Zara McDermott gives relationship update after spending Christmas Day without Sam Thompson

Love Island's Zara McDermott and Made In Chelsea's Sam Thompson spent Christmas Day apart as he decided to dedicate his time to those in need - winning support from his girlfriend and fans

Zara McDermott has provided an update on her romantic life after spending Christmas away from boyfriend Sam Thompson.

The 28-year-old Love Island star has been in a relationship with 32-year-old Made In Chelsea star Sam since 2019 but they spent Christmas this year apart. While fans might be anxious that this could signal the loved up pair are drifting apart, it transpires that Sam sacrificed his Christmas Day to help those in need - answering the call of a charity to lift spirits by delivering gifts.

And Zara proved her reality star beau very much has her heart as she took to social media to show off an impressive duo of paintings that she had specially commissioned for him as a gift. She showed off the paintings via Instagram and wrote: "Sam’s Xmas pressie from me! I wanted to get something super meaningful so I had these paintings made… they look a bit random but they are all the meaningful things he loves. They’re by @brittyflynn she’s absolutely incredible."

The large paintings were covered in arty images of a number of items that Sam loves. The artwork included a tribute to his podcast, Staying Revelant, a bottle of sparkling water, a block of cheese, books showing the titles of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Greek Mythology, a goose holding a want, a Chelsea football - and other random items.

Sam had previously revealed that he spent his Christmas Day helping others. Taking to Instagram, he shared images and video footage of himself driving around town helping those in need. And explaining his actions, he wrote in an accompanying caption: "Bit of a different Christmas this year. I got put in touch with a charity.

"The camila batmanghelidjh foundation to be exact. They were struggling this year after the sad passing of Camila, and I was lucky enough to get the call up to deliver gifts across London to possibly the nicest, most selfless bunch of people I've ever met. What could have been another standard Christmas has turned out to be one that I'll never forget!

"Thank you everyone that let me into your homes, and to be honest I think there's no doubt I'll be back next year if you'll have me! Here's to all of the people who are there for others year round. You are superheroes (and thank you to my co-pilot the camera shy JLS loving Ali) you're one of a kind my man!"

Zara was clearly impressed by Sam's charitable work and shared a gushing statement about boyfriend, writing: "So proud of you, it's so lovely that you chose to give up your Christmas Day to help others." While others also supported his decision to spend Christmas helping others, with one writing: "Best use of a platform and a lovely lovely thing to do for others."

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