In a new trailer, Home and Away has offered a first look at the marriage of James Stewart’s character Justin Morgan and Ada Nicodemou’s character Leah Patterson.
Since Leah unexpectedly proposed to Justin while he was fighting for his life after their kidnapping by Vita Nova in late 2017, the two have been engaged.
After a few setbacks, including Leah calling off the engagement and having trouble finding Justin again following her time in a mental health facility, the couple is getting ready to tie the knot in a few weeks on Australian television.
Our concerns that the couple would wed in the Hunter Valley were first raised after a crew member shared a picture from the well-known wine region on social media during a location scout last year.
Not too long afterwards, Shane Withington made a lighthearted remark on “X,” questioning whether or not their selection of lodging for a location shoot was the ideal one.
Our idea seems to be supported by the promo, which shows Leah’s vintage Mercedes Benz bridal car arriving at what appears to be a picture-perfect vineyard.
Leah, who for a long time insisted she would never marry again, appears to be quite happy as she takes in her surroundings and is assisted by Alf (Ray Meagher) in getting out of the car.
The advertisement then cuts to several flashbacks from Leah and Justin’s five-year courtship before Justin and best friend Theo (Matt Evans) watch as Leah strolls down the “aisle” with her son VJ (Matt Little).
When Justin and Leah mentioned that VJ’s close family members would be attending from abroad, it was previously implied that VJ, who was last seen escaping the harbour with de facto daughter Luc in 2017, would be making a comeback.
Although many fans weren’t convinced that VJ would make an appearance, we did point out at the time that Matt Little is currently employed as a production assistant on the show, so a comeback could be readily arranged if needed.
Penny McNamee appears as Tori, Justin’s sister, as well.
Fans first became aware of Tori’s presence when they saw Penny filming in Palm Beach; the actress herself reportedly said that she would only be returning for a few weeks to film the wedding.
After being married to fellow doctor Christian Green (Ditch Davey) in 2021, Tori had left Summer Bay. The couple moved to the UK with Tori’s baby daughter Grace after Tori was hired by a London hospital.
Leah had told Justin that “the last thing we need here is one of us falling in love” as further flashbacks were played, reminding viewers that their relationship had only ever been a friendship with benefits arrangement.
Justin is beaming with pride as he sees Leah approach, and John gets his chance to shine as he assumes his role as celebrant to oversee the ceremonies. Those scenes feel like a lifetime ago today.
The soundtrack, “The Wedding Song,” by Angus & Julia Stone, replaces the language in the trailer when Justin and Leah exchange vows.
As for the song lyrics that play out during that scene—”And we’ll make lots and lots of babies on the beach!”—it’s definitely best if we refrain from making any assumptions.
As Leah and Justin declare their love for one another, we spot Irene (Lynne McGranger) and Roo (Georgie Parker) among the guests, grinning. Even Alf, who is beaming with pride, appears to be crying.
Their friends and family applaud as Justin and Leah kiss, seemingly putting a stop to any last-minute mishaps, as John declares the couple husband and wife.
We anticipate that the wedding will air on Seven later next week, albeit a date has not yet been set.
Leah’s marriage history has undoubtedly been rocky; in fact, she arrived at Summer Bay for the first time in 2000, having escaped a planned union with family friend Ted Simos (Harry Pavlidis).
Even though Leah is referred to as the “black widow” of Summer Bay, things are more complicated than that because only one of her three husbands passed away while they were still lawfully wed.
March 2001 saw Leah wed first husband Vinnie (Ryan Kwanten); however, less than two years later, the couple was brutally split up when Vinnie was imprisoned for fraud, having been set up to take the fall for his desperate businessman father Ralph (Alan Cinis).
In the season finale of 2002, Leah was horrified to discover that Vinnie had supposedly perished in a prison fire. However, in 2004, she received a startling revelation when Detective Peter Baker (Nicholas Bishop) revealed that Vinnie was still alive and under witness protection.
Later, Vinnie went undercover to Summer Bay to attend his son VJ’s third birthday celebration, dressing as a bear.
He had already contacted Leah to enquire about joining him in witness protection, but at that point, Leah had moved on with her relationship with Tim Campbell’s character, Dan Baker.
Leah received a note from Vinnie expressing his love for her and VJ, who used his disguise to hold Leah and VJ one last time.
After Leah married Dan in July 2005, he unfortunately passed away off-screen in 2008 while participating in an abseil in Yellowstone National Park.
It was revealed to Reverend Elijah Johnson (Jay Laga’aia) that Vinnie had actually passed away eighteen months earlier in a farming accident when he later visited Summer Bay in 2010.
After Leah and VJ visited Vinnie’s burial, she was able to permanently close that chapter of her life.
Elijah proposed to Leah for a short time, but they broke up after Elijah made the decision to travel and assist with missionary work for earthquake victims abroad.
In the 2015 season finale episodes, Leah wed Zac Macguire (Charlie Clausen), her third husband.
But after the family encountered several difficulties, Leah started to push Zac away, and the marriage barely lasted 18 months.
Zac felt abandoned by Leah when she attempted to help VJ when his partner Billie (Tessa de Josselin) passed away. As a result, he turned to his publisher Sam for solace (Cheree Cassidy).
We were rooting for Zac when he eventually gave up and signed the divorce papers, even though he had been lying to Leah for months and had tried everything to win her back.
