Summer Bay is bracing for its most explosive reveal in years as Jo Linton’s long-buried secret bursts into the light—sending shockwaves across the community and tearing open wounds she has fought for over a decade to keep hidden.

In scenes set to air next week, viewers will finally learn the truth behind Jo’s mysterious past with her former lover Rafe Donnelly, the enigmatic drifter who recently arrived in the Bay claiming he was here to “make amends.” But insiders say his arrival is about to detonate one of the darkest twists Home and Away has ever tackled.

Because Jo didn’t just share a forbidden relationship with Rafe.
She shared a child.

And the heartbreaking truth?
The baby was born gravely ill—and Jo was forced to make an impossible choice that has haunted her every day since.

For months, fans have sensed an unspoken tension whenever Jo and Rafe occupy the same room, but nothing could prepare viewers for the emotional punch behind their fractured history. According to leaked storyline details, Jo gave birth to a premature daughter thirteen years ago—alone, terrified, and abandoned by Rafe, who fled after a series of criminal entanglements left him fearing for both their lives.

The baby, whom Jo quietly named Mira, survived only a few hours after complications overwhelmed the small regional hospital where Jo had been hiding out. “It was the most traumatic night of her life,” a show insider reveals. “She held her daughter, watched her struggle, and realised that no one was coming to help—not even the man who promised he loved her.”

Production sources say Jo’s grief will be portrayed in raw, harrowing detail, as she finally breaks down in front of Mackenzie after Rafe corners her at the wharf demanding to know why she “never told him.” But the confrontation quickly spirals into a brutal emotional clash when Jo reveals the stunning truth: she had tried to tell him—many times—but Rafe vanished before he could hear the words.

The revelation leaves Rafe shattered, vowing to uncover every detail of the child he never knew. But producers hint that his response may not be as noble as it appears. “Rafe’s guilt is real,” the insider adds, “but he’s also driven by a dangerous need for redemption that could pull Jo back into the very world she escaped.”

Meanwhile, Jo is set to face a wave of internal turmoil as she relives the trauma she buried so deeply. Viewers will watch her confront the devastating mixture of sorrow, anger and love that never faded—even after her daughter’s brief, tragic life.

Fans can also expect an emotionally loaded memorial scene, with Jo returning to the remote hospital grounds where Mira lived—and died—cradling the tiny blanket she kept hidden for thirteen years. The moment, insiders say, will be “one of the most haunting performances of the season.”

Summer Bay has endured scandals, heartbreaks and shocks before—but nothing like this.

And once Jo’s truth is out…
Every relationship she has built in the Bay may crumble.