'I couldn't process what was going on,' Elizabeth recalls now. 'I couldn't conceive of what Louis might have done - and not in a million years could I have guessed.'
The former X Factor judge, 72, caused controversy for his sharp tongued comments during his time on the show and even admitted having no interest in keeping in touch with his fellow celebs.
The couple's romance was exposed on Monday when a fellow diner at The Suffolk in Aldburgh took snaps of Zara, 28, and Louis, 33, enjoying a romantic date.
Fans claimed the pair were dating after noticing they were following each other on social media, with one user alleging that they were working on a documentary together.
The ex-pop star, 33, is said to 'despair' at rumours that the surviving members could play together again, with the tragic balcony fall drawing a line under their previous successes.
Louis Dunford has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame in recent years but the Camden-born singer had a tough start to life, as he witnessed a heartbreaking incident at the age of just 16.