Sam Thompson was able to speak with his girlfriend Zara McDermott following his I’m A Celebrity… I need to get out of here! 2023 win.
On Sunday night, the former Made in Chelsea actor, 31, was crowned the new King of the Jungle, with Tony Bellew, 41, coming in second and ex-politician Nigel Farage, 59, coming in third.
The reality TV star won with more than 40% of the total audience vote, and he celebrated his joy with closest friend Pete Wicks when they reconnected on the shaky bridge – with Sam diving straight into his arms.
While Zara wasn’t there in person, she did throw a huge watch party with friends and family – and the two had a romantic reunion at the end of the night.
Zara from Love Island recently released a video of the room erupting with cheers when Sam was crowned the winner of I’m A Celeb 2023, and she has now shared another video of the commotion before and after Sam was named the winner.
The clips show the family dining, drinking, and watching Sam on TV while listening to – what else? – Everybody In Love by JLS, with everyone inevitably freaking out as the big moment arrived.
And, right at the conclusion, the couple reconnects over FaceTime, with Zara enthusiastically conversing with her love as he continues to recover from being named King.
On the other end of the video conversation, Sam can be seen whooping and celebrating, surrounded by fellow campmates.
Proud girlfriend Zara shared the video with the caption: ‘Last night we partied… jungle style 😎👑.
‘Thank you to all our beautiful friends and family for coming and celebrating something so magical. The best night ever!’
Zara previously stated why Pete was flying to Australia to see Sam while she stayed at home, revealing that her partner was certain she would still be competing on Strictly Come Dancing while he was in the bush.
In fact, she was knocked out of the competition before Sam even headed out to Australia, but she explained on Instagram ‘ it was a bit impossible to clear everything but Sam was so excited by the idea of Pete being there anyway that he was happy for me to be waiting for him back at base.’
On Sunday, Sam told Ant and Dec that his time in the jungle was ‘like a dream I didn’t want to be woken up from.’
‘It’s the most surreal thing I’ve ever done in my life,’ he added, with the I’m A Celeb megafan joking he ‘blacked out’ when Ant and Dec first walked into camp.
And it appears Sam has an eventful year ahead of him, with bookies tipping him to host This Morning, star on Strictly Come Dancing, and even have his own TV programme alongside I’m A Celeb bestie Tony.
The star already has a lot planned for next year, including a tour of their podcast Staying Relevant in Newcastle, Glasgow, London, Manchester, and Cardiff in April 2024.
