There was no sisterly love between Home and Away‘s Lacey and Jo when they first caught up in the Bay this year. The Langham sisters were locked in a wild physical fight that left fans shocked.

Thankfully, the characters’ turbulent relationship couldn’t be further from the truth for their portrayers Sophea Pennington and Maddison Brown.

“We get along like a house of fire,” Sophea says of her and Maddison.

“I remember at the start, when our characters were head-to-head and Lacey hated Jo, we hoped that the audience couldn’t tell that we really liked each other.”

Life moves quickly in the Bay, of course, and Lacey was forced to navigate a plethora of problems. This included tracking down, with Jo’s help, who killed their mother, which ultimately led to the gut-wrenching death of Lacey’s boyfriend, Theo (Matt Evans).

“It’s been a complete rollercoaster of emotions and unravelling heartbreak and chaos for Lacey,” Sophea says. “I’ve had some really full-on storylines, which have been fun to explore emotionally.”

While Lacey said a sad goodbye to Theo, in real life, Sophea and Matt’s romance has blossomed.

“It’s been beautiful and I’m very grateful,” Sophea says of her relationship.

“It was a lot of fun to be able to work with Matt on screen and then continue that journey off screen.”

Matt previously told TV WEEK he is keen to try his chances in Hollywood, which is almost a rite of passage for ex-Home and Away stars.

Sophea believes there are “big things” ahead for his career.

“He’s very talented,” she says.

In the cliffhanger final episode, Lacey was aboard the train which crashed. Sophea is staying tight-lipped on her character’s chances of survival.

As for her festive plans, this year, Sophea and Matt will spend Christmas in Perth with Matt’s family before the pair travel to Singapore, where her parents are based, and then on to Thailand to unwind.

“I’m excited to have a break,” she says.

“It’s been a huge year.”