They weren’t the first celeb couple to bite the dust this year (and probably won’t be the last), but we were shocked when it emerged that Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott had split earlier this year, and even more so when reports claimed that the former Love Island star had cheated on him with a music industry boss during her stint on The X Factor: Celebrity.
Zara recently confessed to doing the dirty on Sam with Brahim Fouradi in an open letter she penned to her ex and shared on Instagram with her 1.4 million followers and now the extent of cheating is to finally be revealed in the next episode of Made in Chelsea.
In scenes set to air next week, the 23-year-old breaks down in tears as she admits to sleeping with Brahim and begs for Sam’s forgiveness.
A preview for the next episode of the E4 show sees Zara at lunch with pals including Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo but when asked if she’s okay, she tearfully reveals, “No. Around a year ago, I slept with someone.”
In the next scene, Sam tells Jamie, “[Zara] was the one, mate. I can't be alone. I hate being alone,” to which his best friend warns, “You have to remember the betrayal that you've received, the deceit. The fact that his could easily happen again.”
CHECK OUT Made in Chelsea's most dramatic splits
Made in Chelsea most dramatic splits
Spencer Matthews and Caggie Dunlop
The OG tragic split, even featuring an IRL (well, scripted reality) leaving at the airport scene. Spencer and Caggie weren't officially a couple, with Spencer dating model Funda Önal, but the chemistry between them was undeniable and for a long time Spenny thought of her as the love of his life. Eventually, feeling played by Spencer stringing her along while refusing to dump Funda (we don't blame her, tbh) Caggie left to pursue a "music career" in New York, and Spencer, realising the error of his ways, rushed to catch her at the airport to win her back. He missed her. Talk about dramatic.
Ollie Lock and Gabriella Ellis
Cast your minds back to the first series and you will remember that a long-locked Ollie Lock was in fact dating a woman - aspiring pop star Garbriella Ellis, no less. But the couple split because Ollie was confused about his sexuality, and he quickly went on his "first ever" date with a man, leaving Gabriella heartbroken. So heartbroken, in fact, that she wrote her next pop song, Fight, about him, and there were some bizarre scenes in series two when she cast an Ollie lookalike to play the role of the leading man (subtle, hun).
Hugo Taylor and Millie Mackintosh
We all know how this turned out IN THE END, but cast your minds back to series one and you'll remember the OG Chelsea power couple met a very messy end when Millie found out that Hugo (best mate of slimy Spencer Matthews) had cheated on her with HER best friend, the unassuming Rosie Fortescue. Cue a VERY dramatic speech at a party where Millie outed their betrayal in front of all their friends, making for possibly one of the best MiC scenes to this day.
Spencer Matthews and Louise Thompson
After Caggie, Spencer's next conquest (in fact there might have been a few in between, to be fair), was weepy Louise Thompson, who was regularly reduced to tears by his womanizing ways. For some reason she stayed with him through multiple infidelities (seriously, we don't get it?) but things eventually came to a head when Spence met Louise at a bridge by the Thames (a classic) and told her he couldn't respect her when she "allowed" him to cheat on her.
Binky Felstead and Alex Mytton
We were all rooting for Binky and new boy Alex Mytton when he showed up in series five, but it quickly became apparent he was one of the 'bois' by how well he got along with resident villains Spencer and Jamie Laing. They were a cute couple for a while, but Binky eventually split with Alex after learning he'd cheated on her on a night out with Spencer. She later found out the night in question had actually been an ORGY, which made things ten times worse. Poor Binks.
Sam Thompson and Tiffany Watson
Ah, young love's dream. Except, not really, because a freshly de-cherried (presumably) Sam Thompson simply could not keep it in his pants during his two year relationship with Tiffany Watson. The couple eventually split during tearful scenes in Croatia, with Tiffany quitting the show shortly after. However, after Sam returned in 2019 with his Love Island girlfriend Zara McDermott in tow there were some seriously tense scenes where Sam very much gave the impression he wasn't over his first love.
Louise Thompson and Alik Alfus
This one ruined us. Sure, New Yorker Alik was a bit of a bumbling idiot, and moving to the UK and asking Louise to marry him was A TAD overkill, but the scenes where Louise decided she couldn't go through with it and gave the ring back were peak heartbreak. There was later talk that their split had something to do with fellow American cast member Stephanie Pratt, but she hit back with a tweet saying, "Uhhh no she was shagging her trainer since March." She's now engaged (or is she?) to said trainer, Ryan Libbey.
Jamie Laing and Frankie Gaff
We hate to say it, but Chelsea OG Jamie Laing just doesn't seem like he deserves a girlfriend. Not that Frankie Gaff was our fave, but is there a single partner Jamie hasn't done the dirty on? His relationship with Frankie was particularly eye-roll, but Frankie gave as good as she got when she went after Jamie's boi Alex Mytton and allegedly hooked up with TOWIE's Dan Edgar. They eventually split after one too many tearful confrontations at the dinner table with friends, and Frankie quit shortly afterward.
Liv Bentley and Digby Edgley
After meeting on the set of one of 'photographer' Liv's nude shoots, it was love at first sight for these two and they managed a pretty normal relationship for a good few series. But things started getting rocky in series 18 with Digby increasingly frustrated by Liv's social life and Liv feeling stifled. At the end of the series after some major on-ing and an off-ing, Digby left for South Africa for work for three months, but then Liv went on Celebs Go Dating and the former couple shared some cut throat digs on Insta.
Maeva D'Ascanio and Miles Nazaire
Let's face it - the golden era of MiC ended when the last remaining connections to the OG cast faded from the show (excluding Jamie Laing, obv), and we've been less invested in their relationships since then. But a special mention goes to Maeva D'Ascanio and Miles Nazaire. As each others' first loves in their native France, Maeva followed Miles to London where she joined the MiC cast and after a full series of heartbreak, the couple agreed to move on. We're sure Miles didn't have his best mate James Taylor in mind for Maeva's next squeeze, though. Awks.
Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott
After meeting on the celeb circuit, Sam brought Love Islander Zara onto MiC with him (despite her being very much not from Chelsea) in 2019 as he returned from a break from filming. Cue VERY awkward exchanges with his ex, Tiffany, who also picked that series to return. In September 2020 allegations of Zara cheating on Sam during her stint on The X Factor came to light (oh how the tables have turned, hey Sam?) and their dramz split is set to play out on the upcoming series.
WATCH Habbs, Maeva & James are faced with their most cringeworthy Made in Chelsea moments
Zara and Sam then finally come face-to-face, where he confronts her about her cheating.
“You are so good at lying,” Sam fumes as Zara can be seen crying on a bench.
She then begs him, “I just want you to forgive me.”
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Although it remains to be seen whether Sam and Zara can patch things up, she recently paid tribute to him on Instagram with a video montage dedicated to “the love of my life”.
Alongside a series of video clips of her and Sam, which was soundtracked by the song Over and Over Again by Nathan Sykes, Zara wrote, “There aren’t enough words to describe how I feel about you. You are my favourite person, my truest love. I made this video montage for you of our memories over these last few years. I want to create a million more memories like these throughout the rest of my life... with you.
“I am sorry our journey hasn’t been the easiest, and I am forever wishing I could find a way to turn back the clock. 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.”