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Sam Thompson has revealed that he’s made things official with Talitha Balinska, while throwing subtle shade at his ex-girlfriend Zara McDermott.
The Made in Chelsea star, 33, confirmed that he had finally made the model, 25, his girlfriend after a few months of dating, detailing the moment he asked her to take things to the next level.
The couple were set up on a date by Sam’s friend and former Made In Chelsea co-star Reza Amiri-Garroussi, after first meeting in 2023 when Talitha modelled in a campaign for Sam and Reza’s sunglasses brand, Dinelli.
While Sam was in a relationship with Zara, 28, at the time, he recently reconnected with Talitha after she was invited as a surprise guest to his live show at the O2 Arena and, as one source told Daily Mail, ‘the rest is history’.
And speaking to best pal Pete Wicks on the latest episode of their Staying Relevant podcast, the TV personality revealed he was officially off the market once again.
He excitedly declared: ‘I’ve got a girlfriend. I’ve got a girlfriend!’ as Pete quipped: ‘We’ve lost him again to the dark powers of a woman.’
When probed about the details of the moment he asked Talitha the important question, Sam insisted: ‘Mate, it was just super relaxed. It was so boring really, but that’s kind of how I wanted it to be.
‘We just went for dinner and I was like, “I really like you”. And I just went “I’d love to be your boyfriend”. I don’t know why I’m panicking more now!’
He went on: ‘Yeah, I just said, “Look, I really, really like you and you make me feel really… comfortable. I feel like I can be myself around you. I don’t want to be dating anyone else. I’m 33, I wouldn’t be dating someone this amount of time if I didn’t think it had legs to last. So will you be my girlfriend?” And she said “yes”. And so I said, “great”.’
Pete was quick to congratulate his pal and point out how far he’d come in a year, after last Christmas marked the breakdown of Sam’s five-year romance with Zara.
He said: ‘Listen we’re all very proud of you and we’re pleased that the year has taken a full circle’, as Sam echoed: ‘Christmas is back on! I’m happy.’
And in a sign of how well their relationship is blossoming already, Sam showed how close Talitha has already become with his family, as he revealed he was planning on taking her skiing with his sister Louise Thompson and her fiancé Ryan Libbey in the New Year.
Made In Chelsea star Louise, 35, appeared to give her seal of approval to her brother’s new girlfriend in October, as she shared a snap of Talitha and Sam roasting marshmallows with her and her son Leo, four.
But when Pete asked if he had any plans to go Instagram official with Talitha, Sam let slip a slight dig at his ex-girlfriend, saying: ‘I don’t think there’s any need for it’.
As Pete clarified: ‘I just want to confirm that there won’t be a picture of the cats, you and Peep [Talitha] in Christmas pyjamas in Santa’s grotto?’
Sam and Zara frequently shared Instagram content together throughout their relationship, and one Christmas donned matching festive pyjamas and posed with their pet cats, Albus and Cedric, in front of the tree.
However, Sam was quick to insist to Pete that he had no intentions of doing the same with Talitha, saying: ‘I’ve done that before and I want to do a complete opposite of that this time…’
Zara has famously moved on with One Direction heartthrob Louis Tomlinson, who last month admitted during a podcast interview that he is ‘so in love’ with her.
The pair were first spotted on a date in March and have since been pictured passionately kissing, as Zara travels the world supporting the singer and his music career.
Sam has tried to make light of Zara dating Louis, even playing One Direction’s Steal My Girl at his recent O2 show.
It comes after Sam previously admitted that he had been hesitant to make Talitha his girlfriend because he feared he’d ‘panic’ asking her.
After he confirmed they were dating on the podcast in October, Pete asked when he was planning to take things to the next stage, saying: ‘So how are you going to ask her to be your girlfriend? Will you do it like Love Island?’
But, Sam was reticent, replying: ‘No mate, there’s not been any chat about that. There’s no pressure, and that is the beauty of it. There’s no pressure, there’s no time frame. The worst part about this is, if she sees this, I could get canned next week’.
Referring to Sam’s split from Zara, Pete quipped: ‘Oh, we can’t go through another break-up, not this year. At least wait till next year, darling. So, where are we at with it?’
Sam insisted they were taking things slow and admitted he was nervous about the prospecting of making things official, as it had been a long time since he’d last asked someone to be his girlfriend.
He said: ‘Mate, I don’t know, everything is just super relaxed, you know what it is like with dating. We are just enjoying it.
‘Realistically, if I were to ever ask anyone out, I wouldn’t even know how to do it. I would panic. I haven’t asked someone out in years.’
Like Sam, Talitha also boasts a star-studded and wealthy family, with her father being Polish aristocrat Kaz Balinski, who works in the oil industry, and his ex-wife Vanessa Balinska.
Kaz was previously married to TV chef Lorraine Pascale until their split in 2000, and in 2023 he wed model Sophie Anderton, known for her appearances on Love Island, I’m A Celeb and Celebrity Big Brother.
Talitha is one of four siblings, including actress Ella, who once co-starred with Kristen Stewart in 2019’s Charlie’s Angels.
