'I love you': Louis Tomlinson and Zara McDermott's romantic public declaration moments after confirming their relationship

Moments after the couple confirmed their relationship with a passionate kiss on Instagram, Louis Tomlinson and Zara McDermott have publicly declared their "love" for each other in a rare comment.

The Love Island alum, 28, recently shared a selfie kissing the One Direction star, publicly confirming their romance and causing a frenzy among millions of fans.

Tomlinson didn't share the selfie to his own Instagram but has now made his feelings crystal clear, with just three words in the comment section of McDermott's post.

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"I love you x," he wrote.

The simple caption has captured the attention of fans raking up more than 46,000 likes and thousands of replies at the time of writing.

But the most important reply came from McDermott herself, who returned the sentiment.

"I love you so much xxx," she wrote.

McDermott's original post captured the attention of millions of fans, clocking up more than 200,000 likes within the first three hours.

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The post now boasts more than 400,000 likes and more than 17,000 comments from friends, family and fans.

"Soooooo here for this," wrote actor Ellie Leach.

"This is the cutest post ever!" one fan wrote.

"I'm so happy that my boyfriend has a girlfriend," joked another fan.

Tomlinson hasn't shared a similar photo to his own Instagram account, which boasts almost 20 million followers.

But just last month, the star posted a photo to Instagram which all but confirmed their relationship.

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McDermott featured alongside Tomlinson in a group photo taken during the couple's time at Glastonbury.

Rumours of the couple's relationship first sparked when eagle-eyed fans on Reddit noticed that the pair had followed each other on Instagram.

This was fuelled further when fans found out McDermott and Tomlinson's sisters followed each other too.

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The couple were first spotted together in photos taken by The Sun in March this year.

Then in April, McDermott gave fans a subtle hint by posting a breakfast snap to her Instagram story which appeared to feature Tomlinson's arm – only identifiable by the star's recognisable cross tattoo.

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Tomlinson also sent fans into a frenzy when he shared a comment on an Instagram post of McDermott's back in March in which she spoke about her career as a documentarian.

Tomlinson simply wrote, "Proud of you x", in a sweet comment that captured the attention of thousands of fans.

The pair have also been spotted at a Stereophonics concert together and at this year's star-studded Glastonbury festival.

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