'd split up in April 2019.
2018 - Love Island: Dani Dyer
Just weeks after her split from Jack, Dani started dating her ex-boyfriend Sammy Kimmence, and the pair welcomed a baby boy called Santiago into the world in January 2021. However, in July 2021 Dani reportedly split from Sammy after he was jailed for three years.
As well as this, the reality star has reportedly made more than £1 million since she left the villa, with various clothing deals, Instagram posts and her own eyelash product.
Dani also appeared in EastEnders in June 2021, joining her dad Danny Dyer. She's now dating West Ham and England footballer Jarod Bowen, with the pair welcoming twin girls into the world in May 2023.
2018 - Love Island: Jack Fincham
After his split from Dani, Jack joined the cast of series seven of Celebs Go Dating, in an attempt to find his perfect girl.
Jack has also teamed up with brands like McDonald's and Protein World, and his debut clothing line was due out in 2019 but we've still seen no sign of it.
In 2020, Jack announced he'd become a dad after a brief romance with his friend Casey Ranger resulted in the pair welcoming a baby girl called Blossom.
In June 2021, Jack confirmed he was dating TOWIE star Frankie Sims, but this soon fizzled out.
2019 - Love Island: Amber Gill and Greg O'Shea
After getting her heart broken by Michael Griffiths, Amber Gill was swept off her feet when Irish hunk Greg O'Shea entered the villa with just two weeks to go!
Despite only knowing each other for 12 days, Greg and Amber were crowned winners of the 2019 series, beating Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae for the Love Island crown.
Unfortunately, the pair split just five weeks after leaving the villa, with Amber going on to secure a £1 million clothing line deal with Miss Pap. Greg returned to Ireland to complete his Law degree and play rugby and he's taking part in the Tokyo Olympics for Ireland.
Amber went on to date Arsenal Ladies footballer Jen Beattie, but it looks like this is now over.
2020 - Winter Love Island: Paige Turley and Finn Tapp
Paige Turley and Finn Tapp were the first ever winners of Winter Love Island at the start of 2020! The pair fell in love quickly in the villa and quickly moved in together back in the UK.
After three years, the pair announced they'd split in June 2023.
2021 - Love Island: Millie Court and Liam Reardon
Despite their hiccup during Casa Amor week, Essex girl Millie and Welsh lad Liam totally fell for each other in the villa! During the final, Liam asked Millie to be his official girlfriend and the pair moved in together back in the UK.
The pair shocked fans in July 2022, announcing they'd decided to split. HOWEVER, in May 2023, the couple rekindled their romance, much to the delight of fans.
2022 - Love Island: Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti
Although they had a number of ups and downs during their time in the Love Island villa, 2022 contestants Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti were crowned the winners ahead of Gemma Owen and Luca Bish.
After they went 'exclusive' days before the final, the pair enjoyed an 11-month romance in the UK, before announcing they'd split in June 2023. However, in a huge twist, just weeks later the pair were back on!
HOWEVER, in another twist, Ekin-Su released a statement in January 2024 to confirm she'd parted ways from Davide once again, admitting she chose to end the relationship.
2023 - Winter Love Island: Sanam Harrinanan and Kai Fagan
Sanam Harrinanan and Kai Fagan were crowned the winners of Love Island series nine in early 2023, beating Lana Jenkins and Ron Hall. Sanam made history by becoming the first ever Casa Amor bombshell to go on to win!
The pair are still together now and seem to be one of the most genuine couples to ever come out of the show.
2023 - Love Island - Jess Harding and Sammy Root
During the final on Monday 31st July, Jess Harding and Sammy Root were crowned the winners of series 10 by host Maya Jama. The pair went official with their romance in the villa and had big plans on the outside.
However, Jess and Sammy released a statement in October 2023 to confirm they'd decided to split.
2024 - Love Island: All Stars - Molly Smith and Tom Clare
The first ever series of Love Island: All Stars aired for five weeks in January-February 2024, with Molly Smith and Tom Clare coupling up and going on to win the show during the final on Monday 19th February.
Sam has been one of the most talked about cast members on Made in Chelsea since joining the show eight years ago, during this time he has been on the other side of the situation having cheated on partners in the past, including ex-girlfriend Tiffany Watson.
Speaking about his past, Sam spoke about what it is like having your personal life play out on TV, “Being on TV, it accelerates your personal growth because of how many people do watch and everything you do gets so many opinions and you get so much feedback.” The reality star also spoke about how we do things we regret in life, “For that to be shown on TV, it almost humanises you and makes you more relatable.”
However, Sam admitted that at first, he was ‘embarrassed’ to take Zara back, but after a few months apart he is ready to work on their relationship.
Zara made it clear on the show that she wanted to fight for their relationship and even sent Sam love letters and a promise ring.
Since announcing they are back together, Zara posted an adorable throwback snap of the pair on holiday in Mykonos, with the caption, “I promise that you will always have my heart ❤️” while kissing at sunset. The image has had loads of support from fans who expressed how they hoped the couple would get back together and can work it out.
Made in Chelsea is back at 10pm on Monday (14th) December on E4.
Now read:
Zara McDermott reveals she's back ON with Sam Thompson
The definitive guide to which Love Island couples are still together