Louis Tomlinson and Sam Thompson seen in first awkward exchange on the Soccer Aid training pitch months after singer started dating TV star's ex Zara McDermott
Louis Tomlinson and Sam Thompson are seen in first awkward exchange as they finally come face to face for the first time at Soccer Aid training on Thursday.
The men are both on the same England team for Unicef - the same charity Sam completed a 260-mile five-day long marathon for on Friday.
And while Sam has insisted there are 'no hard feelings', the encounter is bound to sting a little, as he and former Love Islander Zara McDermott, 28, confirmed they had ended their relationship in January after more than five years together.
Zara has since moved on pretty quickly with singer Louis, 33, with the smitten couple appearing inseparable since their romance was made public in March.
Sam and Louis were spotted trying to avoid each other during training but the singer was caught giving the TV star a lingering stare while on the pitch.
From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop.
The pair were seen having a kick about with their fellow players wearing the same blue football kit.
But it seems that Sam and Louis will still be keeping their distance from each other in the changing rooms as they have separated spaces.
As Sam arrived at the three training days he put on a brave face for photos, while beaming Louis was captured arriving and making his way onto the pitch.
And Zara showed her support for her new boyfriend Louis the night before, as she cooked the pair a 'creamy salmon pasta for dinner', as she captured the plate with the singers guitar noticeably in the background.
Sam and former Love Islander Zara, 28, split after five years earlier this year and she has quickly moved on with Louis.
The new couple have enjoyed a loved-up getaway at his home in LA and to Costa Rica together after Louis flew his new flame out to the island first-class.
Meanwhile I'm A Celeb winner Sam has moved on with Love Island beauty Samie Eilshi, 25.
After their blossoming romance was confirmed when they shared a steamy kiss in Mayfair last month, speculation of a split grew after Samie was noticeably absent from Sam's highly-publicised challenge for Soccer Aid last week.
Such rumours have since been squashed however, with their romance reportedly going from strength to strength as they 'love spending time together on their days off', a source close to the couple told MailOnline.
During an episode of their podcast Staying Relevant's last month, Pete Wicks, 37, teased Sam about the prospect of the potentially awkward encounter between him and Louis.
The TOWIE star asked his co-host: 'You're really going through it with the whole f****** body and dieting and training loads. Is that for Soccer Aid?'
But, not dropping the subject, Pete then asked: 'Any kind of people in there who you're looking forward to playing with?'
'Loads,' Sam laughed: 'Tom Grennan. I'm really looking forward to playing alongside Wayne Rooney, Tyson Fury's the manager. I can't wait'.
Pete joked: 'I mean that's gonna be f****** amazing. Make sure you get him on side though because you may need him in your corner in case you fall out with anyone. Not that you will but just in case there's any rivalries or anything.
'You know, you have to train together and it's a lot, you know when you're kind of in close quarters with someone like that. All sorts gets brought up. Anyway...'
Elsewhere singer Tom Grennan showed off his muscular physique in a fitted white T-shirt and blue denim jeans as he arrived for Soccer Aid training.
Meanwhile former goalkeeper Joe Hart beamed as he posed for photos ahead of the game and Strictly star Gorka Marquez also arrived.
It comes after Sam revealed he will be at Soccer Aid as he shared a new Instagram snap on Thursday after suffering a string of agonising injuries.
Sam feared his legs will be the reason he won't be able to take part in the football game after his challenge last week - but it seems he is all ok to play as he arrived at training
Elsewhere singer Tom Grennan showed off his muscular physique in a fitted white T-shirt and blue denim jeans as he arrived for Soccer Aid training
Tony Bellew looked ready to play football in the game
Love Island's Josh Denzel beamed ahead of meeting the other players
Meanwhile former goalkeeper Joe Hart beamed as he posed for photos ahead of the game
The I'm A Celebrity winner posed for a mirror selfie at his home in Chelsea and revealed that he is heading to training ahead of the celebrity charity match on Sunday.
Sam cut a cool figure in a black long sleeved top which he teamed with khaki cargos and white trainers.
The Staying Relevant podcast star was all smiles as he snapped the selfie wearing a white rucksack and a pair of Dinelli sunglasses.
He wrote: 'Off to Soccer Aid! What a 4 days its going to be!'
As Sam made his way out of his home, he beamed for a snap with brother-in-law Ryan Libbey while carrying a large bottle of water to stay hydrated.
Last week, Sam suffered a calf injury on the first day of his gruelling 260-mile Soccer Aid challenge for Unicef.
