Reality television star Zara McDermott has publicly shown her enthusiastic support for her boyfriend, former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson, as he launched his highly anticipated new album. The 28-year-old took to her Instagram Stories on Thursday evening to share a screenshot of the album on Spotify, complete with a countdown timer ticking down to its official release.
Album Release and Romantic Support
Louis Tomlinson, aged 34, officially released his third studio album titled How Did I Get Here? on January 23rd. This marks his first album release in four years, following his 2022 record Faith in the Future, which secured the number one spot in the UK charts. Zara McDermott, who has been romantically linked to the singer since early 2025, added the caption 'Not long now!' to her social media post, clearly excited for the big reveal.
Chart Performance and Singles
In the lead-up to the album's release, Louis has unveiled three singles: Imposter, Palaces, and Lemonade. The latter managed to crack the top 30 in the UK singles chart after its release in September, though the follow-up single Palaces failed to make a significant impact. Fans of the artist are now eagerly awaiting to see how the full album performs commercially.
Clash with Harry Styles' Release
Interestingly, Louis Tomlinson's album dropped on the very same day that his former One Direction bandmate Harry Styles released a new single titled Aperture. The 31-year-old three-time Grammy Award winner has already generated substantial online buzz with the announcement of his upcoming album Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally. Given Harry's track record of chart-topping success, including hits like As It Was, industry observers predict his new material is bound to shoot straight to number one.
Fan Speculation and Social Media Drama
This simultaneous release has sparked considerable speculation among One Direction fans, with many claiming that Louis 'threw shade' at Harry Styles in the days leading up to the launch. Ahead of the release, Louis took to X (formerly Twitter) to address his 28.8 million followers, asking for their 'help cutting through the noise' to give his record the moment it deserves.
Fans quickly flooded the comments section, questioning whether this was a subtle dig at Harry. Comments included queries like 'why do I feel like this is harry shade?' and 'Is he trying to shade… Harry?'. While Louis has not directly responded to these accusations, he did post a heartfelt thank you message to his supporters, acknowledging their role in the album's creation.
One Direction Updates and Band Dynamics
It has been a particularly busy week for Directioners, as other former band members also made headlines. Zayn Malik kicked off his Las Vegas residency, while Niall Horan teased a new single called Drive Safe in collaboration with singer Myles Smith. Louis showed his support for Niall on Instagram, commenting 'Love this!' under the announcement post.
The relationship between Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson has been the subject of much public speculation over the years, particularly following One Direction's split in 2015. Rumours of a fallout have been repeatedly denied by both parties and their bandmates, with Niall Horan famously referring to them all as 'brothers'—a sentiment they have all echoed in various interviews throughout the past decade.
As the music world watches closely, all eyes are now on the charts to see how Louis Tomlinson's new album fares against the formidable competition from his former bandmate. With loyal support from girlfriend Zara McDermott and his dedicated fanbase, Louis is undoubtedly hoping for a strong chart performance to match the critical acclaim of his previous work.
