Home and Away star Emily Weir opens up over why she gave up alcohol
Home and Away star Emily Weir has opened up about why she decided to give up drinking.
Speaking on Romel Kouyan's Instagram series Live and Personal, Emily – who plays Mackenzie Booth in the Summer Bay soap – explained that alcohol got in the way of her life and came to that realisation two years ago.
"Being Australian and being in my 20s, I definitely gave it a good run for its money, the old drink," she said. "But essentially with my chemistry and the way I am, it just doesn't work for me. It just doesn't mesh well with who I am or what I was about.
"I did get to the point of drinking a lot, partying too much, and it just became more of a hindrance than anything else. And I set out to go, 'Is this getting in the way of who I want to be and what I want?' And the answer was yeah, it was.
"So it took one day of an epiphany where I was like, 'I'm just going to stop for now'. And then gradually one week turned into two turned into months turned into years.
"It's crazy looking back to have made that decision, especially when it is so embedded in not only our culture but in the industry and things like that. But for me, I'm so much better off without it. It didn't work for me mentally and it was something that was holding me back.
"And when I made the decision to quit and go sober and go to AA, it's weird with life. Doors just started to open. Things just started to become a lot brighter. No looking back. No regrets."
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And when asked about her lowest point, Emily responded that she was worried about her friends and family "pulling away" from her and ending up alone.
"I was drinking from a young age, so over the years it became sort of acceptable that I would act out when I was drinking. I became a version of myself that in my heart I'm not," she explained.
"I had an epiphany where I was like, 'If I keep doing this, I don't know, I think I might end up really alone and not ever pursing the things I want to'."
Emily recently spoke with Digital Spy about her character's love triangle with Ari and Tane Parata, and when asked which brother is best for Mackenzie, she went for Ari.
"This is a really tough question! I think for where Mackenzie's at, for what she wants coming off the back of her relationship with Colby, she really wants to be number one in a man's life," she said.
"I think Ari really provides that for her, whereas I think Tane would be a myriad of drama and a bit of chaos. I think for her stress levels Ari, for the time being, is definitely a better match."
Home and Away airs weekdays at 1.15pm and 6pm on Channel 5 (UK) and Mondays to Thursdays at 7pm on Channel 7 (Australia).
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