Zara McDermott and Louis Tomlinson have been spotted enjoying a romantic meal days after fans speculated the pair were dating, DailyMail reports.
The One Direction star, 33, is said to have planned the date, which saw him take Zara, 28, to The Suffolk hotel in Aldeburgh.
According to the report by DailyMail, a fellow diner at the hotel spotted Zara McDermott and Louis Tomlinson enjoying a romantic meal and they can be seen beaming in photos obtained by The Sun.
DailyMail reported that Zara McDermott and Louis Tomlinson looked besotted as they giggled and held hands while enjoying fish and chips and cocktails – before apparently spending the night at the hotel.
The publication reported that Zara McDermott and Louis Tomlinson have been on a number of low key dates over the past few weeks and have been speaking for a while.
A source told the publication: ‘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.’
The source added that the pair are taking things slow and a similarity they share is how close they are with their families.
A guest at the restaurant said they saw the pair looking relaxed as they touched each others’ hands over the table.
It is not known if the pair were staying at The Suffolk hotel, where rooms cost upwards of £200-per-night.
However, there could be trouble in paradise brewing, with Louis previously making very snide remarks about reality series Love Island, the show that rocketed Zara to fame.
Louis made disparaging remarks not just about the show but the contestants as well, saying in 2019: ‘I’ve got no time for Love Island, I absolutely despise that show.
‘Do you know what’s bad? What’s bad is one year, one year I got pulled in – this is my excuse anyway -I got pulled in to watch it, maybe I put a few tweets out about it…
‘Honestly it’s a tragic show. I’ve got no time for it or anyone on it.’
In 2018, when Zara appeared on the show, Louis admitted he was sick of the programme. tweeting: ‘Can I just say, thank f**k love island is over!’ when the series ended.
He doubled down on his remarks by tweeting that he thought the show was setting a bad example to its viewers.
When asked by a fan if he was watching the show, Louis responded: ‘I’m not. Made the mistake of watching previous years but enough is enough.
‘It’s not a good message for the younger people watching.’
It was a change of heart for the star, who in 2017 not only admitted he was watching the ITV2 series but was fully invested and rooting for ‘sweet’ Camilla Thurlow to win.
MailOnline revealed Zara had split with Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson December after five years together, with the Strictly star revealing shortly after that she had moved out of their Chelsea home.
In January, she shared a TikTok documenting her day filming for Morning Live, where she confirmed she was living somewhere new, with clips of her in bed and glimpses of her room while getting ready.
The luxury abode Sam and Zara shared is right next door to Sam’s sister and fellow Made In Chelsea star Louise Thompson.
The former couple had often give fans a glimpse in their home through their funny skits together and their joint home renovation page.
The ultra modern home boasted their very own opulent basement cinema, complete with a glamorous bar area.
Last week, Sam admitted he isn’t even thinking about dating again, just hours before it was revealed Zara was dating Louis.
Speaking with friend and Celebs Go Dating coach Paul Brunson on the latest episode of his podcast Staying Relevant, Paul asked Sam ‘What are you doing Sam to self-love?’
Getting candid Sam confessed he isn’t even thinking about dating again as he replied: ‘Not much to be honest with you.
‘I suppose a lot of people look for validation in other people right? And they look for the next person instantly because it’s like “I need to find someone else to fill that hole and I need to find that excitement.”
‘You know when you get that excited feeling when you are talking to someone new and fresh. I can’t do that.’
Sam then explained he wants to focus on prioritising his family and admitted he barely ever goes out.
Paul asked: ‘What are your values outside of creativity?’ as Sam replied: ‘I mean I love home, I am a real home body. I love my cats and being around my family and being in my home, I barely ever go out.’
Paul added: ‘Spend time with your family, spend time creating. Tap into some of the things you loved as a boy. Tap into those and spend time doing those and that is going to increase the self esteem and self worth which is what you need right now.’
Fans speculated that Zara had moved on with Louis, sharing conspiracy theories that they pair could be secretly dating after noticing that they follow each other on Instagram.
Louis only follows 336 accounts on the social media platform with Zara being one of them.
Reddit users also claim that Louis’s sisters, including make-up artists Lottie Tomlinson, and twins Daisy and Phoebe, follow Zara too.
After their theories were confirmed to be true, their other other hypothesis could now hold some weight to it as users questioned the link between Zara and the siblings.
A theory is that the girls could be working on an undisclosed documentary with the Love Island star, which is a way Zara could have been been introduced to Louis.
One fan penned: ‘I’ve heard about the link with a documentary as well. Zara has been involved in a recent change in the law as it’s now illegal to threaten to share images without someone’s consent. I can see something like that appealing to Louis, even though it’s revenge porn that is the basis of Zara’s law change.’
Another said: ‘I also heard rumors that she’s part of the rumored series the twins are trying to get going, so fingers crossed it’s more about that.’
‘I think there is a documentary about the Tomlinson’s being produced since the sisters are interested in being England’s version of the Kardashians. Zara has worked on documentaries, maybe she is involved with that’, commented a third user.
A fourth said: ‘I think it’s more of a business thing than anything else (for the twins, they’re well into reality tv and Zara was on love island) so if it is a stunt it’d be quite ridiculous, especially since Louis openly criticises love island.’
With another adding: ‘His sisters have been following her for quite some time. If they are gonna stunt, we will know, because you know, the purpose of a stunt is to be visible and in your face. It is more likely that she is helping the twins with their Kardashians style show which has been in the talks for a while now.’
Zara has been making a name for herself as a documentary maker and has brought a range of thought-provoking and critically acclaimed documentaries to the BBC over the last few years.
Earlier this month, Zara set tongues wagging with Lucien Laviscount after they were spotted getting cosy at the BRIT Awards.
The newly single star was seated next to the Emily in Paris heartthrob, 32, for the entire ceremony and lapped up the attention she received from him.
An insider said: ‘Lucien was making his move. He was chatting her up all night, whispering in her ear and dancing with her.
‘He seemed really smitten. Zara clearly enjoyed his company as she couldn’t stop smiling and laughing.’
Awkwardly ex Sam was seated just a few tables away from the Love Island beauty, as she dazzled in a stunning white gown with feather detailing which boasted a daring thigh high split.
He was joined on the Hits radio exclusive table with his best pal Pete, former Love Islander Olivia Attwood, and actress Gemma Atkinson.