Zara McDermott was in high-spirits as she was seen strolling around Suffolk on Saturday, following her date with Louis Tomlinson.

The former Love Island star, 28, couldn’t wipe the smile off her face in the first sighting since her cosy evening overnight in SusSєx with the One Direction star, 33.

Their budding romance has already reached new levels – just months after her split from I’m A Celeb winner Sam Thompson, 32, after five years together.

Louis has reportedly introduced Zara to his family after enjoying a handful of dates together.

A friend told The Sun: ‘Zara has already met all the family and they can tell that she has made Louis giddy.

‘It’s the first time in a long time that they have seen him happy.

Zara McDermott, 28, was in high-spirits as she was seen strolling around Suffolk on Saturday, following her date with Louis Tomlinson, 33

The former Love Island star couldn’t wipe the smile off her face in the first sighting since her cosy evening overnight in SusSєx with the One Direction star

Their budding romance has already reached new levels – just months after her split from I’m A Celeb winner Sam Thompson after five years together

Zara and Sam have a lot of mutual friends, who are now reportedly ‘stuck in the middle’ amid the drama (pictured in March 2024)

‘They think Zara is super whole-some and health-conscious so they are happy he is with someone who shuns the party life.’

MailOnline have contacted Zara and Louis’ representatives for comment. 

Zara and Sam have a lot of mutual friends, who are now reportedly ‘stuck in the middle’ amid the drama. 

A source told The Sun: ‘It’s really hard as the friendship groups were combined for five years and everyone was so supportive.

‘But now they’ve been torn apart and people are having to take sides. Some people have chosen Sam, others have chosen Zara – and some people are stuck in the middle.’

Louise was cynical about Zara but did warm up to her. Pete was always close to Zara, so the split is hard for him too.’

MailOnline contacted representatives for Zara, Sam, Pete and Louise for comment at the time.

Zara and Pete also have a close friendship, with Pete previously admitting it was Zara who pushed him to do Strictly Come Dancing.

Louis has reportedly introduced Zara to his family after enjoying a handful of dates together

A source said: ‘Zara has already met all the family and they can tell that she has made Louis giddy. It’s the first time in a long time that they have seen him happy’

Zara cut a casual figure and went makeup free as she stepped out in SusSєx

The reality star stepped out with a close pal amid her romance with Louis

Louis and Zara were spotted at The Suffolk H๏τel in Aldeburgh earlier this month

The couple have been together for two-and-a-half weeks and are believed to have met on social media

A fellow H๏τel guest said they giggled like teenagers as they ate their fish and chips

She previously said of the friendship: ‘The three of us have a very odd relationship, but it’s very amazing. 

‘He’s literally my brother, my best friend. He’s Sam’s brother and his best friend. Me and Sam are together, so, I love them both very much in different ways.

‘It’s a strange dysfunctional family. It works so well because we are all so different, the three of us, that we… just anything that any of us is faced with, like we’re all there for each other. It’s so lovely.

‘And I know it sounds a bit weird to be best friends with your boyfriend’s best friend – the whole trio.’ 

Zara and Pete also made a slew of hilarious TikToks as they spent time together while Sam was in Australia on I’m A Celeb. 

Meanwhile, one fan took to Louise’s Instagram comments to address how she will move forward with her friendship with Zara, writing: ‘Hope you don’t just drop Zara’.

Louise appeared to make a defiant statement about her friendship with Zara by liking the comment.

Sam and Zara regularly made fun TikTok videos with Louise and her partner Ryan Libbey and the group also travelled together on lavish holidays.

But her ex Sam is said to have been ‘blindsided’ by the news that his ex had moved on with the boyband star 

It comes just after Zara’s eye-watering income was ‘revealed’ as she ‘ became a millionaire’ amid the split. 

It has now been revealed by The Sun that Zara’s post-Love Island endeavours have seen her rake in huge amounts of cash, reportedly £1million.

From reality TV to presenting hard hitting BBC documentaries, the former policy adviser’s media career has seen her ‘become a millionaire’.

Zara has appeared in various reality TV programmes after finding fame on the ITV dating show in 2018.

In 2021, Zara presented her first documentary for the BBC, Revenge Porn, and a collection of films followed focusing on topics such as the dark side of party island Ibiza and eating disorders.

Then two years later she was selected as one of the celebrities to compete on the 21st series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Her impressive career so far has paid out, with The Sun reporting her company Zara Nicole McDermott Ltd has £300,000 in it.

The publication reported that Zara has paid out around £170,000 in corporation tax between 2022 and 2023, which indicates her income was around £1million.

And following her split from Sam at the end of last year, Zara has bagged herself her own London property thought to be worth £500,000.