Zara McDermott and Louis Tomlinson ‘confirm romance’ with intimate hotel dinner date

Zara McDermott was spotted on a date with Louis Tomlinson (Picture: Getty / Rex)

Speculation has grown that Louis Tomlinson and Zara McDermott are dating after the pair were spotted enjoying a romantic meal together.

The One Direction star, 33, reportedly planned the date, which saw him take Zara, 28, to a romantic getaway at a hotel in Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

In photos obtained by The Sun, the pair held hands and laughed as they ate and drank, seemingly smitten with each other.

The publication reported that the pair have been casually dating for some time.

A source told the Sun: ‘Louis whisked Zara away for a break in Suffolk and he absolutely charmed her, it’s clear he thinks she’s drop-dead gorgeous too.

‘Louis is a proper gentleman so this trip was something he planned and put on for Zara. He was really thoughtful and wanted to make it special.’

Zara and Louis reportedly looked cosy at the romantic meal (Picture: Instagram

The source emphasised that the pair are taking things slow.

This follows previous speculation that Zara, who split from I’m A Celebrity star Sam Thompson in December after a five-year-long relationship, was romantically seeing Louis.

According to The Sun, claims of the romance began on Reddit, after Louis’ fans noticed that the pair had started following each other on Instagram.

They also noticed that Louis’ siblings Lottie and twins Daisy and Phoebe had started following Zara too.

The post on Reddit claimed: ‘I’ve read a lot of rumours that Louis is in a relationship with Zara McDermott. 

‘They recently started to follow each other on Instagram. She follows all of his sisters, and they follow her back.’

Louis is father to son Freddie, born in 2016 (Picture: Kate Green/Getty Images)

They added: ‘Obviously, following a person on instagram doesn’t mean that people are in a relationship, lol, But, I just find it weird, and I am scared that this will be a new stunt. Especially since I’ve read about them many times.

‘Louis is having a concert in London today, and I’m just waiting for Zara to be spotted there or that she post a story from the concert.’

After five years together, Zara and Sam reportedly called it quits in December, which allegedly came as the result of a difficult year as they both focusing on individual projects.

While Zara has been busy working on documentaries, Sam had spent a significant amount of time in Australia for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here’s spin-off show, Unpacked.

Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott split up in December after five years together (Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

In January, Sam was chatting to best friend Pete Wicks on their joint Staying Relevant podcast when his pal asked ‘what’s been going on?’

Referencing the split, Sam admitted: ‘It was tough. It’s been a tough month. A real tough month.’

For Louis’ part, his most public previous relationship was with Eleanor Calder, whom he dated on and off from 2011 to 2022.

During a split from Eleanor in 2015, Louis briefly dated Briana Jungwirth, who gave birth to the couple’s child, Freddie, on January 21, 2016.

While neither Zara nor Louis have confirmed the romance rumours, things are certainly looking pretty cosy.

Metro has contacted Zara and Louis’ reps for comment.

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