Sam Thompson has opened up on his first date since splitting from Zara McDermott

Sam Thompson has revealed that he is back dating again following his sudden split from girlfriend of five years Zara McDermott. The Made in Chelsea star saw his romance come crashing down at the very end of last year but is now ready to get back on the dating scene.

Zara, meanwhile, has already gone public with her new high profile romance with One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson. The pair tried to keep their budding relationship under wraps before being spotted together in Los Angeles earlier this month. Sam has proven he is also ready to take the plunge and move on. He has been spending time with fellow Love Island star Samie Elishi, and he even invited her to Chelsea for Easter according to reports.

Sam and Zara were together for five years(Image: Mike Marsland/WireImage)

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Following his split with Zara, the pair are said to have started exchanging flirty messages over Instagram before hitting it off in person. Sam has now spoken for the first time about his love life as he detailed his first date back on the scene.

He made sure to ask best mate Pete Wicks for advice as he revealed: “I went on the first date that I’ve had since I’ve been single recently and I was so nervous that I messaged Pete and it was the sweetest thing ever, but Pete basically sent me a list of what I had to do.”

Speaking on their Staying Relevant podcast, Sam said he ordered his date a drink and waited at a table for her. He even confessed to being keen and arriving 40 minutes early.

“I was absolutely terrified,” he admitted. “But you know what? There’s so many things that Pete gave me in that little snippet of advice. That’s what Pete’s so good at.

“He literally gave me a play by play of what he, she walks in, I gave her a kiss on the cheek. I had a glass of wine waiting for her. I told her she looked lovely. I went, ‘here’s to a great date’. She sat down and we were off.”

Pete also hinted at the work Sam had been putting into himself following his heartbreak in order to have a “glow up”. He admitted: “Oh, God, I think I’ve done everything I can do.

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Pete has offered Sam dating tips(Image: Instagram)

“I’ve done whatever it is that I can do, because I’m aware that I looked like f***ing shit. No, no, I am aware of that. I’ve looked at photos, I’ve looked at videos, I’ve been like, my God, you’re a piece of s***.

“It was a pretty tough time back then. I was thinking, ‘God, you really let yourself go.’ Now I’ve got myself to a place where I’m like, I feel like I’m happy and I’m comfortable in my own skin again, if you know what I mean.”

Sam is said to have taken Samie to the Fine Food Market on the swanky King’s Road. The weekly market boasts a whole host of artisanal and locally produced food and wine and is often frequented by famous faces.

A source told MailOnline: “Sam and Samie are really getting along and if early signs are anything to go by, this could turn into a long-term relationship.

“It may be early days still, but they do really like each other.” Claiming Sam was happy to go public with his romance, they added: “Sam is already introducing Samie to Chelsea by showing her off on the King’s Road over the Easter weekend and given how popular he is in the area, it meant a lot that he wasn’t hiding her away.”