The internet has rushed to accuse Zara McDermott of ‘cheating’ on Louis Tomlinson after a ‘completely innocent’ interaction with Joey Essex.
Zara, 29, and her Cooking with the Stars co-star Joey, 35, were spotted hugging in plain view of a large window after wrapping filming on Saturday night.
The Towie icon gave her a brief on the cheek, as she wrapped her arm around him, then left Versa Studios and got into her waiting car.
However, the Love Island star’s past history of infidelity has meant much of Louis’ dedicated fanbase has assumed the worst after the photos surfaced.
After the backlash, a source confirmed to The Sun that there is ‘nothing romantic’ going on between the two reality stars.
‘Zara and Joey grew close during filming and have become good friends,’ the insider close to Joey shared.
‘They got on really well but it’s all very innocent. There’s nothing romantic there between them.’
Zara has been with Louis, 34, since March 2025, months after she and Sam Thompson ended their five-year relationship.
Reportedly, the pair’s schedules made it difficult to take the next step in their relationship, and things fizzled out.
Before their big split, in September 2019, Zara was exposed for cheating on him with music executive Brahim Fourad while on The X Factor: Celebrity.
The fallout played out on Made in Chelsea, with Zara promising to do all she could to win Sam’s trust back and the radio host eventually taking her back.
Fans online immediately accused Zara of cheating once again, with n0nbinarry writing on X: ‘Good morning to Zara and her new boyfriend 😻’.
‘I want to clown so bad!!!!! Please let it be her. 🤡,’ begged Louis’ stan account Rachel as numerous fans accused her of being a ‘serial cheater’.
Discodivarry added: ‘Zara McDermott cheating on Louis Tomlinson with JOEY ESSEX of all people was not on my bingo card.’
One blurry photo – which looked like Zara and Joey were kissing on the lips – was quickly debunked as being doctored from an old picture of the Towie star and another girl.
‘Kissing goodbye on the cheek is cheating now?’ asked imdribrazil as Shirofoxx added: ‘cheating and it was just a kiss on the cheek, which in a lot of places is just a greeting or a goodbye.’
‘So Larries are celebrating and calling Zara a cheater because a random man hugged and kissed her on the cheek?’ wrote medicinies.
Larries are a particularly vocal subset of Louis’ fandom, who are convinced he is secretly gay and the entire romance is a cover-up.
The Sun’s source added: ‘What happened on Celebrity X Factor was seven years ago when Zara was in her very early 20s. She’s a different person now and doesn’t deserve to have this constantly dragged back up.
‘She’s head over heels in love with Louis and they’re totally committed to each other.’
While fans brought up her cheating on Sam, it appears the TV personality is totally over any hurt he felt at the time.
Sam recently had to address his ex’s romance with Louis while on air on Hits Radio when a fan asked about playing One Direction’s Steal My Girl.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
‘Holly, I am live on air!’ the former Made in Chelsea star replied, gobsmacked. ‘How do I feel? First of all, and I mean this when I say it, it’s a brilliant song.
‘I still listen to it on the tube. I know that sounds weird, but I listen to it on the tube all the time. I don’t actually feel weird about it because I feel quite happy as long as everyone else is happy. I think everyone has found their person and I think that’s really, really nice.’
He added: ‘And I’ve actually met said guy and he seems like a really nice dude, so I feel pretty good about it to be fair. And it is an absolute banger. Everyone is looking for love, you know.’
Metro has reached out to Zara’s team for comment.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.