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Writer's pictureAngel Noire

You Must Remember This... 5 Neighbours' Kisses That Caused A Lot Of Strife!

Updated: Aug 4

A kiss is just a kiss as the song goes. But sometimes one little kiss that leads to nothing else can still cause a whole load of grief as Neighbours Shane Rebecchi has since discovered when he was taken by surprise with an unexpected kiss from friend and colleague, Roxy Willis. Well Roxy's a very brave lady because no one wants to get on the wrong side of Shane's wife, Dipi, so Miss Willis is very lucky to have escaped with her face and life intact! Dipi walked out on Shane and went to stay with the Cannings; Roxy wandering around shane- sorry - shamefaced, and Shane was terrified that his marriage was over for good.


Thankfully all was well in the end, and Dipi and Shane put that whole episode behind them and reconciled. But over the years, we've seen how a single kiss can go horribly wrong and have unpleasant consequences for the Ramsay Street residents involved. We take a look at times when Neighbours residents have puckered up... and soon wished that they hadn't!


1. Scott Robinson and Jane Harris




"No!" screamed Neighbours viewers the world over when Scott Robinson leant forward to kiss his wife's best friend, Jane Harris in what was an absolute corker of an episode. For Scott was one half of the iconic, unbreakable 'Scott and Charlene' duo. Neighbours fans couldn't believe what they were seeing. Was this really the end of Scott and Charlene? Was Scott really going to betray Charlene with the woman who had been one of her bridesmaids just a few months earlier? It sounds like an article from Take A Break magazine but it wasn't - this was Ramsay Street!





When Scott needed maths tuition in order to pass his exams, his old friend 'Superbrain' Jane stepped in to help. The fact that Scott and Jane were spending so much time together didn't worry anyone at first, but without realizing it, the two of them grew very close. Then Scott's wife and Jane's on-off boyfriend, Mike Young, read some of Jane's old diary entries revealing that she had once had a crush on Scott. Charlene had found some of Scott's sketches of Jane and remembered when Scott used to draw pictures of her.


Mike and Jane (YouTube)

Mike and Charlene shared their concerns and Charlene felt she needed to confront the pair to find out what was really going on. But unbeknownst to Charlene, Scott and Jane and just shared a kiss by Lassiter's lake. They broke away feeling guilty and ashamed. Worse still, Charlene's brother Henry had been working nearby, and worried that he may have witnessed their kiss, a horrified Jane fled the scene, leaving behind the framed sketch of her that Scott had given her as a gift.




So when Jane was confronted by an angry and suspicious Charlene, she wrongly believed that Henry had spilled the beans, and inadvertently let slip what had happened by the lake, which really caused Charlene to lose it. The very hurt and upset Mrs. Robinson marched home for a furious showdown with her husband, who admitted that he was attracted Jane. In a fit of anger, Charlene threw Jane's sketch across the room; whacked Scott in the face, and forbade Scott from ever seeing Jane again - something he refused to do. So throwing a few belongings into a bag, Scott headed over to the Robinson family home, despite an ultimatum from Charlene that if he walked out of the house, then he walked out for good. Was it really all over for the Ramsay Street sweethearts?


A difficult few weeks followed for Scott and Charlene. A guilty Jane decided to take a modelling job abroad in order to give everyone space and a chance to cool off. But upon her return she saw that the Robinsons' still hadn't reconciled, so she resorted to shock tactics in order to get them to do so. It worked and Neighbours fans breathed a sigh of relief when their favourite couple got back together again.



2. Paul Robinson and Caroline Alessi


This wasn't the first time Paul had snogged his wife Christina's twin, Caroline. The first time was a drunken mistake when he and Chrissie had first started dating and a sozzled Paul had mistaken Caroline for Christina. The second time was also a mistake when a sleepy Paul, who had been banished to the sofa by his wife, woke up and saw Christina rearranging his blankets and moved in for a kiss - and realised when it was too late that in the dark, he'd mistaken his sister-in-law for his wife yet again. Well they are near identical!


Paul kisses Caroline after drinking one too many. Or is that Christina??? (YouTube)



Paul and Caroline had always got on well as colleagues and, when Paul married Christina, in-laws. Caroline was even living with Paul and Christina! But their bond deepened when they got lost in the bush together a few months earlier, although viewers were convinced that they saw a spark between the two even before then. That kiss in the dark ignited feelings between Paul and Caroline that they couldn't ignore. They gave into their feelings and shared another kiss and it was only the cries of Paul and Christina's baby son, Andrew that brought the pair to their senses before things went any further. Realizing that it was never going to work with them all living in the same house, and knowing that something had to be done before Christina got hurt, Caroline fled Erinsborough and headed for Italy. Christina was distraught at her twin leaving, and although Paul was also very sad to see her go, he knew it was for the best.


