Star of Home and Away Emily Weir disclosed that during her early twenties, she battled debt.
The actress, who has gained popularity in 2016 for her role as Mackenzie Booth, hasn’t always had it easy and has faced harassment from debt collectors. She managed to translate this into her character, who in 2022 experienced financial difficulties and turned to illicit 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 told Stuff. Emily’s troubles began when, before to her trip to Europe, she obtained an Australian credit card.
“I went through all my saved money but wanted to continue traveling so I started withdrawing cash on my Australian card in Europe,” she said to the publication. The interest on it is ridiculous, but I was so impressionable and naive that I just assumed I would pay it back when I moved in.”
Emily’s plans did not go as planned when her mother called to inform her that debt collectors were pursuing her. Fortunately, she moved quickly to pay off the bills.
“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 said. In her six years in Summer Bay, Mackenzie has experienced more than most, yet it looks like her worst struggle is still ahead of her.
The Channel 5 soap opera Felicity (Jacqui Purvis) learned that Tane (Ethan Browne) had been having affairs with other women only a few days after their marriage ended during this Friday’s (February 2) episode. Felicity went to Salt to face her while he remained at Mackenzie’s.
Felicity continued to attack Mackenzie when Xander (Luke Van Os) and Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) arrived. Mackenzie collapsed to the ground, clutching her chest in agony.
The following week, Tristan Gorey’s character, Dr. Levi, rushes Mackenzie to the hospital where he is fighting for her life. Although Mackenzie suffered an arterial tear, Levi tells her that it has since been fixed.