Louis Tomlinson's New Romance With Zara McDermott: 'Something Serious'
Louis Tomlinson is all loved up with new girlfriend Zara McDermott and it couldn’t come at a better time. After a rough few years that included the heartbreaking death of close friend and former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne, a source exclusively tells Life & Style the former boy bander is determined to make every moment count.
“Things are very new with Zara but he’s excited, he really likes her,” the insider says.
Louis, 33, and the Love Island star, 28, first sparked dating rumors in March when they were spotted strolling together in Suffolk, England. They went official in April after she posted a photo over breakfast with a mystery man’s elbow in the corner, which social media sleuths very quickly deduced was Louis’ from his cross tattoo. Fans even caught a glimpse of them hanging out in SoCal later that month, packing on the PDA pretty heavy throughout. “They had the best time on her visit to Malibu,” the source confirms. “They aren’t joined at the hip yet though.”
The 1D alum had the time of his life hanging out with some of his friends throughout a few days of Coachella, which ran in mid-April, though Zara was conspicuously absent. The insider says keeping the celebrations girlfriend-free was part of the plot from the beginning, as they had “a boys’ trip to Coachella planned for ages” and he “did not invite her to join him.”
That’s not to say Louis isn’t smitten with his new gal. “He has very high hopes for things with Zara though,” the source adds. “He really wants to have a proper relationship — he is happiest and more grounded that way — but he’s vowing that he’s not going to race into anything too fast because he has always made that mistake in the past.”
The singer has been keen to keep his relationships out of the public eye for the most part. In the early days of One Direction he dated Eleanor Calder for four years from 2011 to 2015 before calling it off. They reunited in 2017 and gave it another go, but with the same luck. He had a brief relationship with Briana Jungwirth that produced their son Freddie Reign Tomlinson in January 2016, and even though they weren’t to last, they still coparent smoothly to this day. He’s had a few other flings with actresses and models here and there, but the source notes no romance as of late has been as serious as his with Zara — and he’s desperate not to mess this one up.
“He’s trying to take things at a steady pace and will be flying to the U.K. soon to see her and some of his family, too,” the insider explains. “Louis is a relationship guy, so there is a very good chance this will be something significant, that’s what he says he wants.”
“Zara just got out of a long relationship, but she seems to have jumped into this both feet, they’re both in the honeymoon phase.”