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Character
Profiles >
Wendy Rodwell Candice Leask
Wendy Rodwell 2021, 2022, 2023-
Lived: 26 Ramsay Street
Marital Status: Andrew Rodwell
Children: Sadie
Occupation: Bar Staff/Manager at The Waterhole, Teaching Student, Teacher, Harolds Cafe Assistant
The wife of Erinsborough's police sergeant
Andrew Rodwell, Wendy was first encountered by a few of the Ramsay Street residents when she attended that
year's police ball at Leo Tanaka's vineyard. Never one to think before she spoke, Wendy told Leo that he was
"lanky and handsome" before commending Amy Greenwood for "spreading the love around" in her polyamorous
relationship with Ned Willis and Andrew's colleague, Levi Canning.
A few months later, Levi's love life was the reason Wendy ended up visiting Ramsay Street - Roxy,
who was married to Levi's cousin Kyle, was concerned that Levi was getting himself in too deep with his new
girlfriend, Freya Wozniak, who was desperate to track down her ex-boyfriend Gareth. With Levi helping with the
search, Roxy was convinced that Freya and her former associate were dangerous, but knew that neither she nor
Kyle could say anything, for fear of alienating Levi completely. Having started going power walking with Wendy,
Roxy then started dropping hints about her concerns for Levi, with Wendy falling for it, and offering to speak
to Andrew, who promptly gave him a bigger job to work on at the police station, meaning he'd have no time to
help Freya.
Wendy and Andrew's daughter, Sadie, was also busy getting herself into serious trouble, as she and her
friend Aubrey launched a bullying campaign against newcomer
Zara Selwyn, which culminated in their attempts
to frame Zara for a fire at the school. When the truth eventually came out, Sadie and Aubrey were expelled
from Erinsborough High, but the ramifications would be far-reaching - Hendrix Greyson had been forced to
rescue his girlfriend Mackenzie from the burning building. Although she soon recovered, Hendrix was left
with long-term health problems, eventually dying after his body rejected a lung transplant, shortly after
he had married Mackenzie.
When Andrew and Wendy attended a party for Roxy and Kyle - an attempt by Levi to keep them in town as
they considered moving to Darwin - they liked 26 Ramsay Street, and when it was put on the market, they
made an offer. Although Sadie was already on the outer with most of the street, they hoped that it might
be a fresh start for them, and Wendy went on a charm offensive, getting up to speed on all of the gossip,
visiting everyone with gift baskets and letting herself into their houses with her trademark
call of "Yoo hoo!" Following Hendrix's death, things proved difficult for the Rodwells and, having
overstretched themselves by buying the house, they started to consider leaving, even going as far as
putting the house back on the market, only a couple of months after buying it. With many other Ramsay
Street residents planning to sell up at the same time, they saw it as a good time to go, but when minds
started to change, and plans started to fall through, the Rodwells again followed suit and decided to
stick around.
A couple of years passed and the Rodwells became firmly entrenched in Ramsay Street. Wendy had
been promoted to manager in her job at The Waterhole and, having initially struggled to make friends
on Ramsay Street, Wendy was now close to several residents, and one of the first to greet the street's
newest family, the Varga-Murphys, when they moved in.
As she watched her friends and neighbours juggle families and careers, Wendy began to feel insecure about her own achievements in life, deciding that
she was going to apply for the job of Building Manager at Lassiters. At the same time,
JJ Varga-Murphy was found by Sadie at no. 26, having let himself
in, and claiming that he just needed to borrow some milk. When Wendy’s watch then went missing, it was assumed that he’d stolen it, leading to a very
public confrontation between the Rodwells and the Varga-Murphys. With
Cara and Remi having decided to buy no. 30, following a short stay at no. 24, it
looked like the new neighbours had gotten off to a very bad start, only made worse when Wendy found out that Cara had been given the Building Manager
job over her. Convinced that there was something dodgy about Cara, after spotting some materials in her truck addressed to the Linwell brothers’
building company in Werribee, Wendy decided to get to the truth. After getting a look at her CV, and not seeing that Linwell brothers on it, Wendy
contacted them, surprised to find that they were very interested in learning about Cara’s new home and job.
