As the celebrities arrived at the star-studded BRIT Awards at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night, Sam Thompson was very nervous about bumping into his ex Zara McDermott as they arrived minutes apart.
MailOnline revealed Sam and Zara split in December after five years together with the former Strictly stunner revealing shortly after that she had moved out of their Chelsea home.
And ahead of the A-list ceremony the podcast star, 32, and former Love Island bombshell, 28, narrowly missed one another as they posed for photos.
Sam was suited and booted in a black tuxedo which he layered over a stylish navy shirt and posed for solo photos before being joined by his sister Louise Thompson.
MailOnline can reveal that the I’m A Celebrity winner then very quickly walked the rest of the carpet and didn’t stop as he avoided speaking to press.
However his best pal Pete Wicks exclusively told MailOnline, while speaking alongside Olivia Attwood, that ‘Sam is struggling tonight’.
As the celebrities arrived at the BRIT Awards on Saturday night, Sam Thompson was very nervous about bumping into his ex Zara McDermott as they arrived minutes apart
MailOnline revealed Sam and Zara split in December after five years together with the former Strictly stunner revealing shortly after that she has moved out of their Chelsea home; pictured at the BRITs 2024
The former TOWIE star said: ‘I’m not without him, he’s actually right there, just there. It’s hard for him tonight because I have a new work wife and Sam is struggling with that a little bit.’
Olivia added: ‘Sam did grab me earlier and said, “Liv just so you know I will be with you tonight” and I said I fully anticipated that you would be.
Pete continued: ‘It does feel a little bit weird because I feel like I am’, before Olivia interrupted and joked that Pete is ‘cheating’.
He jokingly added: ‘Yes it does, nicely done Liv. Because I’ve never done that.’
Minutes after Sam left the carpet Zara made her grand entrance in a stunning white gown which boasted a daring thigh high split.
The TV personality cut an elegant figure in the glamorous dress, which featured a halterneck design, a short train and a thigh-high slit with feather detailing.
She added inches to her height with a pointy pair of white heels and swept her long blonde tresses back into a neat updo.
Zara turned heads as she flashed her gorgeous smile while posing for photos solo before making a swift entrance into the arena.
Minutes after Sam left the carpet Zara made her grand entrance in a stunning white gown which boasted a daring thigh high split
Sam was suited and booted in a black tuxedo which he layered over a stylish navy shirt and posed for solo photos before being joined by his sister Louise Thompson
The I’m A Celebrity winner quickly walked the rest of the carpet after posing for photos and didn’t hesitate as he avoided speaking to press
However his best pal Pete Wicks exclusively told MailOnline, while speaking alongside Olivia Attwood , that ‘Sam is struggling tonight’
Luckily for the former couple, they were sat miles apart so the chance of another close run-in was small with Sam sitting on the Hitz radio exclusive table with Pete and Olivia while Zara is believed to have been up in a box away from the floor seating.
Following the ceremony, Sam joined Pete and Olivia at the glamorous Universal Music afterparty which was held at 180 The Strand, while it is believe Zara headed straight home.
It comes weeks after Sam admitted that Valentine’s Day felt like a ‘punch to the gut’ as he opened up about being single following split from Zara.
Speaking on his Staying Relevant podcast on Valentine’s Day, the TV personality told co-host Pete that the romantic holiday was the ‘longest day of the f***ing year’.
Strictly star Pete jokingly begged Zara to ‘please take Sam back’ as the reality star discussed going through ‘tough times’ and explained how he has adapted his home to allow him to ‘forget about the entire world’.
Sam said: ‘I’m so happy Valentine’s Day is over. I’m over the moon, longest day of the f***ing year, never realised how long it is before. You just don’t realise until your alone.
‘That day, I did have some time off social media, I played chess with a friend. Marvin [Humes] called me to check in, but you didn’t call me Pete.’
Pete replied: ‘I don’t need to call you you’re a 32-year-old man’.
Sam added: ‘I would have really liked that, just some sort of reach out.
‘I use to love a Valentine’s Day Instagram post, I loved posting it and viewing other peoples, but when your single it hits different, now it is like a punch to the gut.
‘When I wasn’t single I was like, I love love but now I’m like, “no, no, no!”‘
Zara made her grand entrance in a stunning white gown as she happily stopped to pose for photos
Luckily for the former couple, they were sat miles apart so the chance of another close run-in was small with Sam sitting on the Hitz radio table while Zara is believed to have been in a box
Following the ceremony, Sam joined Pete and Olivia at the glamorous Universal Music afterparty which was held at 180 The Strand, while it is believe Zara headed straight home
Sam revealed he has recently turned to online gaming and has moved a TV into his bedroom so he doesn’t have to ‘get up’.
The ITV star said: ‘I played a lot of games on Valentines Day, I’m going to do a gaming meet up soon there are four of us, we’ve not met before.
‘I now have a TV on the bed so I don’t even have to get up.’
Pete begged: ‘You’ve been eating and playing in bed and not even getting up and going in the office, Zara please take him back’.
‘People go through tough times differently that’s my safe space right now. Gaming makes you forget about the entire world it’s really nice,’ added Sam.
Sam and his ex Zara shared two cats together, Albus and Cedric.
Recently he hinted that he may not be to blame for his split from girlfriend Zara as he shed light on their breakup for the first time.
Speaking on Love Island’s Morning After podcast, Sam was asked whether he would date someone his family – which includes sister and Made In Chelsea co-star Louise who is a next-door neighbour – disliked.
‘Absolutely not,’ the I’m A Celebrity winner told co-hosts Amy Hart and Indiyah Polack.
‘No chance. I live next to my sister and I’m very lucky my sister has liked all my girlfriends, which is great,’ he continued.
‘Most of the time when we break up it is my fault in my sister’s eyes. My sister will look at me and go, “what have you done?” every time. And I’ll be like, “it’s not even me!”
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