Pictures: Phillip Castleton
As far as momentous years go, 2024 is shaping up to be one to remember for 800 Words star Emma Leonard. The actress, who played teacher Tracey Dennis in the hit Kiwi series, has dedicated herself to not one, but two labours of love this year – a film and a wedding!
“I think making a feature film right before having a wedding is a brilliant way to get prepared,” laughs Emma, 38, as she and her fiancé Conor Nix, 34, chat to Woman’s Day from their Sydney home.
With Emma’s film Scoby in production and their wedding just weeks away, the pair are undoubtedly in the thick of it. She admits some people might think she’s crazy for taking on so much. However, she insists film-making and doing wedding planning have been happy bedfellows.
“They’re quite similar endeavours in a lot of ways,” she explains. “You need to get a whole bunch of people together for one really exciting event. You also need all the wheels in motion at the same time for everything to come together perfectly.
“It’s been incredibly full-on, but Conor is a huge support. He’s been great to bounce ideas off with the film and he’s led the charge on a lot of the wedding details.”
Emma has been acting for over two decades now, first finding fame as Henrietta “Henri” Brown on Home And Away. Later, she starred on 800 Words, which saw her based in New Zealand for several years and become an “honorary Kiwi”.
It was after she returned to Sydney that she met her future husband. The couple smile as they recount the first time they laid eyes on each other. They were at a bar just before Christmas in 2018. Emma had popped in for a drink with friends after watching a theatre show and Conor, who works in property development, was celebrating with his work end-of-year party.
“It was at this really cool speak-easy bar, there was a jazz band playing and I noticed Conor straight away,” recalls Emma. “He was dancing and smiling, and I thought he was just very handsome.”
At some point in the evening, Conor approached Emma and her friends to ask to borrow a chair. Emma took the opportunity to introduce herself. Before long, the future lovebirds started chatting and the chair was soon forgotten!
“Conor bought me a negroni and we ended up talking until 4am, when the bar finally closed,” says Emma. And it wasn’t just small talk, remembers Conor.
“I thought she was beautiful and fun, but with a sense of cheekiness. Her intelligence struck me pretty quickly because we dived straight into it. We talked about our grandparents in World War II and had many deep chats.”
Emma was thrilled when Conor messaged the next morning to suggest another get-together. After several dinner dates, they knew they were on to something good.
“We just had this lovely connection,” says Emma, who also does stand-up comedy alongside her film and TV work. “We have very different career paths, but I think our core values are very similar. That was inherently apparent straight away.
“We’re both very close to our families and we value our friendships deeply,” she shares. “I think our foundations are really similar, but our day-to-day lives are completely different. We both bring something new to the relationship.”
In their first year together, the smitten couple travelled to Greece and New York, getting to know each other’s friends and family. They moved in together just before Sydney’s first Covid lockdown and became parents to fur-baby Luna, their adorable French bulldog puppy. “She definitely made our house feel like a home,” smiles Emma.
Marriage was also discussed, with the pair confident they’d each found “the one”. But it wasn’t until June last year that Conor popped the question. Unknown to Emma, he had designed a stunning diamond ring and secretly planned a romantic proposal at Sydney’s Watsons Bay in June 2023.
“It was a Saturday and out of the blue Conor told me that we were going for a picnic. He said that I would need an overnight bag,” recalls Emma. “I had a pretty good idea what was going on, but I didn’t say anything. I was so excited – the whole thing felt really special right from the start.”
Conor admits he was a little nervous. “It was something that I’d never done before and hopefully won’t do again. So, I wanted to experience it and get it right. It’s a really important 30-minute window in your life, but there’s no playbook.”
The couple found a secluded spot and were watching the sunset. That’s when Conor decided it was time to ask the love of his life to marry him. It was an instant yes from Emma, who could hardly contain her joy.
“I was so happy and so touched that Conor had designed such a beautiful ring and organised such a special proposal,” she enthuses. “It felt incredibly meaningful.”
The couple went for a celebratory dinner and spent the night at a boutique hotel, before calling their loved ones the next day to share their happy news. “FaceTiming all our friends was almost the best bit for me – everyone was so happy and excited for us,” says Emma.
The wedding will take place on a farm in Yarramalong Valley, north of Sydney, six years to the day since Emma and Conor met, and despite being in the thick of last-minute details, both are feeling excited about celebrating with family and friends, many of whom are flying in from around the globe.
As well as counting down to the big day, Emma will be busy putting the finishing touches on her film Scoby, which she has written, produced and plays the lead role in. The movie follows an aspirational millennial couple who, while trying to decide between children and a career, become unwitting custodians of a sentient kombucha strain.
“It’s a bold, genre-bending comedy from the heart,” says Emma. She is delighted her film features several Kiwi cast members, including comedy queen Jackie van Beek, her 800 Words co-star Michelle Langstone and former Shortland Street star Ryan O’Kane. “I’ve always been drawn to the New Zealand sense of humour and this film feels like a lovely trans-Tasman mix.”
With such a busy schedule, Emma could be forgiven for feeling stressed. Instead, she’s focusing on the excitement of producing a film and a wedding at the same time.
“Conor and I joke that next year will be boring compared to this one!” she says. “It’s actually great, though. We thrive with lots going on.”
And most of all, she can’t wait to call Conor her hubby.
“I really feel so lucky that I’m going to spend the rest of my life with Conor. He is incredibly optimistic. He’s kind and he always manages to find the fun in any situation. Also, he thinks I’m funny. All you need in life is someone to laugh at your jokes!”
Stream 800 Words today on TVNZ+.
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