Zara McDermott’s friends are said to be “happy” for her as she moves on from her split with Sam Thompson.
The ex Love Island star, 28, set tongues wagging after she was recently pictured enjoying a cosy dinner date with One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson, 33, at The Suffolk hotel in Aldeburgh.
She was previously in a five-year relationship with Thompson, 32, but they split in January after they had reportedly “grown apart”.
While former I’m A Celebrity winner Thompson is said to have been “blindsided” at the speed she has move on, McDermott’s friends acknowledge things are “moving pretty fast”, but support her decision.
A friend of hers reportedly claimed to the MailOnline: "Things seem to be moving pretty fast. Zara is really happy and that's what matters the most – all anyone around her wants is to see her smiling."
Thompson is set to have an awkward encounter with Tomlinson in the coming weeks as both are set to take part in Soccer Aid in Manchester on June 15.
He appeared to make a dig at the speed in which his ex moved on while speaking with friend and Celebs Go Dating coach Paul Brunson on the latest episode of his podcast Staying Relevant.
During the podcast, Brunson asked Thompson: “What are you doing, Sam, to self-love?”
To which he confessed that he isn’t even thinking about dating again as he replied: “Not much to be honest with you.
“I suppose a lot of people look for validation in other people right? And they look for the next person instantly because it's like ‘I need to find someone else to fill that hole and I need to find that excitement’.
“You know when you get that excited feeling when you are talking to someone new and fresh. I can't do that.”
