Zara McDermott has revealed why she didn’t fly out to greet her boyfriend Sam Thompson, who was crowned the winner of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here on Sunday night.
Love Island star Zara has remained at the couple’s home in the UK during Sam’s three week stint in the jungle, while his best friend Pete Wicks flew out to celebrate with the new King of the Jungle.
Zara hosted family and friends at her and Sam’s London home on Sunday night to watch the live show.
Zara explained why she wasn’t heading to a couple of weeks ago, telling fans that the couple thought that she would still be competing on Strictly Come Dancing during Sam’s jungle stint.
Zara McDermott has revealed why she didn’t fly out to greet her boyfriend Sam Thompson, who was crowned the winner of I’m A Celeb on Sunday night
Former Made In Chelsea star Sam, 31, was crowned King Of The Jungle on Sunday night but Zara remained at home in the UK during his jungle stint
‘Pete is going. We’ve had a few laughs and jokes about this,’ she explained in an Instagram post.
‘But in all seriousness; Sam thought I was still going to be in Strictly (bless him, the optimism ), so Pete cleared his whole diary for 2/3 weeks to be there.’
She added that since leaving Strictly during Halloween week she has been tied up with work, explaining: ‘I also have had to rush back to work as soon as Strictly finished to finish two of my documentaries before Xmas which I am currently abroad filming now & we also have training for our final Strictly number.
‘So it was a bit impossible to clear everything but Sam was so excited by the idea of Pete being there anyway that he was happy for me to be waiting for him back at base.’
Zara shared her sweet reaction to her boyfriend winning the show on Sunday.
The former Made In Chelsea star, 31, was crowned King Of The Jungle, with boxing legend Tony Bellew in second place and Nigel Farage in third.
He had been the bookies’ favourite to win for weeks after proving popular with ITV viewers, but there was still all to play for in a final episode that included a final grim trial and the campmates’ last meal.
Zara joined all of Sam’s friends and family in staging a viewing party for the final.
Zara shared her sweet reaction to her boyfriend winning the show on Sunday as she hosted their friends and family and her and Sam’s London home
Zara explained why she wasn’t heading to a couple of weeks ago, telling fans that the couple thought that she would still be competing on Strictly
She wore a party hat with Sam’s face on, excitedly telling her 1.9 million Instagram that ‘we have Sam themed everything!’
The reality star shared the exact moment she heard Ant and Dec announce Sam as the winner as she immediately began jumping up and down while squealing with joy.
Zara rushed to share a hug with Sam’s mother Karen, while Sam’s sister Louise and her son Leo also appeared over the moon.
Similarly, Sam jumped into the arms of runner-up Tony when hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly announced the results, before admitting he was ‘overwhelmed’.
He said: ‘I’m really overwhelmed, I didn’t think I’d even be invited on the show. I don’t know what to say.’
Asked what he had to say to those who had voted for him, he tearfully said: ‘I’m so grateful, thank you so much. I’ve dreamed of doing this show for years and years and you’ve made a boy’s dream come true.’
Tony wasn’t too disappointed to have finished second as he felt his new friend was a more than worthy winner.
He said: ’10 days ago, I knew. I knew when I first met him, I’ve never met a person like him… He deserves it more than anything and I couldn’t be happier.’
Sam had been open about being a superfan of the show and admitted it was ‘100 times’ better than he had expected it to be.
She added that since leaving Strictly during Halloween week she has been tied up with work, explaining: ‘I also have had to rush back to work’
Following his win, Sam was reunited with his best pal Pete Wicks, who had flown out to to support him
Interviewed alongside Tony ahead of the result, he was asked if it had lived up to his expectations and said: ‘It did so much more, I’ve never been so shocked in my life, times 100 everything, the little moments are the best moments as well.
‘My favourite time in the entire jungle was when Snake Rock came back and we had the entire family back together… The vibe was so amazing and I thought, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy as I am now.’ ‘
Meanwhile, boxer Tony admitted he had found life in camp ‘very, very difficult’ so was thankful for his friendships with Sam and JLS singer Marvin Humes.
Following his win, Sam was reunited with his best friend and TOWIE star Pete Wicks, who had flown out to to support him.
Last week, Zara said she was feeling ‘so proud’ of Sam for his ‘personal growth’ on the show.
The former Love Island star, 26, said ‘there are so many beautiful things that come along with ADHD’ (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) as she opened up on his time in the jungle.
Speaking on This Morning with hosts Rylan Clark and Emma Willis alongside Dr Nighat on Thursday, Zara reflected on the Made In Chelsea star’s time in camp.
Last week, Zara said she was feeling ‘so proud’ of Sam for his ‘personal growth’ on the show
She said: ‘I’m just excited every single day to sit down and watch I’m A Celeb in the evenings. It’s just the absolute highlight of my day.
‘I think he has grown a lot since celebrity Big Brother you know, he is now 31 and he has come just such a long way in his personal growth and I think seeing him open up about his ADHD has made just everyone so proud.
‘I think it’s such a difficult thing to talk openly about because there are so many personal struggles alongside ADHD and a lot of self-confusion but there are so many beautiful things that comes alongside ADHD and I think we’ve seen that in the jungle.
‘There is a lot of stigma around any kind of neurodivergents, it’s really tough to speak about because in some ways it’s this feeling of abnormalities like ‘why am I not like other people’, but really it’s such a beautiful thing as well.’