When Wendy then found the missing watch, it was several days before she owned up to Andrew, who forced her to come clean to the Varga-Murphys, who
were horrified that she’d allowed a teenaged boy to take the blame for so long. Matters only got worse for Wendy when she found out from Andrew that
the new neighbours were being targeted by the Linwell brothers, as Cara was due to testify against them about their unsafe work practices. Having
tampered with a fan that Cara had put up at The Waterhole, then smashed Remi’s car window, they then sent an envelope containing white powder to no. 30.
As she’d been the one to open it, Remi stayed inside, fearing that it was anthrax, whilst her concerned wife and kids waited outside. When Wendy found
out what had happened, she was forced to admit her part in bringing the Linwells to Ramsay Street, and her guilt led her to sneak into no. 30 and wait
with Remi, unable to let go through the ordeal on her own. When word finally came back that the substance was just baking powder, they were all very
relieved, but Cara immediately blamed Wendy, and said that she didn’t want the Rodwells to have anything to do with her family.
It was then that JJ blurted out his secret - he believed that Andrew could be his biological father. JJ explained that he’d found the diary belonging
to Phillipa Wade, Cara’s best friend who had died. All those years ago, Andrew, who had also known Phillipa, had offered to give her and her girlfriend
a sperm sample when they’d wanted to have a baby, but she’d changed her mind when she and her girlfriend split up. Andrew also had second thoughts about
the whole thing, with Wendy and a very young Sadie at home, and Phillipa had assured him that she’d destroyed the sample. However, she had given it to
Cara, who, with wife Remi, had been trying to get pregnant using an anonymous American donor. Having used both samples, then fallen pregnant, Cara was
unsure who the father was, but had kept this to herself, thinking that nobody would ever have to know. As Remi and Wendy struggled to deal with what
they were hearing, both marriages suffered, with Wendy struggling to understand how Andrew could have done something like that. As Andrew had been
giving driving lessons to JJ and getting to know him, Wendy wondered if he wanted the boy to be his son, so that he could finally have the second
child that she’d been unable to give him. With some advice from Susan, Wendy decided that none of this was JJ’s fault and that she’d accept him into
her family, but then the DNA test results showed that Andrew was not JJ’s father. Feeling that Andrew was disappointed by this news, Wendy continued
to struggle to forgive him and to move on from what had happened.
When
Nicolette Stone showed Wendy the online petition to save Erinsborough High from closure one day, they both agreed that something needed to be done
before it was too late. Nicolette decided to go behind the back of her mum, school principal Jane, and contact people to arrange a protest, hoping that
it might be enough to make the council and the Board of Education take notice. When Nicolette suggested that Wendy should keep the protest a secret from
Andrew too, she was only too pleased to go along with it, happy to finally have a secret of her own. As the protests got out of hand and people started
breaking into the school, the police were called and Andrew was shocked to learn that Wendy and Sadie had been involved in organising it. Though the police
and security managed to get everyone out of the building,
Melanie Pearson was left badly injured and Nicolette was arrested and charged for her part in
proceedings.
Feeling that she was getting preferential treatment, Wendy marched into the police station and demanded that she also be arrested, knocking some pens
off the front desk when he felt that Andrew wasn't taking her seriously. She was then finally charged and taken for questioning, but the tension remained
at home. Realising just how unhappy his wife was, Andrew finally found a way to get through to her when he gave her a Christmas gift - a sketch of the two
of them with Sadie. He made it clear to her that, no matter what had happened in the past, his wife and daughter were enough for him, and he didn't want
another child. Wendy then admitted that she'd always felt like a failure for not being able to give him a second child, and that feeling of inadequacy had
followed her around ever since. She admitted that hearing about Phillipa had brought up a lot of those old feelings, but she now knew that she had to figure
out a way to fit in, and feel worthy, in her family. Having patched things up and finally reached a turning point, Andrew and Wendy decided to take a short
break to the beach together, with Wendy hiring Aaron Brennan to cover her shifts at the Waterhole.
With things back on track for Wendy and Andrew, she was delighted when the time came for Sadie to pick the university course she would be doing.