Christina's kidnapping brought Paul and Caroline closer (YouTube)

But it looked as though Caroline had left at the right time because just a few days later, Christina made the shocking discovery about the liaison between Paul and Caroline in that now infamous scene where she overheard a conversation over the baby monitor between Paul and his grandmother, Helen. Fireworks ensued with Paul being thrown out of the marital home, and Chrissie threatening to divorce him and never letting him see their son again. And while things were ugly for a while, Christina's anger eventually died down and she and Paul decided to give their marriage another go by moving to Hawaii for a fresh start.


A hurt and betrayed Christina (YouTube)

Sadly the marriage didn't last thanks to Paul's infidelities, and it was only when Christina returned last year to cause havoc for Paul and Therese that viewers saw the full extent of what marriage to Paul had done to her: turned her into a very angry and vengeful woman. But by the time she left, Christina had made her peace with Paul, and more importantly with her twin, and was finally able to move on with her life.


3. Mike Young and Jessie Ross


Who would have thought that sensible Mike Young would become embroiled in any kind of scandal but that's exactly what happened when he became closer than he should have with a year ten student at Erinsborough High.


Mike Young (YouTube)

After deciding to embark on a teaching career, Mike ended up working at his old haunt, Erinsborough High, which is where he met student Jessie Ross, who he agreed to privately tutor. But Mike became concerned after Jessie started arriving to their study sessions with bruises, and was led to believe that her father, Ted, was responsible for them. Reminded of his own violent father, Mike decided to confront Ted, but was shocked to discover that the person responsible for hurting Jessie was her own mother, Adele. After getting over the shock, Mike talked to the family and urged them to seek professional help, giving them the number for a counsellor.

The whole incident brought Mike and Jessie closer together, and it wasn't long before they started to develop feelings for each other. Then during a tutoring session after school one day, Mike and Jessie gave into temptation and shared a kiss - just as Erinsborough High's principal, a furious Kenneth Muir, had walked in on them. But his anger was nothing compared to Ted's who angrily told Mike that he would see to it that Mike would never teach in a school ever again. Mr. Muir suspended Mike, who felt it was best to get out of Erinsborough for a while. But before he left he was visited by Jessie who was being sent to live with her grandparents. She tearfully told Mike that she loved him, but Mike not wanting to be part of Jessie's problems anymore, angrily rebuffed her, leaving Jessie to flee, sobbing.


4. Darren Stark and Catherine O'Brien


When Catherine O'Brien needed driving lessons, she didn't think she could go wrong with Darren Stark helping her. Darren's girlfriend was Libby Kennedy - the sister of Catherine's boyfriend, Mal. It should have all gone well. Except it didn't due to Darren and Catherine's non-stop arguing. But it soon dawned on them that the arguing had nothing to do with differences in personality or Catherine being a lousy learner driver, and everything to do with the growing attraction between them. So Darren decided to stop giving Catherine driving lessons and the two did their best to avoid each other.


But fate had other ideas and while doing a spot of DIY at the home of Catherine's sister, Sarah, the two found themselves alone together. The inevitable happened and they started to kiss - and were seen by Darren's grandmother, Marlene. Feeling horribly guilty, Catherine felt it best to confess all to her boyfriend, so she did - and all hell broke loose! Mal punched Darren in the face and ran off, not to be seen until the following day. Libby, who had heard what had happened from Sarah, dumped Darren and rejected all his attempts to make it up to her.


It was only after Mal announced his plans to leave Erinsborough and head over to Europe, that Catherine realised how much she loved him and that everything that happened with Darren had been a stupid mistake. Desperate to reconcile with Mal, Catherine surprised him by booking herself a ticket for the same flight. The two patched things up and started a new life in England where they eventually got married and started a family.


Libby and Darren didn't fare so well. After they broke up, Darren started seeing his ex-girlfriend and neighbour, Debbie Martin. But their relationship couldn't survive Debbie's jealousy over Libby, and the two broke up. This paved the way for Darren and Libby to be together again. But those two kept doing what they did best - making up and breaking up. Libby eventually went on to marry Drew Kirk, but after Drew's tragic death, Libby and Darren found their way back to each other - before finally breaking up for good.


