When reality TV ‘power couple’ Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott split in December after five years, the biggest sticking point was who would get custody of their prized Ragdoll cats, Cedric and Albus.
With neither side able to relinquish ownership, the couple decided to go down the co-parenting route and now share the cats between their west London homes.
But, in recent weeks, I am told that I’m A Celebrity winner Sam, 32, has been doing more than his fair share of ‘feline fathering’.
For his ex-girlfriend, 28, is rather more preoccupied with her new boyfriend, former One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson, whom she started dating two months ago.
Last week, photos emerged of the couple kissing and cuddling at a beach bar in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, while on a romantic holiday.
Friends of the former Strictly Come Dancing contestant have told the Mail that she is utterly smitten with Louis, whom she is said to have met on social media not long after her break-up from Sam.
The 33-year-old singer had flown his new girlfriend first-class to join him for a holiday in Central America where he is recording new music – some of which Essex-born Zara may even have inspired.
But, back in the £2.5million home they shared in Chelsea until December, a ‘heartbroken’ Sam remained with the cats.
Sam shares custody of his cats Albus and Cedric with his ex Zara McDermott
Sam and Zara started dating in 2019 but parted ways in December last year
Former One Direction star Louis Tomlinson pictured with Zara at Banana Beach in Costa Rica
Sam and Zara had bonded over their love for their pets, whom they adopted in 2021. Friends say the animals – which Sam calls his ‘children’ – are the only thing still connecting the couple.
‘They are both big on Instagram and still follow each other so it’s pretty obvious when Sam posts a picture if it’s meant for Zara or not, and that’s because it usually involves the cats,’ a friend of the pair tells the Mail.
‘He knows how much the cats mean to her and how much she loved his love for them. It was a major part of her attraction to him. They used to sit in the house and chill out together with the cats for hours, while Sam gamed or made funny videos. It was their happy place.
‘Now it seems that this is the only way that he can get attention from Zara.’
So is it really any surprise that, when it emerged that Louis had whisked Zara off to Santa Teresa, Sam posted a picture of himself in bed with Cedric tucked under one arm to his 2.7million Instagram followers?
Friends say the former Made in Chelsea star knew the power the photo would wield over his ex-girlfriend, reminding her of the ‘good times’ and the love they shared.
But, for Zara, the picture would have only stirred feelings of annoyance, with friends telling the Mail that she found the break-up ‘tough’.
The friend added: ‘She gave the relationship everything she could but it just didn’t work out. She doesn’t need to be reminded of the break-up every time she looks on social media.’
Sam began dating Zara a year after her appearance on series four of Love Island
Sam has been open about taking selfies with Cedric and Albus – named after characters from the Harry Potter franchise – to get Zara’s attention.
Last month, he joked to his best friend and fellow reality TV star Pete Wicks on their podcast Staying Relevant that he posts ‘thirst traps’ – social media photos to attract attention or sexual interest.
In the episode, posted last month, Sam asked: ‘Thirst traps, should we do them? Should I start using the cats?’
Former The Only Way Is Essex star Pete, 37, replied: ‘You already have.’
As Pete poked fun at a smiling selfie Sam had taken with Cedric earlier that week after the cat returned from Zara’s house, Sam joked: ‘Well, I panicked.’
Sam and Zara started dating in early 2019 after getting in touch on social media. At the time, Sam was already well-known on the reality TV circuit after appearing on Made In Chelsea for sixteen seasons. Meanwhile, former civil servant Zara had taken part in the fourth series of Love Island the previous year.
But the couple split in December, with Zara moving out of their west London home that same month.
Just two months later, on February 18, eagle-eyed One Direction fans spotted that Louis had started following Zara on Instagram. He then ‘liked’ a picture she posted from the Brit Awards on March 1 before the pair were pictured enjoying a candlelit dinner at a hotel in Suffolk two weeks later.
Sam, meanwhile, has been linked to Love Island contestant, Samie Elishi, 25, and Lucy Syed, 28, from the Netflix dating show Too Hot To Handle.
But both times Sam was spotted with them, it was on drunken nights out – and he is believed to still be single.
Friends of Zara have taken a dim view of Sam’s outlandish behaviour during the break-up and his comments that some people ‘look for [another] person instantly’ shortly after her relationship with Louis went public.
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A source told the Mail at the time: ‘He’s a loose cannon, as we saw with his comments. It’s really quite pathetic of him. It feels like it always has to be about him.
‘Why can’t he just let her move on? Will she ever escape his clutches? Who knows.’
And now their relationship tensions could risk spilling beyond their social media and on to TV scenes.
Next week Sam will begin a 260-mile challenge in aid of Soccer Aid for UNICEF, transporting a football by running and cycling from Stamford Bridge in west London to Manchester’s Old Trafford stadium in time for the Soccer Aid match on June 15.
The challenge, which will be followed by the ITV documentary Sam Thompson’s Match Ball Mission, is a savvy commission from the broadcaster. Because Sam will be taking part in the star-studded match at Old Trafford alongside none other than Zara’s new beau, Louis.
The football match is already the talk of ITV corridors, with all eyes sure to be on the two love rivals as they go head to head on the pitch.
But if Zara is in the stands cheering on Louis, who will Sam bring? Albus and Cedric, perhaps?