Though Wendy was sure that Sadie would be going to study childcare, following her time working as nanny to Abigail Tanaka, Sadie was struggling to tell
her mum that she didn't want to go to uni, but would prefer to become a make-up artist. Wendy was horrified, feeling that it was a career with no prospects,
and went ahead with making her daughter's online application to study childcare, leaving Sadie to announce that she was going to move out of home. It was
left to Andrew to smooth things over, as he convinced Sadie to return home, and made Wendy see that she was projecting her own fears onto her daughter, and
they had to allow Sadie to make her own way in life. Following a chat with Karl Kennedy, Wendy suddenly had a brainwave, telling her husband and daughter that
she was going to work out what she wanted to study, and then apply to university herself, ultimately deciding that she was going to train to be an art teacher.
When Sadie then refused her parents' offer to pay for the remainder of the course, they were pleased that she seemed to be showing such a mature approach, wanting
to work and pay off the debt herself. However, when David Tanaka died suddenly, after a fight broke out between him and Eden Shaw, Sadie worked out that Paul
Robinson had been responsible for sending Eden in David's direction, hoping that Eden could be the thing that split up Leo and Krista. With Paul blaming Krista
for what had happened, and being very public with his accusations, Sadie finally snapped when Paul started verbally assaulting Krista during David's wake, and
she blurted out what she knew. Wendy and Andrew were shocked to learn that Sadie had managed to get videos from the hotel's CCTV to prove her theory, and that
she'd taken Paul's money to pay for her course, in return for her spying on Leo and Krista's relationship. They made it clear to Sadie that what she'd done was
wrong, but admitted that maybe their own behaviour, with Wendy asking Sadie to take photos of Cara's CV, and Andrew not telling his wife about donating sperm to
Philippa, could have made Sadie think that she was doing nothing wrong.
Just as that drama was coming to an end, the Rodwells were hit with a new problem when Andrew's brother,
Felix, got in touch, due to be released from prison on
parole and wanted to stay with the family. Though Andrew was happy to give Felix a chance, he was concerned about something else - when he'd told Phillipa that he'd changed his mind about donating
his sperm to her, Felix had suggested that he could take his place and do it instead. Andrew knew that a party had taken place just after Felix made that
suggestion, and that he hoped he'd talked Felix out of it, but the relevant pages were the ones that were missing from Phillipa's diary. Andrew decided to
visit Felix and ask him directly if he'd made the donation and, when Felix claimed that he hadn't gone through with it, Andrew agreed to help him with his
parole application. Felix was worried to learn, however, that the woman Phillipa had given the sperm to, Cara Varga-Murphy, was now living across the road
from Andrew with the son who'd been produced from that donation, JJ. Once alone, Felix pulled a letter out of his pocket, which had been sent to him by
Phillipa and contained the missing pages from the diary, which confirmed that Felix had actually gone through with accepting payment from Phillipa for his
sperm.
When Felix then arrived on Ramsay Street, Andrew made it clear that he wasn't going to put up with any hint of criminial activity, and his younger brother
insisted that he was going to do his best to prove himself. But when Felix then spotted that JJ had a birthmark on his back, very similar to his own, he
started to panic, seeing it as proof that he was indeed the teenager's father. JJ had approached Andrew for some boxing lessons, hoping that it would keep
him safe from Slade Westall and his gang who'd been terrorising Erinsborough. But when Felix helped JJ to fend off the bullies by standing up to them, using
psychological means rather than physical, JJ was impressed and started turning more and more to Felix for advice. Convinced that he wasn't cut out to be a
father, Felix started to make plans to skip town, confiding in his girlfriend Jools - the only person who'd stuck by him during his recent stint in prison -
that he was going to rob the worksite at Eirini Rising where he'd recently scored labouring work, and then use the proceeds to take her to the Philippines.
With Andrew completely oblivious to all of the secrets his brother was keeping, he was forced to question Felix when Harolds Cafe was trashed one night. Having
been with accomplice Slade planning the worksite robbery, Felix refused to give an alibi, but then JJ stepped in and claimed that he'd been with Felix, getting
tips to defend himself. After almost changing his mind about his plans to leave, Felix decided to go ahead with it, but JJ overheard him talking to Jools about
the robbery, later offering to step in and help when Slade was arrested. After Holly Hoyland found a map of the Eirini Rising site in a book that Felix had
given her, she noticed things written on it which made her suspicious and showed it to Andrew, who then caught Felix and JJ in the act. Unfortunately, a panicked
JJ reversed their van into some scaffolding, which fell on Andrew, leaving him in hospital with concussion and broken ribs. As Andrew recovered, JJ came to him
to confess, while Wendy tried to work out where Felix had disappeared to. As she checked his bags, she found the missing pages from Phillipa Wade's diary, which
confirmed that Felix had donated the sperm that she'd given to Cara. Felix explained that he and JJ had the same birthmark in the same place on their back,
and Wendy went to Andrew with this information. They realised that they had to tell Remi and Cara, who were stunned by the news, particularly concerned
by the bond JJ had been unwittingly forming with the man. Remi then asked Felix not to have any contact with JJ, who spent weeks writing to his father and
getting his letters returned. When he eventually found out that his mums had told Felix to freeze him out, JJ was deeply upset, eventually persuading Andrew to
let him join him on a prison visit. With Andrew only visiting his brother because he'd been told that he was ill, he took JJ along, but Felix made it clear
that he didn't want a son in his life. Grateful that his brother had been honest with JJ, but still disgusted with him, Andrew asked him not to get in touch
again.
