Tane (Ethan Browne) and Harper (Jessica Redmayne) haven’t exactly had a textbook romance, after Harper fell pregnant to Tane following a one-night stand in the gym.
Although Tane had previously kissed Harper in the aftermath of his breakup with wife Felicity (Jacqui Purvis), she had informed him that she wanted to be nothing more than friends.
However Harper soon realised that she had in fact fallen for Tane, and was put out when he dismissed their hookup, pointing out that he wasn’t in the right headspace for a relationship.
Things soon changed when Harper discovered that she was expecting their baby, with Tane having always wanted to be a father. Although he initially vowed to be there as a co-parent, the two ended up tentatively embarking on a relationship.
Tane’s proposal two months ago left Harper significantly underwhelmed, as he casually suggested they get married for practical reasons.
Although wishing to be married before baby Archie came along, Harper was disappointed when Tane subsequently went ahead with explaining to celebrant John (Shane Withington) that they only wanted a small ceremony, just something to get the paperwork signed.
Not wishing to upset the apple cart, Harper put on a brave face, but sister Dana (Ally Harris) knew that Harper had always wanted a big wedding, and urged her to tell Tane how she felt.
When the truth was finally out, Tane was happy to let Harper have the wedding she’d always dreamed of, but as she went about planning, Tane opted for a hands-off approach, telling Harper that he’d be fine with whatever she chose.
Harper confronted Tane over his lack of interest, wondering if it was because he’d done it all before with Felicity, but he claimed he just wanted her to be happy.
Tane later presented Harper with an engagement ring as a sign of his commitment, but something still felt off.
Soon after, Harper was forced to admit a sad truth to Dana—whilst she should be over the moon about their wedding, Tane still hadn’t told her that he loved her.
She later confided the same in Cash (Nicholas Cartwright), who found himself torn when Tane requested him to be best man—Tane not able to see anyone else by his side (seems nephew Nikau is a distant memory!).
Confronted by Cash with the question of whether he truly loved Harper, Tane hesitated.
He admitted that he wasn’t necessarily ‘in love’ with Harper, but was sure that it would come with time and remained determined for the wedding to go ahead.
The couple found themselves with some time apart recently as Harper headed off to the city to train up her eventual maternity leave replacement.
In the meantime, Dana was left to carry on organising the wedding, but also found that she couldn’t get any input from Tane, who was happy to let her take the reins.
Harper’s surprise return to the bay last week was met with little fanfare from Tane.
Prompting her fiancé to give her a hug and welcome her home, Harper was disappointed that her absence clearly hadn’t caused Tane’s heart to grow fonder.
This week, Harper is still opting to stick her head in the sand, much to Dana’s frustration, who remains convinced that her sister is making a big mistake by marrying Tane.
The wedding day is fast approaching, and whilst Cash and Dana have been preparing, they’re shocked to discover the bride and groom have neglected to sort anything out for the wedding rehearsal. Tane’s attitude towards his vows was made quite clear in his first meeting with John, where he asked if there was some form of template they could work from.
Dana’s words niggling away at her, Harper soon comes across a picture of Tane with late wife Flick, which only hammers home just how different their relationship is.
“Harper is coming to terms with the fact she deserves to be truly, deeply loved,” Jessica Redmayne told TV Week. “Her relationship with Tane seems to be loveless and lacks any passion, which is exactly what his relationship with Felicity resembled.”
When Harper later steps into her wedding dress, Dana can’t help but notice her sister isn’t the blushing bride she should be.
Cradling her baby bump, Harper looks at herself in the mirror with the pain etched across her face. This isn’t what she’d imagined…
Is she finally going to admit that she’s doing the wrong thing, and call the wedding off?