Zara McDermott says she and Sam Thompson have 'total trust in one another'

Zara McDermott loves her new career as a documentary-maker, says boyfriend Sam Thompson is 'so much fun to be with' and that the couple 'laugh constantly'...

TV star, content creator, fashion brand owner and documentary maker, Zara Mcdermott has come a long way since her stint on the reality show Love Island, which catapulted her into the limelight six years ago. Having previously worked for the Department for Education as a policy advisor before appearing on the fourth series of Love Island, she is now one of the biggest social media names in the world.

From reality television to presenting documentaries, here she reveals how she has learnt to cope with being in the public eye, and how her and boyfriend Sam Thompson make their relationship work. We met her to find out more about her life post-Love Island and her new fashion line.

Congratulations on your new fashion brand Rise! Does the motto of it: 'We rise by lifting others' reflect how you try to live your life?

Yes, absolutely! The ethos of my life is all about trying to help lift people up and enjoy their success and happiness which is so important. It is a saying I come back to time and time again as I love watching how other people try to elevate themselves and grow. Sometimes it is easy when we get knock-backs in life to fall, yet we just have to try and pick ourselves up and power on.

Behind the scenes I’ve had a lot of knock-backs with getting the brand up and running but I’ve learnt it takes time to build up a successful business. There have been so many challenges to get this far and this project has been like my baby so to see the collection grow, and in fact practically sell out, has been amazing.

As someone who has fallen victim to trolling in the past, particularly after leaving Love Island, it is great to see you talking about body positivity and encouraging others to embrace what they have. How important is this to you?

You will see it reflected in my clothes as I’m all about making women feel good, whatever their size and shape. Inclusivity is my aim and that is why the brand works as it is a one destination where everyone can shop. The idea for the brand comes from my own experience of going shopping with my mum which we love to do together but being different ages and sizes, there was nothing that appealed to us both. With Rise, you have everyday basic staples that feel amazing on and the fabric never creases which is a bonus!

How do you manage life in the public eye? With over two million followers on Instagram, do you ever feel overwhelmed by your popularity?

I feel very lucky and if I’m honest, it doesn’t feel real sometimes. I know I have to just take it in my stride and my family has always kept me grounded, so I try not to overthink it. And I’m sure a lot of those followers are there just because the dance routines I do with Sam make them giggle. He is so much fun to be with, we laugh constantly and that is the key to our relationship.

On that note, how are things going with Sam? You are both so busy, do you get to spend much time with each other?

He is amazing. Sam and I are so busy, our lives have no structure and are incredibly unpredictable. It can be crazy as we never know where each other is from one week to the next so not being able to plan anything is mad. The way we deal with it is by having total trust and faith in one another and having each other’s backs. We will both say, 'Go and do what you need to do' when one of us is working and we are always in constant touch. We both rise by lifting others and Sam is my biggest cheerleader.

You have an amazing work ethic. Where does that come from?

My dad pushed both my brother and I to work hard since we were little. He’d say the harder you work, the luckier you get and I think he instilled that mentality into us. Life is a juggling act but I feel lucky to call this my passion project.

The nature of your BBC Three Zara Uncovers documentaries on everything from revenge porn to rape are extremely hard-hitting. How did you cope with exploring such taboo topics?

I joke that the most rebellious thing I ever did as a child was pretending to do my homework when I was secretly in fact watching documentaries on my computer. I’ve always been obsessed by them and Stacey Dooley was such an inspiration to me.

There is obviously a lot of hard work and research that goes into each show and yes, covering things like targeted theft, sexual abuse, drugs and so on are extremely difficult to delve in to but I enjoy helping people understand the dark side of life, how to protect themselves and have a deeper understanding of what is happening.

I loved filming my new BBC3 show on Ibiza: Secrets of the Party Island which was fascinating to do as I always was so passionate about Ibiza. I have been to the island many times but it is not what it used to be; there are a lot of layers to it like the drug trade and crime which is growing. It was at times terrifying filming it but I just had to try and keep a control of my nerves.

What has the contrast been like going from Love Island to making serious documentaries?

Look, I know lots of people look down on reality television but I’m proud to say I was on Love Island and I don’t like to regret anything. It was just a part of my life journey which was fun to do in my early twenties. I was actually only on the show for 10 days; I have had far longer holidays than that and looking back now it really was just a fleeting experience. Now I’m doing documentaries I know this is what I want to do as a career.

Zara's clothing line Rise is in-store at Tesco with F & F Clothing and coming online in the Autumn.

Read more: Zara McDermott 'petrified' at drug deal scene while filming BBC Three doc (Bang Showbiz, 1-min read)