As well as his newly-discovered nephew, Andrew was also finding it difficult to understand daughter Sadie, after finding out that she was dating Byron Stone.
As well as worrying about the age difference, Andrew was also concerned about the difference in experience between them, as the slightly older Byron had
previously been a male escort. Though Wendy was trying, a little too hard, to be the cool, approving parent, Andrew immediately took against the relationship,
even going as far as warning Byron about the tyres, having it marked as
unroadworthy when it wasn't. With his concerns growing about dating a younger woman who still lived at home, this was the final straw and Byron suggested to
a devastated Sadie that they should take a break from each other. However, after seeing how upset Sadie was, and following his stint in hospital, Andrew
apologised, promising to keep his nose out, and getting the unroadworthy warning removed from Byron's car. Sadie and Byron then got back together, and, apart
from a small mix-up when he and Wendy mistakenly thought that their daughter was about to get engaged, Andrew kept his promise and left them alone.
Meanwhile, Wendy had started her teaching course at uni, but was finding it difficult to be around so many younger people, admitting to Andrew and Sadie
that she was finding it difficult to make friends. Having failed to join any of the cliques that had formed early in the course, she was finding herself more
and more isolated, until eventually striking up the courage to approach some of the other students. Wendy quickly managed to bond with Parker Reed and their
friends, complimenting their outfit and handing out some of her handmade jewellery. When she was then invited to join the younger students on a night out, she
worried that she might not be able to keep up with them, but decided to go along anyway.
As the night continued, Wendy befriended Quinn Lao, who was impressed with her determination to have a good night, assuming that she wasn't that much
older than him and his mates. Wendy didn't correct him, instead agreeing to go on another pub crawl the following night and, whilst she soon found herself
suffering with hangovers at home, she continued to do her best to maintain her friendships at uni - and when Cara happened to be on campus to look into
starting an IT course, she was surprised and amused to spot Wendy dressing and talking like she was still in her 20s. When the two bumped into each other
again, Wendy tried to claim that she was just borrowing some of Sadie's clothes, as they were more casual than her own, whilst Cara explained that she was
doing a short IT course, but didn't want her family to know about it. Trying to get Wendy to open up some more, Cara later admitted that she was actually
worried about failing, which was why she didn't want anyone to know, and Wendy said that she was enjoying feeling young, free and single whilst around her
new friends, as she'd been a young mum and had never had the chance to go to uni. Cara accepted this, but when Wendy then got invited to a traffic light party
by Parker, Cara worried that things were going too far and that Wendy was giving the impression that she was single and available, when she had a husband
and daughter at home.
When Wendy then agreed to host the party, she was forced to try and get Andrew and Sadie out of the house for the day. As her plan all came together, she
removed her wedding rings and hid the family photos, just as Parker and Quinn arrived to help with the set-up. Quinn was clearly disappointed to see that
she was wearing orange, rather than the green that showed she was single, but as the party progressed, he decided to make a move on her. At the same time,
Andrew and Sadie both returned home, their separate plans having fallen through, and were shocked to see what had been happening. An embarrassed Wendy was
forced to reveal that she had been pretending to be younger than she was, and was relieved when both Quinn and Andrew were understanding about it all. However,
when Cara then mentioned that she was surprised that Andrew had so easily accepted his wife pretending to be single, she realised that she'd put her foot in it.
