This week on Home and Away in Australia, Mia Anderson (Anna Samson) decides to leave Summer Bay for good, and it’s now time for her to look to the future.
Mia has been battling depression after the death of her spouse Ari (Rob Kipa-Williams), who died of an aggressive cancer shortly after their wedding in a hospital.
Until recently, Mia’s daughter Chloe (Sam Barrett) was unable to watch her mother in such sorrow and avoided her, while also falling off the rails in her own relationship with Bella (Courtney Miller).
Mia admitted that being in Summer Bay was too hard for her—everywhere she looked, she was reminded of Ari. When the two eventually started conversing properly, Mia revealed that living in Summer Bay was too painful for her. She had already decided to leave Summer Bay and take Chloe with her, but Chloe made it obvious that she had no intention of coming with her.
Mia eventually decided to stay with her daughter after apologising to Chloe, who thought that the continual reminders of Ari were actually a comfort to her.
“In a lot of ways, Ari was her mother’s soulmate and the glue that held their family together,” Sam told TV Week.
Despite Mia’s insistence that she will stay and work through her loss, her family and friends can see that this is not what she truly desires. Chloe understands that her mother must move on and begin over.
When Tane (Ethan Browne) gives Mia a one-way ticket to New Zealand, Ari’s home country and the site of his burial, Mia realises it’s the only way she’ll be able to find peace.
As the family gathers for one last lunch together before Mia leaves Summer Bay, it’s a bittersweet moment!
Mia arrived in Summer Bay 14 months ago in pursuit of her daughter Chloe, who had met Nikau (Kawakawa Fox-Reo) while travelling in New Zealand. Ari and Mia had been in a relationship before his incarceration for armed robbery, and the two had known each other since childhood.
Until he vanished from Chloe’s life when she was nine years old, Ari was the only father figure she had ever known. Chloe had never known the truth of Ari’s disappearance because Mia had chosen to leave the area and start over, and she was eager to see him again.
Ari’s reunion with Mia reawakened old feelings, affecting his relationship with Mackenzie (Emily Weir). Ari ended their relationship because he realised he still loved Mia, despite the fact that Mac was pregnant with his kid, which she miscarried.
When Chloe and her companions were kidnapped, Mia initially refused to resume a relationship with Ari after learning that he was still involved in criminal activity. When Ari went into a coma, Mia realised where her heart was, and Tane persuaded her to give him another chance.
The news of Mackenzie’s loss reminded Ari and Mia of their own tragic history: they had previously miscarried three infants, and when Mia gave birth to their son, Kauri, prematurely, he died only 10 days later.
When Mia found out she was pregnant again, the couple was overjoyed, albeit cautious, but tragedy struck when Mia lost the baby in a vehicle accident.
The couple decided to explore adoption when she felt she could no longer bear the heartache of infertility. Despite their attempt to establish roots in Summer Bay by purchasing the gym from Jasmine, they were refused down owing to Ari’s criminal history (Sam Frost).
Ari’s demise began with the unexpected arrival of Chloe’s biological father Matthew (James Sweeny). When it was finally disclosed to an unwitting Chloe that her pregnancy was the product of a sexual assault, she wanted nothing to do with Matthew again. When he later got into an argument with Mia, a protective Chloe slammed a rock into his head, quickly killing him.
Ari was charged and placed on remand after taking responsibility for Chloe and Mia. Ari was transported to Northern Districts Hospital after a few weeks, where he was told he had terminal cancer.
Mia decided she didn’t want Ari to have any regrets when they were engaged just before Matthew’s death, so the couple married in his hospital room shortly before he died.
