Zara McDermott's boyfriend Sam Thompson saw nude images of her before they even met

Love Island star Zara McDermott has bravely opened up about having nude images of herself circulated as part of a new BBC documentary

Zara McDermott has revealed that her boyfriend Sam Thompson saw leaked nude images of her a year before they even met.

The Love Island star is fronting a new BBC documentary about revenge porn where she shares her own experiences in having naked pictures of herself widely circulated.

In the show Zara bravely discusses how when she was 21 images of her were leaked during her time on the ITV dating show - and seen by her future her boyfriend Sam.

Zara went through a similar experience when pictures of her were shared at her school when she was 14-years-old.

As Zara opened up to boyfriend Sam about going through the trauma twice, the Made In Chelsea star said he thought he she would have 'wised up.'

Speaking in the documentary - which airs on iPlayer from today - Zara recalled how she felt pressured into sending a classmate a naked photo of herself when she was 14, which she says was then shared around her school and the local area.

Seven years later Zara relived the agony when she left the Love Island villa to find an ex-partner had leaked photographs of her.

Having had no access to her phone or the Internet while on the show, Zara had to be told the devastating news by an ITV press officer as she rejoined the outside world.

"I can’t even tell you the feeling, feeling like your parents are ashamed of you. How will they look at me the same ever again? It was so embarrassing. I just wanted to die," Zara admitted.

The following year Zara met her now boyfriend Sam, who revealed on their first date that he had seen the more recently leaked pictures.

"Every time I walk into a room and met someone new, I wondered have they seen the images? This happened when I first met Sam," Zara explained.

The reality star said she felt uncomfortable on her first meeting with Sam, not knowing what he had seen, and had her 'arms crossed and didn't want to speak.'

"I was like does he know? Does he think less of me?" remembered Zara.

Sam confessed: "I'd already seen photos without knowing it was Zara, it had surfaced on a WhatsApp group I was on. I didn't know it was her until she mentioned it.

"I saw the photo and no one actually thinks, wow I wonder what it's like to be in that person's shoes. I feel so bad, no one's that empathetic," he added.

"It bugs me that his friends were forwarding images of me to his group chat. I don't actually know who it was. I don't want to think about it," Zara said.

Zara has been filming the BBC documentary, which is available from today, for over a year.

She is campaigning to tighten the laws on image-based sexual abuse without consent.

In another scene, Zara is seen discussing with Sam her decision to send a partner naked pictures of herself after going through her ordeal at school.

"I think a lot of people would say what happened when you were 14 has clearly scarred you so much so why would you make the same mistake...

"My response is its not a mistake sending an image is not a mistake its my body. I'm not breaking the law by sending an image," she said.

Sam then admitted he thought she would have been 'wiser.'

"Yes, you're totally correct but I thought you'd have been more wised up," he told Zara. "Yes I know it's your body and I can do what I will but you know what the consequences could be."

The Made In Chelsea star went on: "'If you're not aware enough to know there are people like that in the world then you're the one that loses out and it's not fair and its not right and it is against the law."

Zara said they would have to agree to disagree.

Speaking about Zara's new documentary, BBC Three Controller Fiona Campbell said: "We're grateful to Zara for sharing her story with us and hope it will make a difference to young lives around the UK."