Zara McDermott says it hasn’t been ‘plain sailing’ living with boyfriend Sam Thompson in lockdown

Zara McDermott has argued with Sam Thompson ‘over the most stupid things’ after they moved in together for the first time during lockdown.

The former Love Island star, 23, told MailOnline it hasn’t been ‘plain sailing’ with her Made In Chelsea boyfriend, 27, and the couple even row over unloading the dishwasher.

Despite their differences, Zara still believes she will marry Sam after being welcomed into the family by his sister Louise, 30, and her fiancé Ryan Libbey, 29, who live next door to the couple at their west London home. 

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Zara said: ‘Lockdown has been interesting. It forced Sam and I to live together.

‘It put us in a position where we had to make a decision to spend months apart or months together.

‘I have learnt more about Sam in the last couple of months than I have the whole of last year. Sam is quite a weird person.

‘He needs his space but also likes attention and it’s been hard to know when to give him his boy time and when to be a really attentive girlfriend.

‘It hasn’t been plain sailing for us like we have argued over the most stupid things. I would think “Why am I arguing with Sam over who’s unloading the dishwasher today?”

‘Sometimes I will do the wrong thing and he’ll do the wrong thing but it’s part of being in a relationship.’ 

Zara, who’s been in a relationship with Sam for over a year, said she’s certain they have a long-lasting future as he makes her ‘smile and laugh everyday’, which is something she’s ‘never had before’ with ex-boyfriends. 

She said: ‘I would not be with someone who I couldn’t see myself being with forever.

‘I know him well enough to know the way we work and being able to smile and laugh everyday is not something I’ve never had before.

‘Sam teaches me not to take myself so seriously. He brings out all the good in me and that’s all I want in a person.

‘His sister Louise is like a sister to me now, we are super close and lockdown has bought us together so much.

‘I don’t know how we’re going to have time apart now. I do love him so much – he’s the sweetest thing.’

The most recent series of Made In Chelsea showed Zara having explosive rows with Sam.

The couple fell out over Sam’s friendship with ex-girlfriend Tiffany Watson, 26, who he shared an Uber with after a night out, which led Zara to question if he still had feelings for her.

But Zara is thankful to the E4 show for giving her the chance to talk to Sam without any inhibitions after admitting they have no choice but to be honest on camera.

She said: ‘It’s an interesting one as it’s lovely being on the show but it can also be very dramatic.

‘I always think that Sam and I have some of our best and most honest conversations on camera.

‘In normal life one person can be sat on their phone while the other person is talking or you can walk away but when you’re filming Made In Chelsea you have to pursue the conversation with just the two of you being really open and honest.

‘You sign up to being honest and you have to put all your thoughts and feelings on the table.’