Andrew was shocked at Wendy's behaviour and her attempts to explain things, saying that she'd been trying to live out a dream life that she'd never been able
to experience, only made matters worse, with Andrew left feeling that he and Sadie didn't fit into that dream. With Wendy fearing that she'd destroyed her
marriage, she turned up at the police station, worried as Andrew hadn't returned from his shift. They sat down and tried to talk things through, but Wendy
still struggled to find the words but, the next morning, Andrew listened as Wendy told him that she'd just been trying to fit in and be accepted, and
that she was embarrassed to still be so insecure about herself at her age. Andrew reminded her that she was perfect just the way she was and that she didn't
have to change for anyone.
Wendy then decided to focus on her studies rather than partying, and, thankful to still have Parker and Quinn's friendships, as well as Andrew's support, she
applied for the Gatsford Mentorship. Believing that the mentorship programme could open up many opportunities for her, Wendy was thrilled when she won, until
another student, Heidi Runnals, made it clear that she felt that the whole thing had been a diversity PR stunt to make the university look good, and that
Wendy didn't deserve to win. With Andrew believing that she should just ignore the jibes and take the mentorship, Wendy turned to Quinn, someone she believed
would understand how she was feeling. He told her about some of the casual racism he'd experienced at the uni, and said that Wendy was the only person who could
decide what to do, but also told her that maybe turning down the mentorship would be worth considering if she wanted to make a statement of her own. Ultimately,
Wendy decided to accept the mentorship, with the whole incident deepening her friendship with Quinn. The friendship continued to blossom when Quinn confided in
Wendy about the problems he was having with his family who were visiting, admitting that he felt torn between the family traditions and his Western upbringing in
Australia. As he and Wendy chatted about their shared experiences of growing up Asian in Australia, and Quinn helped her out behind the bar for the day, they
grew closer and Wendy felt a pang of guilt. However, rather than deciding not to spend more time with Quinn, Wendy told Andrew about her chats with him,
explaining that she would probably need to see more of Quinn as she navigated her new mentorship programme.
As Quinn and Wendy's friendship continued, Sadie noticed the vibe between them as he was helping her prepare for a teaching placement, deciding to go to Andrew
with her fears. Though he wasn't entirely convinced, a seed was planted and when Andrew was then looking at photos from Wendy being awarded with her mentorship,
he saw the way that Quinn was looking at her. He confronted Wendy and she admitted that Quinn made a pass at her, before finding out that she was married, and
that they'd also had a moment of connection when he was helping her out at the bar. Though nothing had happened between them, Andrew was hurt that Wendy had
continued the friendship knowing how Quinn felt. When Quinn then turned up at the Rodwell house, having been invited to Cara's 40th birthday party by Wendy,
Andrew snapped and threw him out of the house, and when Wendy later suggested that she should stay somewhere else for the night and give him some space, he agreed
with her. After spending the night at Melanie's apartment, Wendy returned home, where Andrew had come to realise that he'd overreacted and they agreed to try
and fix their marriage.
A distraction soon came along when Felix was admitted to hospital following a brawl at the prison. Though Andrew was reluctant to see his brother, Wendy went
to visit Felix, who was recovering from a stab wound and operation to repair his bowel, where she was spotted by Remi. With the Varga-Murphys equally unhappy
about Felix's return, Remi mentioned to Andrew that she'd been Wendy at the hospital and Andrew went down there to confront her. Wendy, however, stuck to her
guns, telling Andrew that he might regret cutting all ties and that she felt that Felix had truly changed. After learning that Felix had been responsible for
saving people during the prison brawl, rather than causing it, and that his brother had found religion, Andrew gave him a chance and helped him to find somewhere
to stay when he was given early release.
Though it seemed like things were getting back on track as Andrew and Wendy attended a meditation class together, the Rodwell marriage faced another hurdle
when Byron spotted Wendy with Quinn one day, seemingly deep in conversation then hugging. Byron decided to tell Sadie,
who brought her parents together, telling them what Byron had seen and, as she realised that Andrew was unaware of the meeting, she quickly left them to talk.
