Home and Away has given a first glimpse at the nuptials of Justin Morgan (James Stewart) and Leah Patterson (Ada Nicodemou) in a new promo.
The pair have been engaged since late last year, when Leah unexpectedly proposed to Justin as he was fighting for his life following their kidnap by Vita Nova. There were some stumbles along the way, with Leah calling off the engagement and struggling to find her way back to Justin after a stay in a mental health clinic, but things are finally back on track on Australian screens with the pair preparing to marry in the next couple of weeks.
We previously reported on our suspicions that the pair could get married in the Hunter Valley, after a crew member posted a photo from the famous wine region on social media during a location recce last year. Shortly afterwards, Shane Withington jokingly commented on ‘X’ as to whether their choice of accommodation on a location shoot was the best idea.
For someone who for many years was adamant that she would never get married again, Leah looks perfectly content as she takes in her surroundings and Alf (Ray Meagher) helps her out of the car.
The promo goes on to flashback various points in Leah and Justin’s five year romance, before we see Justin, alongside best man Theo (Matt Evans), watch as Leah walks down the ‘aisle’ accompanied by her son VJ (Matt Little).
The return of VJ, who was last seen fleeing the bay with de facto daughter Luc in 2017, was previously hinted at when Justin and Leah spoke about the immediate family members who would attend from overseas. Whilst many fans doubted that VJ would appear, we pointed out at the time that Matt Little now works on the show as a production assistant, meaning a return could easily be facilitated if required.
Also shown to be present is Penny McNamee as Justin’s sister Tori. Tori’s appearance had already been known after Penny was spotted by fans filming at Palm Beach, with the actor herself apparently stating that she would be back for just a couple of weeks of filming for the nuptials.
Tori had left Summer Bay in 2021 following her own marriage to fellow doctor Christian Green (Ditch Davey), with the pair moving to the UK with Tori’s infant daughter Grace after Tori succesfully applied for a position at a London hospital.
As more flashbacks are shown, we are reminded that Leah and Justin’s relationship had only started out as a friends with benefits arrangement for the pair of them, with Leah telling Justin that “the last thing we need here is one of us falling in love.”