Home and Away is known for its steamy affairs and tense love triangles, but plenty of the stars have let the drama spill off air too.
Not only have Sophie Dillman and Patrick O’Connor, who plays Ziggy and Dean on the soap, found love on the soap in recent years, plenty of previous stars have also dated on set, with some lasting the course while others crashed and burned.
From Dannii Minogue’s doomed marriage to Julian McMahon to Debra Lawrance and Dennis Coard’s 20-year marriage, Home and Away has seen plenty of romances blossom on set.
Daily Star has taken a look at all of the stunning couples that have been brought together by the drama of Summer Bay – and which ones have had a happy ending.
James Stewart and Sarah Roberts
James and Sarah tied the knot in Ireland im 2019 (Image: Sarah Roberts /Instagram)
James Stewart and Sophie Roberts were brought together when their characters Justin and Willow began dating on set.
Willow first arrived in Summer Bay back in 2017 and it didn’t take long for her to target Justin, although their romance was short-lived.
Whilst Willow ended up rekindling her relationship with her ex Dean Thompson, the chemistry between Sarah and James was obvious.
Justin and Willow dated for a while after meeting in 2017 (Image: Channel 5)
She and James began dating in 2017, announced their engagement the following year and tied the knot in Ireland in 2019.
Sarah said when they first started dating: “There’s real chemistry, so it’s easy – I don’t even have to act!”
She added: “We became friends and things just evolved. He’s very funny, charming, kind and generous – plus he’s handsome! So all of those things attracted me to him.”
It seems this married couple have saved all of the drama for in front of the camera.
James Stewart and Isabella Giovinazzo
James and Isabella dated briefly in 2016 to the following year – but he soon moved on with Sarah (Image: WireImage)
However, this isn’t the first time that actor James has found love on the set of Home and Away.
Only shortly before James got together with Sarah, he began dating his stunning co-star Isabella Giovinazzo, who played Phoebe Nicholson on the show.
The pair started dating after she split from her husband Charlie Ford, who she had married only the year before, reportedly heating up their romance at the end of 2016.
Justin and Phoebe were engaged on the soap before her exit in 2017 (Image: Channel 5)
However, it didn’t take long for things to fizzle out, and James quickly moved on to his now wife the following year.
Awkwardly, their characters were still playing love interests on the soap during their split, and Phoebe and Justin even got engaged.
However, Phoebe made a swift exit in the summer of 2017, with Sarah turning up on set in the November.
Debra Lawrance and Dennis Coard
Debra and Dennis have been married for over 20 years and share two children together (Image: Getty Images for AFI)
Debra and Dennis are by far the most successful couple to have come out of Home and Away.
The pair met when Dennis joined the soap as Debra’s character Pippa King’ second husband Michael Ross back in 1990.
Debra and Dennis got married in 1992 and share daughter Grace and son William together.
She told NowAu in 2011: “Home And Away gave me my life.
Dennis played Pippa King’s second husband Michael on the soap before he was killed off (Image: Channel 5)
“If I didn’t have a steady job, I don’t think I would have had children. I met Dennis, we have two great children and he’s a brilliant father.”
She added: “I met Dennis at exactly the time my ovaries were yelling ‘Hello!’
“I must have smelled his testosterone. I flirted with him and there was chemistry, then I spent the next six weeks being rude to him. I guess I was testing him.”
Chris Hemsworth and Isabel Lucas
Chris and Isabel dated for three years but ended their romance amicably (Image: WireImage)
Viewers know that Hollywood actor Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor in the hit Marvel films, first found fame on Home and Away as Kim Hyde.
It didn’t take long for him to strike up a romance with his on-screen love interest Isabel Lucas, who played Tasha Andrew.
The pair reportedly dated for three years from 2005 until 2008 before eventually going their separate ways.
It seems the pair stayed good friends, as not only does Isabel live very closely to Chris and his wife Elsa Pataky in Byron Bay, she is also close pals with his younger brother Liam.
Chris and Isabel met when their characters Kim and Tasha began dating on the soap (Image: Channel 5)
After Liam split from his wife Miley in 2019, rumours soon began to swirl that he and Isabel had grown closer after she gave him a shoulder to cry on.
A source said at the time: “”Liam is absolutely the marrying type, it’s just a shame he fell in love with Miley, who definitely wasn’t,” adds our source.
