The former Love Island star spoke about how important it is to shed light on red flags in relationships
Loose Women welcomed TV star Zara McDermott on Thursday's episode as she opened up on her experience with "revenge porn" as the most "exposing, mortifying" things she's been through as she shared relationship red flags.
Zara first rose to fame after she appeared on the 2018 series of Love Island. While on the dating show, she coupled up with Adam Collard who was branded the "villain" of the show.
The star entered a very public relationship with Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson before the pair first called it quits in 2019 due to an affair that took place during Zara's appearance on The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019.
Since then, the couple have reportedly called it quits after five years, and while neither have made a direct comment on the split, Sam seemingly confirmed the news to Pete Wicks on an episode of their podcast, Staying Relevant.
He said: "I've been going through some stuff," with Pete agreeing: "I didn't know you were essentially on the edge for all of Christmas. But you're here, and I didn't know if you were going to be or not. I'm glad you are here."
Recently, Zara has just finished filming her new BBC documentary where she'll explore the popular holiday destination of Thailand that's seen a steady increase in visitors over the last few years.
Known for her campaign against domestic abuse, Zara appeared on the ITV daytime show to discuss the red flags to look out for in a relationship. The 28-year-old has openly shared that she was the victim of revenge porn twice, the first time being when she was just 14-years-old.
She shared: "It first happened when I was 14 and I did a documentary about that" before referencing that after her Love Island stint at the age of 21, "an ex-partner shared intimate images". Zara added: "It was one of the most exposing, mortifying experiences anyone can go through. It's the lack of control you have over your own autonomy."
Zara always confessed that she's seen a huge culture shift in how people react to these images being shared without consent. At 14-years-old she admitted that she was the one who was suspended from school, yet at 21-years-old she received a lot more support.
She continued: "My best friend was there for me through absolutely everything. She dealt with it on my behalf" while she was on Love Island.
Now acting as an ambassador for women's domestic abuse charity Refuge, Zara said "it's a massive honour and privilege" as she's been working on their recent red flag campaign.
The star went through some of the most common red flags to look out for in relationships, including location trackers and bank statement checking which she labelled as "prolific".
The panel also celebrated Zara as she managed to change the law as it's now illegal to threaten to share images without someone's consent. She revealed that "it's the most incredible feeling" when teachers come up to her and say they showed her documentary in class that opened up important conversations.
Loose Women airs on weekdays from 12:30pm on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.