Wendy insisted that it had been a one-off, as Quinn was struggling with his family and had begged to see her. Andrew accepted this, but a few weeks later, when a
siege broke out at the Waterhole, it brought further problems for Andrew and Wendy. With Justin Ashton holding several locals hostage, trying to get the money
that Holly Hoyland had stolen from Heath Royce, Wendy had been at the pub where she'd been expecting to meet her new mentor, only to realise that Quinn had tricked
her. As Wendy made it clear that this couldn't go on, she took Quinn to the office, not wanting to lose her temper in public, and they were forced to hide out in
there all night as the siege broke out. As events came to a head and Andrew realised that Quinn and Wendy had been in there all along, he froze, almost costing
people their lives before he ordered officers to storm the building. As everyone made it out alive, Wendy approached Andrew, who, rather than being relived to
see her, simply asked why she was with Quinn. Wendy explained, even suggesting that she could try and get an intervention order taken out against Quinn, but
Andrew made it clear how deeply it was affecting him. Wendy, however, was unapologetic, insisting that Quinn had tricked her and that the way Andrew had reacted
after the siege had destroyed her trust in him.
With communication between Andrew and Wendy more strained than ever, she decided to try and make the first step by cooking dinner for him, hoping that they could
talk about things. Unfortunately, when Andrew returned home after a stressful day, he told her that it was bad timing and that all he wanted to do was get some
sleep. Wendy then decided that she was going to try something else, suggesting that she and Andrew could attend marriage guidance counselling. The first session
allowed both Wendy and Andrew to explain their feelings, with Andrew admitting that he felt like this was the first time that there'd ever been someone else
involved in their marriage and that, although he didn't share her heritage, he was adopted and understood what it was like to feel like an outsider. Just as it
seemed like they were making progress, Andrew became fixated on the idea that he had only heard Wendy's side of the story and that he wanted to speak to Quinn.
After managing to get Quinn's number from Parker, Andrew arranged to meet with him and a concerned Quinn decided to contact Wendy and let her know. She was
furious and decided that she needed some time away, leaving to stay with her parents. Insisting that she'd be back at some stage and that she was still committed
to her marriage, Wendy gave Andrew some hope and he arranged a special dinner for her birthday the following week. Convinced that she'd come home, as they'd
never spent a birthday apart since they were teenagers, Andrew was upset when Wendy phoned and explained that she wasn't coming, and that she'd been offered
a teaching placement in Murrayville, meaning that she'd now be gone for months. She then assured Andrew that she wasn't leaving him for good, but just needed
some time alone to find herself, suggesting that Andrew could use the time to do the same thing.
Over the six months that Wendy was away from Erinsborough, her husband and daughter paid her regular visits, but it wasn't until Sadie suffered life-changing third degree
burns in a fire that Wendy returned. Realising that she was now needed at home, Wendy cut short her placement in Murrayville and moved back to Ramsay Street,
helping Sadie to settle back in as she was released from hospital. Sadie blamed boyfriend Byron for what had happened to her, as he had rescued his sister
Nicolette, intending to return for his girlfriend until she was hit on a back by a burning piece of metal. Not wanting to return to the share house where she'd
been living, Sadie returned to no. 26 with her parents, who were determined to help her, with Wendy feeling guilty about not being around and deciding that
she would try to fix Sadie and Byron's relationship. Her attempts at group counselling fell flat, but Sadie was then given the idea of doing a reframing
exercise, which saw her return the garage where the fire had happened and retell the story, this time with her escaping unscathed. Wendy was pleased when this
seemed to improve her daughter's bleak outlook over her injuries, and it also improved things a little with Byron, though it appeared that their relationship
would need more time.
As she focused her efforts on helping Sadie, Wendy failed to see just how much Andrew had struggled without her, and the reassurance he needed that their
marriage could still be as strong as it once was. It wasn't long before things were back on track for them, but Andrew immediately started to panic when Wendy
asked him about a tin that she'd used to store her homemade jewellery. He lied that he'd put it in the garage, then, with help from various friends and neighbours,
set about recreating her jewellery list before she found out what was going on. However, when Andrew, Sadie and Byron then presented the tin of jewellery to her,
she was confused, explaining that she thought it was empty, as she'd given away all of the pieces to her uni friends before she'd gone to Murrayville. Andrew
was forced to come clean and Wendy was both amused and touched that he loved her enough to go to all that trouble.
