EXCLUSIVE! Zara McDermott opens up about starting a family with Sam Thompson

Zara McDermott has opened up about starting a family with Sam Thompson.

The couple, who first started dating in 2019, briefly split in 2020 but rekindled their romance after just a few months apart.

Despite being happier than ever in their relationship, the Love Island star told us that she’s in no rush to have children.

Speaking exclusively to Goss.ie, Zara said: “I know some people will be like ‘No, I don’t want a baby’ and then all of a sudden they’re pregnant – no, not me.”

“I could not be less broody if I tried, genuinely. The thought of having a child at the moment scares the living daylights out of me. Sam and I sometimes don’t even have time for each other, let alone if we put a baby in the mix.”

“I just also don’t feel ready to not be selfish – at all,” Zara candidly admitted. “When you have a child, you have to put that person forward, and they’re your priority all the time. “

“I want to be my own priority and I want Sam to be my priority as much as I can. So, absolutely not.”

While children appear to be out of the question for Zara and Sam at the moment, the Love Island star opened up about the possibility of having a family in the future.

The 25-year-old told Goss.ie: “I don’t know, maybe. It’s hard because when you’re not in that headspace at that moment, it’s hard to visualise. Will I be ready? I don’t know.”

“Also, I might not be lucky enough to have children one day, and that for me will definitely be something I think about later down the line, when I feel like I’m ready,” Zara explained. 

“But, I genuinely feel like I’m at least ten years off. That’s how I feel.” 

Addressing recent engagement speculation, Zara told us: “I don’t think everyone should have to get engaged and get married. I’m really, really happy in my life and where I’m at, I’m not trying to rush anything or force anything.”

“Especially in the last few years, I’ve really changed and even though that’s something I really wanted a few years ago, I’ve realised the worst thing you can do is rush anything in a relationship.”

“We’ve got a house, we’ve got two beautiful cats, we’ve got our separate careers that we’re each other’s number one supporters of. I don’t think that I feel like I need to get married at the moment, and maybe in a few years time that will change, but I’m really happy with where I’m at.”

Zara spoke to Goss.ie after Love In The Flesh, the dating show she hosts, launched on Virgin Media.

Speaking about the show, Zara told us: “It was a bit of a 180° moment for me presenting a dating show, especially when I’m a massive fan of reality TV and dating shows. It was just incredible to be part of that.”

“The idea is that five couples who have only ever spoken online – some had FaceTimed, some of them hadn’t – we flew them all to Greece, and they met for the very first time on camera.”

“It was a beautiful moment and the idea is that we kept them in a beach house for a week and just tested their relationships really to see how their relationships would last.”

“Everytime I walked into the beach house, I was thinking ‘What would the viewer want me to ask? What would they wanna know?’ that maybe they hadn’t gotten yet from just watching it.”

“I had a constant stream in my dressing room, so I could see what was going on all the time, like watch it live.”

“It was good to have that insight and then think ‘What do I wanna know now? What do I wanna find out?’” 

Love In The Flesh continues on Wednesday at 9pm on Virgin Media Two, and all episodes are available to watch on Virgin Media Player.