Despite the TV personality fearing his legs will be the reason he won't be able to take part in the football game and insisting he is doing everything he can, it seems Sam might be able to play some of the game as he heads to training.
On Tuesday, Sam shared another update, he wrote: 'Trying to get those legs right for soccer aid!! I WILL play a part [laughing face emoji]'
A source later told MailOnline: 'Sam's role is going to remain as a player at Soccer Aid as no official change has been made yet. He is continuing to go training and get further physio.'
Sam laughed and assured he's 'loving it' but 'no, it's not' for the game, to which Pete continued: 'Are you sure it's not for Soccer Aid? How are you feeling? You're playing again. Must be really exciting.'
Pete Wicks teased Sam about Soccer Aid 'rivalries' during a recent episode of their podcast
He added: 'How do you feel about the line up? Do you think you've got a strong team?'
Awkwardly laughing, Sam replied: 'Got a really strong team'.
Sam and Louis will join the likes of Tyson Fury, Jill Scott, Grennan and Paddy McGuinness in the star-studded squad, while Wayne Rooney will step out of retirement as one of the managers.
Sam may now have more time to pursue his romance with Samie, who recently opened up about their relationship for the first time.
Sam first met Samie, who appeared on Love Island in 2023 and returned to the All Stars series this year, through his presenting role on Aftersun.
Samie spoke about the blossoming relationship for the first time during an appearance on the Chloe Mediumship podcast.
The show is hosted by a psychic medium and in the episode, the beauty revealed how she's previously had negative gut feelings in past relationships.
She explained: 'I've had gut feelings with guys before. I've had a couple of relationships where I've known it was never it. Like this is gonna come to an end, I'll have something telling me every day it's coming to an end, this isn't for you.
'You put it to the back of your mind and then you start noticing the chaos increase. It's like the universe saying I'm gonna blow you both up if you just do not separate. Then I'm like if I only I listened all those months ago when I got that first message.'
Then, host Chloe asked: 'Obviously, you don't have to talk about it too much but the guy you're currently speaking to, do you have that gut feeling? Like do you think it's gonna be really good?'
Keeping her cards close to her chest, the former Love Islander replied: 'There's been no bad stuff at the minute so yeah I suppose it is all positive right now. It's early days.'
Zara and Louis sparked relationship speculation at the start of this year before going public in March, three months after MailOnline revealed Zara and ex-boyfriend Sam had parted ways.
Despite his heartache over Zara moving on so quickly, sources close to Sam exclusively told MailOnline at the time he holds no grudges against Louis over the new romance.
A source close to the star said: 'Sam has no hard feelings towards Louis, that's for sure.
'As far as he's concerned, Louis is Zara's new man and he's just got to accept it.
'He's a positive guy and will just move on from this, throwing himself into work and getting stuck into the exciting projects he's got coming up.
'Obviously he was sad when their relationship broke up and, like anyone, when your ex moves so quickly it's tough. And if he was both angry and devastated, that would be understandable.
'But he's not sitting around wallowing in self pity, far from it.'
Zara and Sam were together for five years before they split at the end of 2024 shortly after the Made In Chelsea favourite worked in Australia for I'm A Celeb spinoff show Unpacked.
This year's Soccer Aid for Unicef match airs on the evening of Sunday 15 June on ITV1 and ITVX from Old Trafford, Manchester.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
37 minutes ago
- Times
Why Rosie O'Donnell fled to Dublin after Trump feud
'No one ever invited me to a sex party. Not that they're sitting home going, 'Well, my choice for the sex party is Rosie O'Donnell.'' O'Donnell, 63, is settling into her new life in Ireland. The actress, stand-up comedian and former talk show host has bought a house in Dublin and is waiting for her Irish citizenship to be approved. The star tells The Sunday Times how she once lived next door in Florida to Sean 'Diddy' Combs, the rap mogul on trial in the US over charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. The trial has pushed the music mogul's infamous 'freak-off' parties into the spotlight, with witnesses divulging graphic details of the alleged sex and drug-fuelled parties.
