Mackenzie (Emily Weir) and Levi’s (Tristan Gorey) infertility struggle has seen them go to some dark places on Home and Away lately. With Mack miscarrying following IVF treatment, it seemed as if the stress of trying to become parents might collapse their relationship altogether. Unwilling to talk to Levi about what they are going through, Mac fled to Queensland, leaving her partner confused about their future together.

Now that Mac is home and the couple have reconciled, she and Levi decide to pause their IVF treatment, as Weir says it’s “not sustainable to live in that state all the time’’.

“Because you’re the two people in the relationship, you tend to take it out on each other, right? Like there’s nowhere else to put it, that tension, that anger, that sadness, and so you take it out on each other. And that can really separate people, it can really dampen and damage the relationship.”

Although it’s not a challenge she has personally faced, Weir says that, through her own research and speaking to friends, she’s come to understand that becoming a parent can become an all-encompassing obsession for many people struggling with infertility.

“All you think about is getting pregnant. The IVF shots you have to take, your hormones are crazy, there’s just this unrelenting desperation and need for it to work out, and that can be just completely exhausting.”

Levi’s impulse is to sit down and discuss what’s transpired, but Mac wants to bury her head – and her pain – in the sand.

“Mackenzie, after the miscarriage, completely pushed Levi away and had to leave, and went into complete shutdown mode. And that’s a very real thing that people do.”

Weir says the storyline flips the usual gender roles in which men are often seen as avoidant during a crisis and instead casts Mac as the emotionally distant party.

“I think that Levi and Mac’s relationship on this show in particular really challenges that status quo. And I’m really proud of that.”

But some fans have been critical of Mac’s reaction, which raises questions about how we compare the behaviour of men and women and what we find acceptable between the sexes.

It’s a conversation Weir is keen to explore through her character.

“There’s an expectation that women behave well all the time. I don’t mind ever that Mackenzie pushes those boundaries and I also don’t mind that the feedback is sometimes negative towards her, I like the negative feedback, because I go, ‘Oh, it’s challenging something in people’.”

Weir knows that her character would probably be “more liked” by viewers if she met those expectations, but, she says, that “wouldn’t be representing women of today’’.

“She is complicated, 3-D, fiery, sensitive, emotional, doesn’t always make the right decisions and is brave enough and courageous enough to not be perfect. And I think that is a woman and so I always try and filter that into my work.”

Weir, who describes Gorey as one of her best friends, says she feels fortunate to have been partnered with someone with whom she can share a solid foundation of trust.

The actors are close and are even travelling to Europe together in January to meet Home and Away fans in Belgium and Norway. Home and Away screens in 21 countries, meaning that the cast has fans around the world.

Weir has been to Belgium before, but it will be her first time in Norway.

“I remember I was in Belgium last year and was getting stopped in the street, probably more so than I do in Sydney. It was pretty crazy.”

Weir and Gorey’s chemistry – both on and off-screen (as seen in their Instagram videos) – has caused fans to question whether their romance has spilled over into real life. Weir laughs that they really are just friends, but admits they like to tease the idea, just for fun.

“We like to play into it because, why not? Keep them curious. And the truth is we do love each other, and all the videos we do together, we are just being ourselves. I dare say he would be one of my best friends and I think he would say the same about me.”