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Guest Character Profiles > Quinn Lao Louis Lé

After struggling to make new friends when she began her university course to become a teacher, Wendy Rodwell eventually plucked up the courage to approach Parker Reed and their friends. She soon found herself invited out for drinks that evening and, at the Back Lane Bar, she struck up a conversation with fellow student Quinn Lao. Quinn enjoyed getting to know Wendy, impressed with her determination to have a great time and joining her when, as the Back Lane Bar closed for the night, she headed off to find another venue. The next morning, Quinn turned up at The Waterhole, the bar that Wendy managed, to check in on her and to ask if she'd like to go on another pub crawl that night. Although she declined at first, when colleague Aaron Brennan offered to cover her shift, Wendy told Quinn that she'd be joining him and even got him a cocktail on the house. Quinn was very happy to be spending another evening with his new friend, unaware that she was actually older than she'd been letting on, and that she already had a husband and 20-year-old daughter at home.

A couple of weeks later, as Wendy continued to dress and act younger than she was, Parker invited her to a traffic light party, completely unaware that she had a husband at home. When the venue for the traffic light party fell through, Parker contacted Wendy and asked if they could hold it at her house. After managing to get both husband Andrew and daughter Sadie out of the house for the duration, she agreed to host the party, with both Parker and Quinn turning up early to help, surprised to find Wendy wearing orange, having believed that she was single. As Wendy eventually started to loosen up and enjoy herself, she was in for a shock when Andrew and Sadie's plans fell through and they returned to find the complete chaos at the house - just as Quinn was propositioning Wendy. When he found out that Wendy was actually older than she'd been claiming and with a husband and child, he apologised and left, along with the rest of the party guests. The next day at uni, Quinn found Wendy and told her again that he was sorry, but admitted that he didn't understand why she'd lied in the first place. She said that everyone had just assumed that she was in her 20s and she hadn't bothered to correct them, then had been enjoying experiencing the carefree university life she'd never had.

When Wendy was awarded the Gatsford Mentorship, another student, Heidi Runnals, was quick to point out that the whole thing was just a diversity exercise to make the university look good, after one of the senior lecturers had liked a racist post online. Though Wendy's friend Cara pointed out that Heidi was also being racist by making these claims, Wendy started to wonder if she really had won the mentorship on her own merits. With Andrew insisting that she should just ignore these claims and make the most of the mentorship, Wendy turned to Quinn, one of the few people who could really understand what she was going through. He told her that the decision was up to her, not Andrew or Wendy, and suggested that she might be able to make a bigger statement of her own by turning down the mentorship.

The following week, Quinn attended the ceremony as Wendy was awarded with the Gatsford Mentorship. Having debated whether to accept it or make a very public statement by turning it down, Wendy ultimately decided to accept, realising that she had to put herself first and that the mentorship could be a huge boost to her career as a teacher, and she was pleased when Quinn assured her that she'd made the right choice, with Sadie spotting the close friendship that was developing between her mum and Quinn.

The following week, Quinn turned up at the Waterhole looking for someone to talk to. He explained to Wendy that he had family visiting and he was feeling like he was being judged by them for being too Western. As they continued to chat about their experiences of growing up in Australia but still feeling like outsiders, Wendy was delighted when Quinn offered to help out behind the bar when one of the staff called in sick. As their shared experiences brought them closer over the course of the day, Wendy began to open up more, admitting that she often used the wacky side of her personality to cover up an awkward situation, when she didn't feel like she could be herself. As Quinn then left for the night, after telling Wendy how wonderful she was, she began to worry about the bond that was growing between her and Quinn.

As Quinn helped Wendy with a project for her first mentorship placement, Sadie immediately noticed the vibe between them and decided to speak to Andrew about her worries. Though he tried to act like he wasn't concerned, Andrew was irritated when Wendy then invited Quinn to a party being held at the Rodwell house for Cara Varga-Murphy's 40th birthday. When he was then looking at some photos from the day that Wendy was awarded with her mentorship, he noticed the way that Quinn was looking at Wendy in one of the photos and decided to confront her. She admitted that Quinn had made a pass at her at the traffic light party - before knowing that she was already married - and that they'd also had a moment of connection more recently, but nothing had happened and she'd quickly shut it down. Andrew was hurt to learn that Wendy had known for weeks that Quinn was attracted to her, but had continued to spend time with him, and was further upset when Quinn arrived at the party, pointing out that Wendy should have told him not to come.

As the party continued, Andrew finally snapped and asked Quinn why he was there and whether he was hoping to get some more time alone with Wendy. Quinn quickly realised that he wasn't welcome and left, as Wendy attempted to smooth things over with her husband. As she realised that he needed some time on his own, Wendy went and met with Quinn, explaining that she shouldn't have encouraged his friendship after realising that he was attracted to her. She then told him that she thought that they should stop spending time together and, though disappointed, Quinn understood and left, telling her to always remember that she was worthy of everything.

Episodes Featured
9068, 9078, 9079, 9086, 9090, 9094, 9102, 9103

Biography by Steve

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