With things going well in the Rodwell marriage, and also slowly improving for Sadie and Byron, Wendy had a new problem to deal with, as she found that her new
teaching career wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Still hoping to find a permanent teaching job, she was forced to take relief teaching jobs in the area, often
driving more than an hour and teaching subjects she knew nothing about. After a particularly bad day, when the kids put a whoopie cushion on her chair
and started calling her 'Windy Fartwell', she started to wonder if she'd made a huge mistake and
teaching wasn't actually for her after all, even seriously considering it when Nicolette jokingly offered her casual work at the cafe. Things looked like they
were turning around when she was given a morning of relief teaching at Erinsborough High, with principal Jane telling her that there might be the chance of
a full-time position. When that opportunity failed to materialise, Wendy was ready to give up, but was shocked to receive a job offer from the high school where
she'd done her placement in Murrayville. With Sadie recovering from her ordeal, but still fragile, and not wanting to jeopardise the career advancement he'd
been working towards, Andrew failed to see how the idea could work, but Wendy was determined to find a way. After Nicolette suggested that Wendy had supported
Andrew's career for years and it was about time he did the same for her, a fired-up Wendy made some enquiries about a police job advertised in Murrayville.
When Andrew's colleagues heard about it on the grapevine and started giving him the cold shoulder, he quickly realised what had happened, furious with Wendy
for going behind his back.
As Wendy tried to explain why she'd done what she'd done, feeling that nobody listened to her, things between her and Andrew became strained. When Wendy then
attended one of Andrew's self-defence classes, she was surprised to see that Sandra Jago was still attending. Sandra had been openly flirting with Andrew
during earlier classes, only stopping when she found out that he was married and, although Andrew had told Wendy all about it, she was still uncomfortable
with her presence. When Sandra then became annoyed with a younger member of the class flirting with her, Andrew helped her out, leaving Wendy convinced that
he was deliberately flirting with her as revenge. As she confronted him at the end of the class, her rant came to a sudden halt as she realised that the entire
class was watching. Realising that the whole thing had gone too far, and after Andrew asked Sandra to leave the class, Wendy decided that she would stay in
Erinsborough, hoping to return to work at the Waterhole until a local teaching job came along. When that plan failed, she ended up accepting a job from
Nicolette at Harolds, but she soon ran into a problem when Sandra came in. Wendy decided to try to make the peace with her, thanking her for leaving the class,
but was met with disbelief, as Sandra made a veiled comment about Andrew finding it difficult to talk to his wife. Confused about how Sandra knew this, and
why she felt so confident bringing it up in front of her, Wendy turned to Nicolette for help. Nic went over, attempting to strike up a conversation with
Sandra, but soon noticed what was going on - Sandra was chatting to someone on a dating app, with the profile picture seemingly one of Andrew's tattoos.
After downloading the app and finding the profile, Nic showed it to Wendy, who was shocked, struggling to believe that her husband would cheat on her. Nic
decided to do some detective work, setting up a fake profile and sending a message to HotRod69. When no reply came, she told Wendy that perhaps she should
just speak to Andrew and ask him outright. Fearful that she'd receive a reply she didn't like, Wendy struggled to know what to do, particularly as Andrew had
suddenly started exercising more, something that she took as a sign that he had a younger woman to impress. When Nic then reported that she'd seen a purposeful
Sandra heading into the police station, Wendy decided to head down to Lassiters and see what she could find out. She was then stunned to see Sandra approach
Andrew and, after a brief conversation, he appeared to be comforting her as she put her head on his chest. When a devastated Wendy then confronted her husband
about his affair, Andrew insisted that he was innocent, explaining that Sandra had approached him earlier as she feared someone was stalking her. When Wendy
showed him the dating profile as proof, he was again insistent, telling his wife that he wouldn't even know how to set up a profile. As he then saw it, Andrew
told Wendy that someone must have taken his images from social media and was using them to catfish Sandra.
Though she wanted to believe her husband, Nicolette's words had left Wendy with doubts about Andrew and with a frightened Sandra going quiet and not answering
anyone's messages, Nic decided that she would try to get to the truth. She arranged a meeting with HotRod69 at the tram cafe, with Andrew and Wendy sitting outside.
Although the catfisher failed to materialise, his movements on the app showed that he was over a kilometre away, confirming that Andrew was innocent. The
prime suspect then became Archie, the young guy who had been thrown out of a self-defence class after upsetting Sandra, but when he turned out to have a solid
alibi too, they were all back to square one.
Tenure 8747, 8791, 8792, 8795, 8817, 8818, 8823, 8841, 8842, 8846-
Biography by Steve
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