“Liam’s parents [Leonie and Craig], would love to see him settle down with someone who’s more on the same page as him – an Aussie who loves the ocean, is a bit more mature and socially aware. Isabel ticks a lot of those boxes.”
However, it seems that nothing came of the rumoured romance as Liam appears to still be single, whereas Isabel has been reported to have a new boyfriend who she is yet to name.
Dannii Minogue and Julian McMahon
Dannii and Julian met on the soap and married in 1994 after three years of dating (Image: Getty Images)
One Home and Away romance that didn’t keep the drama on-screen was the doomed marriage of Dannii Minogue and Julian MacMahon.
The couple married in 1994 after meeting on the soap as characters Emily Jackson and Benito Lucini in 1991.
However, it didn’t long for things to go wrong between the pair, and Dannii claimed that it didn’t help that her mother-in-law was not her biggest fan.
She told Mia Freedman on No Filter: “There was no relationship, she wouldn’t speak to me, I wasn’t allowed to be near her in the house, she said she wasn’t coming to the wedding.
“We just had no idea how to handle it – we were just trying to.”
Dannii believe that Lady Sonia McMahon, the wife of Aussie Prime Minister Sir William, didn’t like her because she “wasn’t from the same stock as his family”.
Dannii and Julian ended their marriage after just 18 months (Image: Getty Images)
But the actress pointed out that she was financially supporting her husband during their brief marriage, and even put herself in debt doing so.
The pair spent a large portion of their marriage apart, with Julian trying to hit the big time in Hollywood and Dannii working full time in London, and the financial strain soon took its toll.
Danni told Freedman: “I thought, ‘I’ll support you until you get on your feet. Then we can support each other.'”
“Then the marriage was off… it was a huge struggle emotionally, physically, mentally, financially,” she said.
Dannii and Julian’s marriage only lasted 18 months, and once they split – they never spoke again.
But Julian saw Dannii’s sister Kylie again, as he worked with her on film Swinging Safari 20 years later.
In a bold move, Julian decided to “snog” Kylie, saying: “That was an impromptu moment.
“[Director] Steph [Elliott] said ‘Do what you want, Julian!’ and I thought, ‘Bugger it, I’ll get up and snog my ex sister-in-law’.”
Dannii had a son Ethan with former long term partner Kris Smith in 2010.
Meanwhile Julian married former Baywatch star Brooke Burns in 1999 but the couple divorced in 2001 before tying the knot with his long-term partner Kelly Paniagua in 2014.
Rebecca Breeds and Luke Mitchell
Rebecca and Luke got married in 2013 and live in New York together (Image: Rebecca Breeds/Instagram)
Rebecca and Luke first met on the set of Home and Away in 2009 as characters Ruby Beckton and Romeo Smith, who once again played love interests on-camera.
They tied the knot in 2013, and are still happily married and living in New York.
Luke opened up about his career and marriage a few years back, and made it clear that he credits his wife for a lot of his success.
Rebecca and Luke’s characters Romeo and Ruby came close to dating, but never sealed the deal (Image: Channel 5)
He told TV Week: “I don’t think I could have done what I’ve done overseas if it weren’t for Bec. I’m a very lucky guy.”
“It’s another aspect of Home And Away that makes it so special.”
He added: “We certainly spent most of our relationship on the show. And when I finally finished, we were engaged, and then we got married, and then we moved overseas.”
Sophie Dillman and Patrick O’Connor
Sophie and Patrick got together back in 2019 and seem to be going from strength to strength (Image: Sophie Dillman /Instagram)
Sophie and Patrick are the newest couple to have blossomed out of the Aussie soap, with the pair first getting together in 2019.
Their characters Ziggy Astoni and Dean Thompson are one of the most popular couples on the soap, with viewers desperate for them to get back together.
They split at the end of last year after Dean admitted to Ziggy that he had been hiding a huge secret – he was an accomplice to Colby Thorne’s murder of Ross Nixon.
Dean and Ziggy recently broke up on the Aussie soap (Image: BBC)
However, in real life, the couple have far less drama and revealed they actually met each other before the soap, as they went to acting school together.
Sophie opened up about their romance, and how they manage to make it work acting together, telling TV Week: “It’s great working with him – it’s always fun. I can never guess what I’m going to get from him [while filming], which is the best,” she said.
“We can be really straight up. We’ve got a great dialogue, so we can say what we need from each other and it will happen.”
Let’s hope Ziggy and Dean can work things out…
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
