Hayley O’Connor
Hayley O’Connor (2011; 2012)
Alyssa McClelland
Episodes: 5401–5411; 5506–5545
Occupation: Solicitor
Hayley was hired by Brax to represent Casey after he had burned down the Pirovics’ hideout. She arrived at the house just as Charlie was shutting down a farewell party that Heath had thrown Casey. In court, she humiliated Charlie by bringing up her relationship with Brax in cross examination. Casey was sentenced to thirty days in juvenile detention and Charlie suspected Hayley had leaked news of her and Brax to the press when she was questioned by a journalist. Hayley continued to work on the case and assured Brax that Casey wouldn’t have a criminal record.
She met up with Brax for dinner and they had sex in his car. Charlie later saw the pair together on the beach in an intimate mood. Hayley surprised Brax at home for another liaison but left abruptly afterwards. Brax was then accused of being involved in an armed robbery that afternoon. He gave Hayley as an alibi but she denied it when the police spoke to her. She told Brax it was because her career would be ruined if it came out, but Charlie told him that Hayley was representing Jake and was probably in on the fit-up.
Hayley returned to town the following year when Heath hired her to look into his rights after finding out Bianca was pregnant with his child. This resulted in a tense showdown with Liam and Bianca at the Diner. Brax was far from pleased to see her in town, blaming her for Charlie’s death since she had got Jake out of jail. He effectively kidnapped her and took her to a cliff edge, where she told him Jake had found out she had a drug problem and had been blackmailing her. After hitting Brax with a rock in a failed escape attempt, she dared him to kill her. Instead, he walked away and left her. She tried to leave town but was discovered by Heath, who physically forced her to stay.
She told Heath he could pay off her fee in drugs, then went to Angelo’s while high and offered to share her stash with Liam. When Brax came back, he threw her out. Liam escorted her back to her motel and realised she was frightened, talking her out of leaving town and throwing her drugs away. However, she was soon looking for Heath and another fix but instead ran into Brax and Liam. Liam told her to get herself sorted. Hayley knew her legal career would be over if she went into drug rehab so Liam agreed to stay with her and help her through cold turkey. He put up with her mood swings but backed off when she kissed him, feeling he would be taking advantage. Hayley disappeared but came back saying she was still clean. She kissed Liam again and this time he reciprocated and spent the night with her. However, when Brax accused her of using Liam, she left town.
She came back a few days later looking for Liam and was given another reason to stay in town when Heath paid her to look into the situation with his father Danny, who was in jail for armed robbery. When she ran into Liam, he rejected her, having been told by Leah of her part in Charlie’s death. Hayley angrily went to the Diner to confront Leah but Alf ordered her out. Liam then found her walking into the sea and stopped her, promising to help. She went to the Diner with Liam and apologised to Leah. They shared a picnic and a kiss but Liam was unhappy that she was still working for Heath. Hayley told Heath that Danny was serving fifteen years and there was little chance of parole, but the officer who had arrested him had later turned out to be corrupt, which could give them grounds for appeal.
When she found out Liam had almost visited Bianca in hospital, she asked him to move to the city with her but he instead wanted to build a life in Summer Bay. She told Heath she would get Danny out of jail in return for more drugs, but hid the stash from Liam. In fact, he was fully aware of it, and when he realised she had taken some, he took the rest away from her. Hayley turned up to the court high and, when proceedings dragged on, asked Heath for more drugs which he refused. Despite this, she managed to win the case and get Danny released. However, when she returned to the motel, she found Liam, who had taken her stash himself, had packed his bags. He told her he couldn’t manage his own addiction while he was around her and left her alone.