The announcement of Sophie Dillman and Patrick O’Connor’s return to Home and Away in 2025 has sparked excitement, leaving viewers wanting to learn more about their off-screen love story

Sophie Dillman and Patrick O’Connor, the beloved stars of Home and Away, may have captured fans’ hearts on-screen as Ziggy Astoni and Dean Thompson, but their love story away from the cameras has also gathered a loyal following amongst viewers.

Since they began dating in 2019, the couple have shared brief glimpses of their real-life relationship – keeping fans up to date with their life away from Summer Bay.

While their departure from the beloved Aussie soap may have left fans curious about the next chapter in the couple’s love story, the announcement of their highly-anticipated return to Home and Away in 2025 has sparked excitement, leaving viewers wanting to learn more about their off-screen love story.

Are Sophie Dillman and Patrick O’Connor still together?

While they may have split on the show in 2020, Sophie and Patrick’s real-life romance is still going strong!

Speaking on their early relationship, Sophie told The Morning Show, “We actually knew each other at uni. We went to acting school together years ago.”

“We were friends then, and then we were in different years, so we didn’t really see each other, but then we found each other on the show and conveniently, our characters got together.”

In early 2023, the pair traded the sun of Australia for the cosmopolitan living of East London, with Sophie telling Woman’s Day that her dream was to star on the West End stage.

Reflecting on their dynamic as partners and co-stars, Sophie told TV Week, “We can be really straight up. We’ve got a great dialogue, so we can say what we need from each other and it will happen.”

“At our core, we are best mates first and we treat each other like that, but it’s also made our relationship stronger starting out that way.”

Why did Patrick and Sophie leave Home and Away?

After capturing audiences’ hearts as Ziggy and Dean, Sophie and Patrick departed Summer Bay for a new chapter of their lives together.

“For so long we essentially played someone else far more than ourselves,” Sophie revealed to Woman’s Day, adding, We have both done everything possible with our characters and it was time to start a new chapter.”

Despite stepping away from the show in 2023, the pair delighted fans in October 2024 when they confirmed that they would be returning to Home and Away the following year.

“It feels so good to be home,” Sophie told Seven, with Patrick adding, “I can’t wait for the action and for fans to see this storyline play out.”

Sophie Dillman and Patrick O’Connor, the beloved stars of Home and Away, may have captured fans’ hearts on-screen as Ziggy Astoni and Dean Thompson, but their love story away from the cameras has also gathered a loyal following amongst viewers. Since they began dating in 2019, the couple have shared brief glimpses of their real-life relationship…