Home and Away is set to introduce Eden, Levi and Abigail’s mum this week, the one member of the Fowler family we’ve yet to meet.
The Fowler family have been slowly growing since we were first introduced to Eden (Stephanie Panazzo) back in 2022, and we’re about to meet the missing link, as Eden, Levi (Tristan Gorey) and Abigail’s (Hailey Pinto) mum makes a surprise appearance.
Eden first arrived in Summer Bay in July 2022, as she and her Lyrik bandmates surprised old friend Felicity (Jacqui Purvis) with a visit.
The band – minus lead singer Bob – eventually decided to stick around in the bay, and Eden was soon taken aback to discover that her old fling Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) was also living in the town.
The Fowlers were extended in November 2023 with the arrival of Levi, Eden’s older brother who she had barely spoken to in over a decade.
Eden’s father had an affair when they were younger, and Levi’s decision to move out with his father saw Eden decide to cut both of them out of her life for good.
Eden and Levi were estranged for more than a decade, despite Levi making multiple efforts to make amends.
When we first met him, cardiothoracic surgeon Levi was living in the city with wife Imogen (Georgia Blizzard), and was called to Northern Districts Hospital to consult on Mackenzie’s (Emily Weir) complex heart case.
Relations were still fraught when Eden and Levi stumbled upon each other in the beachside town, but they eventually managed to restore their relationship, with Eden getting to meet her sister-in-law Imogen (Georgia Blizzard) for the first time.
However, everything fell apart shortly after, when Levi was revealed to be having an affair with Mac.
Eden once again cut ties, devastated that her brother would turn out to be like their father, and it took months for Eden to forgive him.
Then, last July saw the brief introduction of their dad – Jimmy Fowler (Aaron Jeffery) – who Eden hadn’t seen since she was 15.
Levi was happy to see his dad, and ended up confiding him, feeling guilty for the pain he’d put Imogen through and glad to talk to someone who’d been through a similar experience.
Showing up Northern Districts on Levi’s first day back after ending his marriage, Jimmy told Levi that he was a hard man to track down—he’d paid a visit to Levi’s former home in the city, only for Imogen to inform him that he no longer lives there and their marriage had ended.
Levi asked his dad how he was able to cope with the guilt of walking out on his marriage all those years ago.
Jimmy’s only advice was to tell his son that his only option was to find some way of moving on, particularly if he didn’t want it to impact his relationship with Mac.
While Jimmy had planned on staying out of Eden’s way, Summer Bay’s small size made that easier said than done, and Eden soon spotted her dad from afar whilst on the Salt balcony, walking along the grass towards the surf club!
Eden headed straight to the farmhouse, letting herself in and greeting her brother with a punch to the face… “What the hell is dad doing here?!”
As Levi handed Eden a bag of frozen peas for her fist, he informed his sister that their dad’s presence in Summer Bay wasn’t on him; Jimmy had found out where he was living from Imogen.
However, he wasn’t planning on hiding his dad away, telling Eden that he and Jimmy would be dining at Salt that evening.
Eden protested that she was meant to be working that night, but Levi told her that it wasn’t his problem—it was up to her if she showed up to work or not.
After talking things through with Cash, Eden did eventually show up for her shift, and agreed to spend some time with her dad and Levi. However, she ended up breaking down and asked her dad to leave Summer Bay.
The next morning, Jimmy agreed to his daughter’s request and departed the bay, never to be seen again.
Shortly after, as Cash and Eden were preparing to celebrate their engagement, the final Fowler sibling, Abigail, arrived in Summer Bay. Abby had heard about their pair’s engagement party from their as-yet-unseen mother, and had made the trip to the bay to celebrate with them.
She assumed that Levi would be heading to the party too, but he was forced to explain that he and Eden weren’t on speaking terms thanks to his affair with Mackenzie.
However, Abby brushed this off and convinced the pair to accompany her to the party, an act which would lead to Eden finally softening towards her brother and his new girlfriend.
It was soon revealed that Abigail was struggling with addiction, and Eden and Levi were forced to team up to help their sister over her struggles, again bringing them closer together.
In fact, Abigail and Eden soon became the ones with a strained relationship.
Abby admitted that Eden’s actions during her parents’ divorce had left her feeling unheard – Eden’s decision to ostracise her brother and dad left Abby feeling caught in the middle, and like nobody was taking her feelings into consideration.
Now, we’re about to meet the missing link – Eden’s mother – as Cash invites her to his foster father Gary’s (Peter Phelps) farm to witness him proposing to Eden.
Cash ended his engagement to Eden after sister Felicity’s death, with Cash determining that everyone he ever grows close to ends up dead.
Not wanting Eden to suffer the same fate, he abruptly ended their relationship, and it took months for the pair to find their way back to each other.
Once they finally reunited, they were both left wondering whether they should resume their engagement.
Eden initially told Cash that it was too soon to take that step, considering how much pain he’d put her through, but eventually decided that she was ready to be Cash’s fiancée again.
She struggled to find a time to bring it up, given Cash’s reaction to Harper (Jessica Redmayne) and Tane (Ethan Browne) rushing into things with their own brief engagement, until she was caught red-handed by Cash trying her engagement ring on again.
The two finally had the all-important talk, where Cash confirmed that he wanted nothing more than to marry her.
However, asking for the ring back, Cash announced that he wanted to propose properly at a later time, when she wouldn’t be expecting it.
The stress of being “engaged to be engaged” has been getting to Eden, but thankfully she doesn’t have long to wait for her proposal, with a recent promo showing Cash mulling over the ring again.
With the River Boys watching Cash’s every move in recent weeks, he decides to take the opportunity to escape Summer Bay.
Today’s episode saw him ask Eden to “run away with him” and stay somewhere for a couple of nights, without specifying where.
Eden seemed surprised at the spontaneity, but in tomorrow’s episode, she agrees to go along with it.
Tomorrow, Cash reveals what he has in store, as he excitedly tells Mackenzie (Emily Weir) that he’s planning to propose again.
Later, the pair pull into the farm of Cash’s foster father Gary.
Eden is delighted to greet Gary, though she’s confused as to why Cash didn’t just tell her where they were going.
“Because I wanted it to be a surprise,” Cash explains.
“She’s got no idea what’s about to happen, does she?” asks Gary.
“No, she doesn’t have a clue,” Cash whispers back.
However, the emotional look on Eden’s face suggests that she may be beginning to realise what her former fiancé has planned for their day.
The trip away isn’t the only surprise for Eden. Cash has invited Eden’s mum – played by All Saints and Wentworth star Tammy Macintosh – to join the celebrations.
“Mum?!” Eden exclaims in shock as her mum walks towards her. “What are you doing here?”
“I got a phone call out of the blue,” her mum replies, without offering any more of an explanation.
Soon after, another car pulls up – this time with Abigail, Levi and Mackenzie – as nearly the whole Fowler clan are reunited for the first time in decades.
“How are you feeling about all this?” Gary asks his foster son.
“I’m feeling fantastic,” Cash replies.
As we see Cash lead Eden out to the back of the farmhouse ready to pop the question, Gary, Abigail, Levi, Mackenzie and the Fowler mum are all present, watching on in anticipation.
Will Cash get a yes to his latest proposal?