5. Karl Kennedy and Sarah Beaumont


Anything Catherine could do, her sister Sarah could go one better. In fact, she went a whole lot better because her kiss with Dr. Karl Kennedy has gone down in Neighbours history as one of the most memorable storylines ever! But we're still trying to decide which was the defining moment in this storyline: the kiss between Dr. Karl and Sarah... or the wallop his wife Susan gave him when she found out what had happened!




Susan couldn't help teasing Karl when he hired their neighbour, glamourous, former model Sarah to be his new receptionist. Feeling secure in her marriage, Susan didn't think she had anything to worry about. And in any case, Sarah was in a relationship with handsome police officer, Matt Compton. But it was when Matt called time on their long-distance relationship that the problems began. Hurt and upset over the end of her relationship, Sarah broke down while at work, and Dr. Karl was on hand to provide a shoulder. But what started as a comfort hug soon turned into a passionate kiss. The pair broke away feeling guilty, and agreed to put the kiss behind them. That was easier said than done, as the encounter had stirred something up in them both. And Susan, totally oblivious to the tension between them, encouraged Karl to tutor Sarah with her nurse's aide course and even got them to play golf regularly.



It was months before the truth came out, and everyone remembers that famous episode where Susan belted Karl across the face and threw him out of the house. It took a great deal of time and effort but Susan eventually forgave Karl and took him back. The Kennedy family breathed a sigh of relief when Sarah married Dr. Hannay and left the Street.




But the ghost of Sarah Beaumont continued to cast a shadow over the Kennedy marriage for years, until Sarah made a shock return to Erinsborough years later and revealed to Susan that she and Karl had slept together all those years ago - something even viewers didn't know about. Far from leaving Susan devastated, she had long suspected that Karl and Sarah's liaison had involved a lot more than just a kiss, and strangely enough, this revelation gave her the push she needed to move on and try harder in her marriage to Karl.




Photos from YouTube

Word cloud by Angel Noire

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Missus Nostalgia
Missus Nostalgia
Oct 28, 2021

I remember the Susan-Karl-Sarah love triangle. I hadn't been watching Neighbours for very long at that point and at the time I had no idea that it was going to become one of the show's most memorable storylines. And on another note, people used to say that I looked just like Sarah but I have never, would never chase after my doctor!

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Angel Noire
Angel Noire
Jan 05, 2022
Replying to

Soaps deal with infidelity all the time but I don't think anyone at the time knew just how epic that storyline was going to be.

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Egg Yolk
Egg Yolk
Oct 22, 2020

Is it bad that I wanted Scott to be with Jane?

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Angel Noire
Angel Noire
Oct 05, 2021
Replying to

I have to admit this... I kind of did too! I know, I know - I'm such a traitor as I am a Scott and Charlene fan. But I also liked Jane too and she was one of my fave characters. That said though, I am glad the writers decided against getting Scott and Jane together (he definitely belonged with Charlene) but I do wish that Jane and Mike had sailed off into the sunset together as they were absolutely one of my favourite couples. 😄

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Bailamos
Bailamos
Jul 23, 2020

I remember that kiss between Scott and Jane. At the time I thought they were going to break up Scott and Charlene and that he and Jane were going to be a new couple. I'm so glad that didn't happen but had they done this storyline in more recent years, I'm sure that's what would have happened. Soaps are obsessed, it seems, with unhappy relationships and infidelity. Just one of the reasons why I hardly ever watch them now.

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Angel Noire
Angel Noire
Oct 05, 2021
Replying to

With regards to the Neighbours throuple, I'm not enjoying this storyline at all. It's not because of the polyamory angle (whatever floats your boat and all that) but they've picked three people who have no chemistry at all. Maybe it would've worked better with a different combination of people. Jane-Clive-Sheila maybe? 😉

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LucieD
LucieD
Jun 29, 2020

That slap Susan gave Karl was classic! I really liked the twins but it's only watching it back now I see how wet Christina was. I think Paul was better suited with Caroline.

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Angel Noire
Angel Noire
Oct 05, 2021
Replying to

Karl getting slapped was right up there with EastEnders' Arthur getting whacked with the frying pan! 🍳 I too was a big fan of the Alessi twins but I didn't like Paul and Christina together as a couple. And I don't know about Caroline but Paul was better suited to a few of his other wives including the current Mrs. Robinson.

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