Summer Bay star Matt Evans has teased there’s heartbreak to come for Theo Poulos’ and his family in the wake of the ‘I<3Theo’ stalker revelations.
After joining Summer Bay’s resident band, Lyrik, Theo was flattered to have his first fan, until it became clear to girlfriend Kirby Aramoana (Angelina Thomson) that his ‘fan’ was unhealthily obsessed.
“At the start, he was left donuts on the doorstep, and things like that. It seemed harmless in Theo’s mind,” explained Matt.
“He was probably a bit blindsided by it, because everyone loves a bit of attention and he was definitely the last person to come to terms with what’s been going on.
“Kirby was on it like a hawk and she saw it for what it was straight away.”
When Justin Morgan’s (James Stewart) teen daughter Ava Gilbert (Annabel Wolfe) came to stay with her dad, a kindly Theo took her under his wing.
Ava's manipulative behaviour soon got Kirby suspicious and she was stunned to find Ava’s scrapbook that proved without a doubt that Ava was the obsessive ‘I<3Theo’!
“When Theo first finds out about the scrapbook, he doesn’t want to tell Justin straight away, because he knows it could break him, as he’s been through a lot recently,” commented Matt.
“But Theo’s aunt Leah Patterson (Ada Nicodemou) wants him to tell Justin so that something is done about it."
Although good-hearted Theo does his best to downplay the situation, things escalate and he’s horrified when she claims that Theo led her on.
Stuck in an impossible situation, Theo makes the heartbreaking decision to move out of the family home.
“He feels bad about moving out and it’s really tough on him because of everything Leah and Justin have done for him,” insisted Matt.
“It’s hard that he has to pull away from that but he feels the only way for him to resolve the issue is move away from it, rather than attacking it head on.
“That’s always Theo’s response, to pull away and leave.
"Kirby offers him a place to stay and he moves in with her but that causes more Ava drama.
“There will be big consequences from Ava’s actions that affect not only Theo, but Justin and Leah, as well.”
Before joining Home and Away, Matt found fame as a contestant on Australia’s version of The Voice, and he revealed his first taste of fame has some parallels with what Theo is going through.
“I had an online fan who was quite tricky for me to work around. I tried my best to be reasonable and it didn’t really get me anywhere,” he shared.
“It’s a really hard thing because you want to be nice to everyone and give everyone as much time as possible but sometimes that can be taken advantage of. It’s a fine line”
Although Matt has thrown himself into his role in Home and Away, music continues to be one of his priorities. He released his first single, catchy pop tune Over It, in January of this year and revealed another single is on the way very soon.
He also admitted he harbours an ambition to be in a British drama…
“I’ve thought about coming to the UK to work, because my dad’s from England, so I could get a British passport,” he shared.
“My dad’s family are from Yorkshire and I grew up hearing the English accent, so it’s more natural to me.”
Maybe we’ll see Matt connecting to his Yorkshire roots in Emmerdale one day!
Home and Away airs weekdays at 1:45 pm on Channel 5 and 6:00 pm on 5Star followed by a 'first look' episode on 5Star at 6:30 pm.
