Zara McDermott reveals the real reason she didn't greet Sam Thompson in Australia after he won I'm A Celeb

Zara McDermott has revealed why she didn't fly to Australia to greet her boyfriend Sam Thompson, who was crowned the winner of I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here on Sunday night.

Love Island star Zara has stayed with the couple in Britain during Sam's three-week stay in the jungle, while his best friend Pete Wicks flew out to celebrate with the new King of the Jungle.

Zara hosted family and friends at her and Sam's London home on Sunday evening to watch the live show.

Zara explained why she wasn't going to Australia a few weeks ago, telling fans the couple thought she would still be competing on Strictly Come Dancing during Sam's jungle stint.

'Peter is going. We've laughed and joked about this a few times,” she explained in an Instagram post.

'But in all seriousness; Sam thought I'd still be on Strictly (bless him, the optimism), so Pete cleared his entire diary for 2/3 weeks to be there.'

She added that since leaving Strictly she has been stuck with work over Halloween week, explaining: “I also had to rush back to work as soon as Strictly finished to finish two of my documentaries before Christmas, which I am currently filming abroad & we also have training for our latest Strictly issue.

“So it was a bit impossible to get everything cleaned up, but Sam was so excited about Pete being there that he was happy to have me waiting for him back at the base.”

Zara shared her sweet reaction when her boyfriend won the show on Sunday.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 31, was crowned King Of The Jungle, with boxing legend Tony Bellew in second place and Nigel Farage in third.

He had been the bookmakers' favorite to win for weeks after proving popular with ITV viewers, but there was still everything to play for in a final episode that included a final grim trial and the campmates' final meal .

Zara, along with all of Sam's friends and family, organized a viewing party for the finale.

Wearing a party hat with Sam's face on it, she excitedly told her 1.9 million Instagram that “we made everything Sam themed!”

The reality star shared the exact moment she heard Ant and Dec announce Sam as the winner, as she immediately started jumping up and down while squealing with joy.

Zara rushed to give Sam's mother Karen a hug, while Sam's sister Louise and her son Leo also appeared over the moon.

Similarly, Sam jumped into the arms of runner-up Tony when hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly announced the results, before admitting he was 'blown away'.

He said: 'I'm really overwhelmed, I didn't even think I would be invited to the show. I don't know what to say.'

When asked what he had to say to those who voted for him, he tearfully said: “I'm so grateful, thank you so much. I've been dreaming of doing this show for years and you've made a childhood dream come true.'

Tony wasn't too disappointed to finish second as he felt his new friend was a more than worthy winner.

He said: '10 days ago I knew. When I first met him, I knew I had never met anyone like him before… He deserves it more than anything and I couldn't be happier.”

Sam had been open about being a super fan of the show and admitted it was '100 times' better than he expected.

In an interview with Tony prior to the result, he was asked if it had met his expectations and said: 'It did so much more, I've never been so shocked in my life, times 100 everything, the little moments are the best moments too.

'My favorite time in the whole jungle was when Snake Rock came back and we had the whole family together again… The atmosphere was so great and I thought, 'I don't think I've ever been as happy as I am. now.' '

Meanwhile, boxer Tony admitted he had found life in the camp 'really, really difficult' and was grateful for his friendships with Sam and JLS singer Marvin Humes.

Following his win, Sam was reunited with his best friend and TOWIE star Pete Wicks, who flew to Australia to support him.

Last week, Zara said she was 'so proud' of Sam for his 'personal growth' on the show.

The former Love Island star, 26, said 'there are so many wonderful things that come with ADHD' (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) as she opened up about his time in the jungle.

Zara spoke on This Morning on Thursday with presenters Rylan Clark and Emma Willis alongside Dr. Nighat and reflected on the Made In Chelsea star's time in camp.

She said: 'I'm excited every day to sit down at night and watch I'm A Celeb. It's just the absolute highlight of my day.

'I think he's grown so much since Big Brother fame, you know, he's 31 now and he's come such a long way in his personal growth, and I think it's made everyone so proud when he opens up about his ADHD.

“I think it's so hard to talk about it openly because there are so many personal struggles and a lot of self-confusion along with ADHD, but there are so many beautiful things that come along with ADHD and I think we've seen that in the jungle.

'There's a lot of stigma around any form of neurodivergence, it's really hard to talk about it because in some ways it's a feeling of abnormality, like 'why am I not like other people', but actually it's also something like beautiful.'