Zara McDermott puts on a brave face after Sam Thompson split as she jets off on lavish trip to Paris

ZARA McDermott was seen putting on a brave face following her Sam Thompson split on a lavish trip to Paris.

It was revealed last week how the former Love Island star, 28, and the Made In Chelsea legend, 32, had ended their five-year-long relationship.

After news of their break-up was revealed, Zara headed straight to Paris to get over her Sam heartbreak.

The former Islander looked continental chic as she stepped out in the French capital.

Sharing a slew of pictures online, the Strictly Come Dancing star looked incredible in a stunning red dress.

In another shot she was sat in a restaurant, looking equally as beautiful with her trademark locks blown out to perfection.

Hinting at her break-up with Sam, she captioned the pics with: "Are you happy to be in Paris?"

A source close to her told The Sun: “It’s been a tough time for Zara. The trip to Paris just helped her get away from it all.

“Zara just wants to try to focus on work and get herself together. They split some time before it officially emerged and she is now living apart from him.”

Fans were left in shock when reality TV's golden couple split at the beginning of the year.

A source close to Zara and Sam told MailOnline: "Sam and Zara have ended their relationship.

"It's been an incredibly difficult decision for them to part ways; they still care and have a lot of love for each other.

"But after a tough year of working hard at their romance, they have split and will be focusing on their individual careers going forward into 2025.

"There has been no scandal or fallout between them, it's just the result of a difficult year, where they both had to spend a lot of time focused on their own projects."

"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".

Sam and Zara also reportedly spent Christmas separately after growing apart after five years together.

The reality star was then spotted looking downcast in a posh coffee shop in Putney, South West London, on Christmas Eve.

An onlooker at the time said: “She looked really down. She was just on her own, staring into space.”