Summer Bay is heading for an emotional reckoning next week as old wounds are ripped open and new rivalries ignite. At the centre of the storm stands Tane Parata,

caught between the mother of his child and the woman he is trying – perhaps foolishly – to build a future with. When he finally draws a line in the sand,

his message to Jo is blunt, painful and impossible to misinterpret: stay out of Harper’s life.

The tension has been simmering for weeks. Harper is already walking a tightrope, forced to co-parent baby Archie with the man who shattered her heart on what should have been their wedding day. Tane’s confession that he didn’t love her still echoes loudly, no matter how hard she tries to maintain a brave face. Avoiding him would be the healthiest option, but with a child binding them together, distance is a luxury she simply doesn’t have.

Enter Jo – confident, well-meaning, but increasingly out of her depth.

Her interest in Tane has never been subtle, and while Harper has attempted to rise above it, jealousy has a way of slipping through even the strongest armour. Watching Tane inch back toward romance while she is still nursing the deepest of rejections has awakened the green-eyed monster in full force. Yet Jo, believing honesty and initiative will smooth the way, keeps pushing herself into situations that only inflame Harper’s pain.

Their last attempt at a date was doomed from the start. When Harper’s name flashed up on Tane’s phone, Jo made a split-second decision and declined the call. To her, it was a plea for uninterrupted time with the man she likes. To Tane, it was interference in a fragile family dynamic. The fallout was immediate, leaving Jo chastened but not entirely convinced she was wrong.

Meanwhile, another bombshell has been ticking away in the background. Irene’s heartbreaking decision to sell the beloved beach house after her Alzheimer’s diagnosis has left Harper and Dana facing a terrifying uncertainty. The home has been their anchor, a place of safety for Archie, and the thought of losing it is almost too much to bear.

Fate, however, has a cruel sense of humour.

Jo and her father David attend the open house, excited by the possibilities, completely unaware they are stepping into Harper’s world. It is only when Jo wanders into the bedroom and spots a photograph of Tane with Archie that the truth dawns. And just as realisation hits, Harper walks in. The air turns to ice.

If that weren’t uncomfortable enough, Harper later finds Jo holding Archie at the Surf Club, helping Tane for a moment. To Harper, it looks intimate, domestic – a glimpse of the family life she once imagined for herself. The humiliation burns.

Tane, aware of how precarious everything is, offers Harper and Archie his spare room once Irene’s sale becomes inevitable. Practical? Yes. Emotional suicide? Absolutely. Harper cannot imagine anything worse than moving back under her ex’s roof while he pursues another woman.

When Irene finally accepts David’s offer, the reality slams home. Harper masks her devastation, even managing polite conversation when Jo admits she feels guilty about buying the house. But the smile drops the second Jo is out of sight.

Still, Jo cannot leave it alone.

Haunted by Tane’s worry that Harper and Archie could be left adrift, she decides to help, tracking down rental leads in an attempt to ease everyone’s burden. In her mind, it is generous, proactive, kind.

To Harper, it is unforgivable.

When Jo arrives at the house armed with information, Harper explodes. The restraint she has fought to maintain evaporates in seconds. She doesn’t want advice. She doesn’t want sympathy. She wants space – and she wants Jo gone. Her words are brutal, final, and they land.

Shaking with fury, Harper marches straight to Tane and demands he rein Jo in. If Jo wants a relationship with him, fine – but she must stay out of Harper’s business.

For Tane, it is the moment of truth.

When he meets Jo, she hopes for reassurance, maybe even romance. Instead, she gets heartbreak. Tane tells her she cannot fix this, cannot charm Harper into acceptance. Whether it is fair or not, Harper will always link Jo to the collapse of her world. And he cannot – will not – add to her pain.

The blow is softened by honesty. Tane admits he likes Jo. He would like to see where things could go. But Harper’s feelings remain raw, and Archie’s wellbeing must come first.

Later, he even suggests Jo might avoid boot camp for a while, knowing Harper often attends. It is a practical request, yet it sounds like rejection. Jo fires back, accusing him of unresolved feelings for his ex. Tane denies it, but the doubt lingers between them.

In the end, he makes the sacrifice. As much as it hurts, he tells Jo their road stops here.

Devastated, Jo confides she cannot stop wondering what might have been. And in true Summer Bay fashion, emotions refuse to stay neatly tied up. On impulse, she seeks Tane out one last time. She promises she will respect his wishes, keep her distance, disappear if that is what it takes.

But before she walks away, she kisses him – a lingering reminder of the future he is choosing to abandon.

As Harper fights for stability, Jo nurses a shattered heart, and Tane shoulders the weight of doing what he believes is right, Summer Bay is left to wonder: in protecting one person, has he just broken two?

Next week’s episodes promise fallout that will echo far beyond a single argument. Because in Home and Away, meddling rarely ends quietly – and love, no matter how carefully handled, always leaves a mark.