Zara McDermott has revealed why she didn't greet her boyfriend Sam Thompson in Australia after he was announced the winner of I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here 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.
Although Thompson had been the bookies’ favourite to win, McDermott remained at the couple’s London home while his best friend Pete Wicks flew out to support him.
The Love Island star-turned-documentarian explained her Australian absence was because she thought that she would still be competing on Strictly Come Dancing.
She shared on Instagram earlier this month: “Pete is going. We’ve had a few laughs and jokes about this.
“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.”
Since leaving Strictly at the end of October, McDermott has been tied down with work commitments which have also meant she was unable to travel Down Under.
Adding: “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 and 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.”
Despite not being in jungle to celebrate his win, McDermott hosted family and friends at their London home for a final party and cheered him on.
On Monday’s Lorraine, McDermott went on to share her pride over Thompson being crowned this year’s winner in a sweet pre-recorded video.
Addressing her boyfriend of four years, she said: “I don’t think the word ‘proud’ even cuts it anymore. The way you carried yourself in that jungle and made everyone feel so comfortable, you brought such a sparkle to that camp.
“I’ve never never met anyone like you before. I love you so much and cant wait to have you back.”
In response, reality TV star Thompson held back tears as he told host Lorraine Kelly: “That’s the sweetest thing, when you see something like that, that’s my little goose!
“I miss her so much. I know she has been sleeping on my side every night and I am so lucky to have her in my life – I have so many people asking, ‘How did you do that?’ and I still don’t know,” he reflected before joking, “I sometimes wake up and wonder if she’s still there, and is it a dream? Luckily it’s not!
“I love her so much. I very, very, very grateful that she’s in my life.”
