Home and Away star’s horror money struggle as debt collectors almost took everything
Home and Away Mackenzie Booth star Emily Weir is an established actress but previously suffered financial difficulty which led debt collectors her way in her early 20s
Home and Away star Emily Weir revealed she struggled with debt in her early 20s.
The actress, best known for playing Mackenzie Booth since 2016, hasn’t always had it easy and found herself with debt collectors coming after her. She was able to channel this into her character, who fell into financial difficult in 2022 and ended up illegal gambling.
“Unlike Mac, I’ve never been at risk of losing everything but when I was in my early 20s I did have the debt collectors coming after me,” she recalled to Stuff. Emily’s problems started when she got an Australian credit card before travelling in Europe.
She told the publication: “I went through all my saved money but wanted to continue travelling so I started withdrawing cash on my Australian card in Europe. The interest on that is unbelievable but I was just so young and naïve that I thought, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll pay it back once I settle in’.
This didn’t turn out how Emily planned when she received a call from her mum telling her that debt collectors were looking for her. Luckily, she instantly took action and cleared the debts
“I had to really hustle and work three jobs and, luckily, I paid it off before it got too bad but I was in hot water for a little bit there,” she explained. Mackenzie has been through more than most during her six years in Summer Bay, but it appears her toughest battle is yet to come.
During Friday’s episode (February 2) of the Channel 5 soap, Felicity (Jacqui Purvis) discovered that Tane (Ethan Browne) has started sleeping with other women just days after ending their marriage. With him staying at Mackenzie’s, Felicity headed to Salt to confront her.
The arrival of Xander (Luke Van Os) and Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) only spurred Felicity on more as she laid into Mackenzie. Suddenly, Mackenzie clutched her chest in pain as she fell to the floor.
Next week, Mackenzie is rushed to hospital as the new Dr. Levi (Tristan Gorey) fights to save her life. Levi reveals that Mackenzie had a tear in her artery but assures her that it’s now repaired.
