Sam Thompson reveals the huge hidden financial cost of his split from Zara McDermott that required him to get BUILDERS in to fix

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Sam Thompson shared on Wednesday that his breakup with Zara McDermott came with a significant, unexpected financial impact.

The 33-year-old TV star is having work done on his £1 million home in Chelsea, where he used to live with his former partner, who is 29.

Sam and Zara were together for five years, but they broke up in December 2024. Zara has since moved out and is now dating Louis Tomlinson, who is 34 years old and a member of the band One Direction.

Sam recently revealed he needs to renovate his kitchen again, just two years after the first remodel. This time, the damage is due to Zara carving her initials into the wooden drawers and bronze hardware.

Sam told co-host Pete Wicks on their podcast, Staying Relevant, that the construction workers are returning.

Pete said, “Sam’s house looks fantastic after five years of renovations, but I’m confused – it seems like your builders are starting work now, especially since your kitchen has already been remodeled twice in the last two years.”

Sam replied: ‘I had to redo the kitchen, you know I had to.

The kitchen was beautiful when I first moved in, but after a breakup, someone carved names into the wooden surfaces – and it definitely wasn’t my doing!

‘His initials and his partners were engraved into all the door handles’, Pete added. 

Sam continued: ‘Basically they were also on the drawers, so I had to change the kitchen. 

Just to be clear, I didn’t want this to happen, but someone carved our initials into something in the kitchen, and now I have to remodel it again to fix it.

Sam and Zara used to share updates about their home renovations on Instagram, including the special touches they added to their kitchen.

Customers raved about how beautiful the handles are, especially the rich bronze color. They also pointed out a subtle detail – if you look closely at the second picture, you’ll notice the letters ‘S’ and ‘Z’ engraved on them.

The kitchen, once part of a couple’s home, has a spacious, open layout. A large island made of stone sits in the middle, surrounded by big, grey cabinets.

In their pantry, the couple had customized three drawers: one labeled for Sam, another for Zara, and the bottom one for storing dry food.

After ending her relationship, Zara began dating Louis from the band One Direction and they publicly confirmed their romance in March 2025.

After ending her relationship with Sam Thompson, Zara first returned to live with her parents. She later moved into the north London home of millionaire Louis.

Last August, sources told The Sun that Zara and her new partner were deeply in love. She was spending almost all her time at his home, to the point where it felt like she’d moved in. She even began filming her social media content there instead of at her family home.

‘She had been back at her family home after her split from her ex…

Okay, so everyone was wondering why she’s been at Louis’ place so much lately, and honestly, it totally makes sense! His house is nowhere near her parents’, so of course she’s staying with him more. It just… it all adds up, you know? I knew it!

Zara and Louis are very much in love and enjoy spending all their free time together. They traveled extensively this summer, and now that they’re back in the UK, Zara often stays at Louis’s place.

The Daily Mail has approached Zara and Louis’ representatives for comment.

Zara and Louis publicly displayed their affection on Instagram with their first post together, a photo of them kissing. Louis commented ‘I love you’ on the picture, and their families seem to approve of the relationship – Zara’s brother called them a ‘beautiful couple,’ and Louis’ sister simply wrote ‘love love’.

Sam has moved on and is now dating Talitha Balinska. He recently revealed he told her he loves her for the first time, and they’ve been together since September of last year.

The TV star publicly confirmed he’s dating the 25-year-old influencer in early December. They recently went on a double date with his sister Louise, her fiancé Ryan, and a friend named Pete.

Sam shared that he confessed his love for Talitha while they were relaxing on the couch. He admitted to Pete that he’d felt this way for a while, but found it difficult to actually tell her.

Pete and Sam were talking about Valentine’s Day when Pete asked if Sam had told Talitha he loved her. Sam confirmed that he had.

He realized he had some news to share, and it was a funny story. He admitted he’d been really awkward while sitting on the sofa.

We were sitting on the sofa, and I’d had a feeling for a while, but I kept hesitating to say anything because I thought it was too soon.

Instead of saying ‘I love you,’ I gradually expressed my feelings, starting with ‘I like you’ and then ‘I like you a lot.’ I’d even tell her how much I liked her as I was leaving, just blurting it out.

He shared that Talitha had already told him she liked him as well. He explained that he’d been sitting on the sofa and then told her, ‘When I say I like you, I mean something more than just friendship.’

‘And then she was like “what does it mean?” and then I panicked, and I went “it means I hate you”.’

After a slightly uncomfortable pause, Sam explained he’d attempted to cheer Talitha up, but hadn’t succeeded. She then admitted she’d hoped he was about to say something sweet.

Oh my gosh, it was everything. Pete was teasing Sam, saying, ‘It’s good to know you made this awkward,’ and then Sam just… said it! They added, ‘So awkward!’ and then, get this, ‘I think I love you!’ I literally died. It was the most amazing, chaotic, perfect moment ever, and I’m still reeling from it. I’ve replayed it in my head a million times!

I was on the edge of my seat when Pete pressed his friend for the exact words! He needed to know precisely what was said – was it ‘I’m falling in love with you,’ ‘I have fallen in love with you,’ or simply, ‘I love you?’ It was so important to him to get every detail right.

Sam confessed, ‘I think I’m in love with you.’ She immediately regretted saying it, not wanting to fully express her feelings. She responded with, ‘What do you mean?’ and I got flustered, like I am now, and kind of froze up. We sat in awkward silence for a while after that.

She asked me to say something, so I told her I loved her. She said it back, and then we sat down on the sofa and started a movie. We watched in comfortable silence for a while, then suddenly we both just started laughing.

‘That’s why I love her we are both quite awkward people, and so it was quite a nice moment.’

Sam said since saying the famous L word he ‘can’t stop’ telling Talitha.

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2026-03-18 15:21