Home and Away real-life couple Sophie Dillman and Patrick O'Connor share why they've quit the soap

Actors Sophie Dillman and Patrick O’Connor from the serial opera Home and Away have discussed their decision to leave the show.

The pair joined the soap opera in 2017 and 2018 as Dean Thompson and Ziggy Astoni, respectively, and shot their farewell scenes in the summer of 2016.

They explained their reasoning for deciding that it was time to depart Summer Bay in an interview with the Australian magazine TV Week.

It was time to begin a new chapter since “we both did everything we could with our characters,” Dillman remarked.

It’s emotional and heartbreaking, but we recognize how fortunate we are to have had such an amazing run.

And O’Connor: “It takes up a significant portion of my time and is a major commitment. Throughout the time we were there, I felt like I transformed into six different people. Both as a performer and a person, there has been significant growth. Although it’s a fantastic place to work, I was prepared to leave.”

If the pair decides to have children in the future, Dillman said her time working on the soap opera has really prepared her for it.

Ziggy had all of these symptoms, she said, including nausea, exhaustion, mood changes, discomfort, and Braxton Hicks.

“Going through all of that, especially with your real-life partner, actually brings up a lot of conversation that I don’t think a lot of people would have unless they are literally carrying a fake pregnancy belly around. It is in a way.

“But at the same time, Ziggy and Dean are very different from Sophie and Paddy, so sort of going home and taking the bump off and all that sort of stuff means that it is very separated. It’s actually been really fun.”