Sam Thompson ‘gives up custody’ of cats he bought five years ago with Zara McDermott after shock split
SAM Thompson appears to have given up custody of the two cats he shared with ex-girlfriend Zara McDermott.
Love Island and Strictly star Zara, 28, has moved out of the home she shared with Sam and cats Albus and Cedric look to have followed her.
In a new Instagram picture she could be seen stroking Cedric, who was sprawled out on a quilt, and called the pets “my world”.
On New Year’s Eve, while Sam was out downing shots with Made In Chelsea co-stars, Zara, who previously described herself as a “proud crazy cat lady”, was at her home doting on the pets.
Sam, 32, adored the two cats and likened them to children during his winning stint on I’m A Celebrity in 2023.
His campmate Jamie Lynn Spears broke down over her two children who remained in the States while she braced it in the Australian jungle.
Much to the amusement of viewers, Sam told her: “I get it man, I’ve got two cats at home – Albus and Cedric – little fluffy men. Know what I mean? So I get it. Not kids, but I get it.”
Sam and Zara parted ways before Christmas and in the new edition of his Staying Relevant podcast, Sam told best pal Pete Wicks it had been a very “tough time”.
Amid it all, Pete shut himself off over the festive period, which he spent with Maura Higgins.
“I went off radar for a couple of weeks, I put my phone in a drawer and disappeared,” Pete said.
Sam then joked: “I’ve been going through some stuff Pete and I called you 15 times.”
Pete replied: “I did feel bad, I went off radar and I didn’t realise you were effectively on the edge over Christmas.”
“It didn’t feel right! ‘Pete was in a really nice retreat somewhere in the world, having a great time, sitting in a hot tub being really wholesome,” Sam said, seemingly contrasting that to his “tough” time recently.
Pete went on to explain how he did call Sam, to which Sam said “it was like being in a Christmas tomb”.
The Made in Chelsea star told his pal: “I’ve been sat in the house surrounded by Christmas stuff and I don’t feel Christmassy.”
Pete added: “I had calls from our PR, our team, everyone saying you had nonstop spoken to them over the Christmas period and said please can you call him, please can you call him?”
It was reported that Sam and Zara had been living separate lives for months.
“Although they have known it’s been over for a while, Sam and Zara are both devastated and heartbroken that they couldn’t make it work as they had so much love for each other,” a source shared to OK! Magazine in the wake of their split.
The source added that when the couple “had problems” back in the summer they “vowed to give it one more try” and hoped that they could “work through their issues”.
But the pair’s hopes of remaining together were dashed when it was proven to be impossible due to them being a “different stages in their lives”.