Next week on Home and Away in Australia, as Mackenzie and Levi are shunned by Summer Bay’s residents, could it spell the end of their love affair?
Mackenzie (Emily Weir) and Levi (Tristan Gorey) first kissed back in January. At that point, Mackenzie was a patient at Northern Districts Hospital, where cardiothoracic surgeon Levi had just operated on her following her spontaneous carotid artery dissection (SCAD).
The pair attended Xander’s (Luke Van Os) fundraiser together after Levi convinced a nervous Mackenzie to go, allaying her fears that she would suffer another cardiac incident if she left the hospital.
Levi reciprocated when Mackenzie planted a kiss on him shortly after they returned to Northern Districts, but he soon pulled away, clearly troubled by something.
It wasn’t long before the pair kissed again, but it was a little while before Levi admitted what was bothering him – he was a happily married man, whose wife Imogen (Georgia Blizzard) was waiting for him at their home in the city.
Despite some initial trepidation, it didn’t take long for Mackenzie and Levi to embark on a full-blown affair, with Levi making repeated trips to the bay under the guise of checking on his patient.
After months of sneaking around – and not-so-sneaking around, as they were nearly caught kissing in public by Alf (Ray Meagher) – their secret affair was revealed a few weeks back when Levi’s sister Eden (Stephanie Panozzo) caught them kissing out in the open once again.
Knowing that Eden would spill the beans if he didn’t get there first, Levi wasted no time in heading back to the city, where he devastated Imogen by revealing that not only had he been having an affair, but he was leaving her.
Since then, Mackenzie and Levi have had to contend with Eden and Felicity’s (Jacqui Purvis) vocal disgust at their actions, with last week’s episodes seeing Felicity greet them with a sarcastic slow clap as they entered Salt together.
However, as a new promo reveals, they’re set to be ousted by even more of their former friends, leading Levi to question whether their relationship is worth it.
With their relationship now more or less public knowledge, the pair make the most of their newfound freedom (not that it stopped them before) as they pash on the beach.
Yet despite Felicity and Eden’s best efforts at spreading the word, not everyone has heard about their new relationship.
Justin (James Stewart) is surprised to see the pair kissing as he heads for a surf, prompting awkward waves between him and Mackenzie.
A separate promo for next week’s episodes, which aired in Australia on Thursday, sees Mackenzie tell Levi, “Well, I guess it’s all out in the open now anyway, right?” after the awkward interaction with the garage owner.
As Justin heads to the Coffee Cart after drying off, he can’t wait to tell Leah (Ada Nicodemou) and Kirby (Angelina Thompson) what he’s just witnessed.
“I’m pretty sure I just saw Mackenzie kissing her doctor.”
Of course, Kirby is already all over the news, as she informs a surprised Justin of the extra important detail: “Yep, Levi. Levi is married.”
As the promo’s voiceover tells us, “It started with an affair. Now they’re shunned by the bay.”
Later, Levi tells Mackenzie that he’s been subjected to “judgemental looks [and] snide comments” since their affair was exposed.
When Kirby catches up with Mali (Kyle Shilling), who was the first to uncover the scandal when he caught Levi at Mackenzie’s farmhouse home, she tells him that Mac is “with a lier and a cheat.”
Mackenzie doesn’t understand the reaction, as she expresses her surprise at her friends “cutting us off and isolating us like this.”
“We just fell in love.”
“Is the price of love too much?” asks the new promo.
Next week, Mali approaches Levi in Salt, taking issue with how the pair are now flaunting their relationship for all to see.
“Is this a good idea?” he asks. “Everyone’s still feeling a bit raw over the news of you guys.”
Mac, meanwhile, tries to smooth things over with business partner Felicity, worried that her ongoing disdain is putting their professional relationship – and their restaurant – in jeopardy.
“I am with Levi now, and my personal life should not come between our business partnership,” she exclaims.
“What I want is for us to try and figure out a way to work together peacefully.”
But Felicity doesn’t hold back.
“Well, maybe we could do that without everyone having to witness your tongue down Levi’s throat,” she retorts.
“I get that not everyone is going to understand,” Mac tells Levi as they talk on the restaurant balcony. “But like, cutting us off and isolating us like this?”
Seeing the pain Mackenzie is going through starts to sow the seeds of doubt in Levi’s mind.
Last week, Eden – who Levi only recently reconnected with after years of estrangement – declared her brother dead to her.
Is this really how they want to live their lives?
“Mackenzie, I need to ask you a question and I need you to be honest with me,” he begins, as they head back into Salt. “Is all of this worth it? Because I would understand if you wanted to walk away.”
Mackenzie looks shocked by Levi’s suggestion that they’d be better off breaking up, before she burst into tears in Salt’s store room.
Is their fledgling relationship worth sacrificing their friends and family for?
Thankfully, Back to the Bay can confirm that the pair do go the distance, as Emily Weir and Tristan Gorey were spotted with their arms around each other during filming at Palm Beach back in March of this year.
© Back to the Bay
A large number of cast were spotted filming what is believed to be an engagement party, with the happy couple in question rumoured to be either Mac and Levi, Bree (Juliet Godwin) and Remi (Adam Rowland), Tane (Ethan Browne) and Felicity (again!), Kirby and Theo (Matt Evans), or Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) and Eden.
© Back to the Bay
© Back to the Bay
© Back to the Bay
With the scenes likely airing around August-September (dependent on scheduling), it looks like Mackenzie and Levi will put their friends and family’s opinions to one side and power through for at least the next few months.
