Leah’s Heartbreak: Inside Theo’s Final Moments in Home and Away

Grief has never hit Summer Bay this hard. In the aftermath of Theo Poulos’s tragic death, Home and Away delivers one of its most emotional storylines to date — with Leah Patterson-Baker (played by Ada Nicodemou) utterly shattered by the loss of her beloved nephew.

Still reeling from the horrific hit-and-run that claimed Theo’s life, Leah finds herself unable to cope. She hasn’t left the house in days, shutting out the world as guilt and anger consume her. When she finally emerges, it’s clear she’s far from ready to heal — and she directs her fury at Lacy Miller, the young woman Theo died protecting.

In a cruel twist of fate, Lacy’s attempt to expose corrupt councillor Craig Wendell set the tragedy in motion. For weeks, her father David had suspected Wendell was the driver responsible for the crash that killed his wife years earlier. But when official channels failed, Lacy took matters into her own hands, blackmailing Wendell into confessing. The confrontation went horribly wrong — Wendell aimed his car straight at her, and Theo, acting on pure instinct, pushed her to safety, taking the full impact himself. He died moments later.

Actress Sophia Pennington, who plays Lacy, described filming Theo’s final moments as “heart-wrenching and haunting.”

“Lacy has just been saved by the person she loves most,” she explained. “In those last seconds, she’s holding on to her best friend, her anchor — the one person who made her feel safe. There’s this fleeting moment where she hints that if Theo ever proposed, she’d say yes. It’s beautiful, but seconds later everything falls apart.”

As news of Theo’s death spreads through Summer Bay, emotions run high. The community bands together to support Leah, yet divisions quickly form. Leah can’t forgive Lacy for dragging Theo into danger, insisting that he’d still be alive if it weren’t for her. But Lacy isn’t the only one under fire. Theo’s estranged mother, Cassandra Poulos, arrives in town — and she’s looking for someone to blame.

Cassandra is horrified to discover the chaos surrounding her son’s final days. Meeting with David at Yabbie Creek Police Station, she learns the grim details — and is stunned by how little she knew about Theo’s life in the Bay. Her grief quickly turns to rage when she realizes the aunt she once trusted to protect him failed to do so.

In a devastating confrontation, Cassandra lashes out at Leah, accusing her of neglect and forbidding her from attending Theo’s funeral.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Ada Nicodemou explains. “Leah loved Theo like her own child. To be told she failed him cuts deeper than anything. And the worst part is — she believes it. She blames herself completely.”

Now, isolated and drowning in guilt, Leah’s grief spirals into despair. She can’t bear the thought of saying goodbye, yet being barred from the funeral leaves her feeling even more lost. As the Bay mourns one of its brightest souls, Leah must find a way to forgive herself — or risk being consumed by sorrow forever.