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Home and Away Ziggy and Dean stars talk soap exit as they gush over ‘best years’

Home and Away stars Paddy O’Connor and Sophie Dillman admitted their time on the Australian soap was the “best of their lives”.

Sophie, 29, made her debut as Ziggy Astoni in 2017 while 30-year-old Paddy joined the cast of the Channel 5 soap in 2018.

In Friday’s episode (May 5), Ziggy and Dean departed Summer Bay with their daughter Izzy for a new life in Queensland.

READ MORE: Home and Away Amber star reveals which co-star surprised her most as she exits show

Real-life couple Sophie and Paddy, who started dating off-screen in 2019, opened up about their exit in an exclusive chat with Daily Star and revealed they knew it was their time to leave.

Paddy said: “We had spent most of our 20s working there and we covered so many storylines.

Dean and Ziggy left Summer Bay with their daughter, Izzy
(Image: Channel 5)

“It happens to everyone, when you move into your 30s you do think about the future and we both wanted to live overseas.

“They told us that the pregnancy storyline was going to be the way that we go and then when that came around it all kind of fell into place.”

“It felt right,” added Sophie.

The former River Boy admitted: “It was sad though,” as Sophie agreed: “Yeah, we cried a lot.”

Sophie and Paddy have been dating in real life since 2019
(Image: WireImage)

The blonde beauty continued: “We miss everyone everyday. It was the best years of our lives but it was time.”

Paddy explained they left the soap at the right time because it meant there was no tragedy involved and their characters got the happy ending they deserved.

He said: “It was good though to leave where we left the characters was nice because I did feel like if we stayed there longer…” as Sophie chimed in: “There could’ve been tragedy!”

Sophie and Paddy regard their time on the Channel 5 soap as the best period of their lives
(Image: Channel 5)

“No one died!” exclaimed Paddy as Sophie went on to say: “We got a happy ending which was nice for the fans.”

Despite starring alongside each other for around six years, Paddy and Sophie actually met more than a decade ago.

The Aussie actors first crossed paths around 12 years ago when they went to the same acting school, but reunited when they both found their way to Summer Bay.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk


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