Sky News
43 minutes ago
- Sky News
PR-savvy and now finally a knight - Beckham always knew how to turn on the charm
A sporting icon courted by prime ministers past and present, newly knighted Sir David Beckham is renowned for being extremely media savvy. Never more so than when I interviewed him for Sky News at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, after he took part in the closing ceremony having played a key role in London's winning bid to host the 2012 Games. Speaking about Sir Alex Ferguson in the interview, canny Sir Becks heaped praise on his old boss in our interview. But he'd been less complimentary about his old boss in a conversation with prime minister Gordon Brown, I later learned. I'd travelled to Beijing with Mr Brown, via Afghanistan, and we spent the final evening of the Games at the handover party, when Boris Johnson - then London mayor - famously spoke in his speech about "wiff waff" (table tennis) coming home. During his Beijing visit, Mr Brown had been promoting the idea of a Great Britain football team competing at the 2012 Games and there was speculation about Sir Alex being the team's coach. "Aah, Sir Alex," Becks said wistfully and apparently affectionately when I asked him about being re-united with his former Manchester United manager during the interview. "Like a father to me." Later, on the flight home to the UK, when I told Gordon Brown about the interview, the prime minister laughed. "That's funny," he said. "Why?" I asked him. Beckham played for Fergie at Manchester United from 1995 until 2003, when he joined Real Madrid amid claims that Ferguson disapproved of the player's showbiz lifestyle. By 2008 he was playing for LA Galaxy in the US. But despite his canny, PR-savvy answers in my interview, I saw him work the room that night in Beijing and glad-hand relentlessly. He gave every interview asked of him and turned on the charm on behalf of UK PLC to everyone present. For politicians and prime ministers, sportsmen and women like Beckham are pure gold. David Cameron was also a fan and was photographed sitting alongside Becks at the London Games. When "Goldenballs", as wife Victoria called him, retired from football a year later, a No 10 spokesman gushed: "The prime minister's view is that David Beckham has been an outstanding footballer throughout his career. "But not only that, he has been a brilliant ambassador for this country, not least if we remember all the work he did on helping us win London 2012." There was indeed a Great Britain men's football team at the Olympics, but it was coached by former England legend Stuart Pearce, not Sir Alex. And Pearce, nicknamed "psycho" for his aggressive style on the pitch, didn't pick Becks either, though he claimed he'd faced pressure from Downing Street to include him. Then in 2017, David Cameron's former spin doctor Craig Oliver claimed a senior Tory cabinet minister - thought to have been George Osborne - suggested giving Becks a peerage and appointing him sports minister in a 2013 cabinet reshuffle. That never happened either, obviously, though at least now David Beckham is also a knight - just like his "father figure" Sir Alex.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz snap a smiling selfie during museum visit after reuniting for their fourth movie
Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz enjoyed time together at a museum this week while filming on set in Spain. The two actors, who frequently collaborated together on major blockbuster movies in the past, visited the Museo Reina Sofía while filming their fourth movie together in Madrid. On Friday, the museum and Depp shared a joint Instagram post with photos of the acting duo enjoying the artwork. The stylish pair posed for a smiling selfie together and also wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders as they stood in front of a black-and-white mural. The caption read: 'Thanks for joining us @johnnydepp and @penelopecruzoficial, until next time!' Depp and Cruz's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise costar Orlando Bloom left a comment to show his support as he left two red heart emojis on the post — just shortly after he teased the possibility of 'getting the band together' for a new movie. Depp, 62, and Cruz, 51, are currently filming Day Drinker, their upcoming action thriller. The forthcoming film marks their fourth collaboration after they worked together on Blow in 2001, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in 2011 and Murder on the Orient Express in 2017. Depp and Cruz's forthcoming movie Day Drinker is directed by Marc Webb and written by Zach Dean. The upcoming film follows an enigmatic stranger forms an unlikely bond with a grieving bartender who lost her lover, their lives intertwining in unexpected ways. Depp plays the 'mysterious' guest on board a private yacht who crosses paths with the bartender, who is played by Madelyn Cline. The synopsis reads as follows: 'They soon find themselves entangled with a criminal figure (Cruz) and connected in ways no one saw coming.' The cast also includes Manu Ríos, Arón Piper, Juan Diego Botto, Anika Boyle and many more. The film marks Depp's return to Hollywood as it's his first role in film from a major distributor since he starred in 2018's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Ever since the end of his highly publicized, 2022 defamation trial with his ex-wife Amber Heard, who currently lives in Madrid, he has made a slow return to the film industry. He starred in the French film Jeanne du Barry that opened the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and directed the movie Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness. At the movie's premiere last September at the San Sebastian FIlm Festival, Cruz reunited with Depp. She previously defended him and even submitted declarations in court on behalf of Depp during his trial. 'Many years have passed and I have not only made three movies with him, but I also count on him as a great friend,' she wrote about her longtime collaborator.
