Former Home and Away star Sophie Dillman recalls how she fell in love on set

 "Ziggy and Dean were falling and so were Sophie and Patrick."

Former Home and Away star Sophie Dillman has opened up about falling in love with her partner Patrick O'Connor on set.

The couple, who both exited the soap to start a new life in London earlier this year, played Summer Bay lovers Ziggy Astoni and Dean Thompson before the "sparks started firing" in real life.

Dillman is now a columnist for Yahoo! Lifestyle Australia and recently wrote an article detailing her slow-burning romance with O'Connor.

"It was a slow process. We started as friends many years ago before becoming work colleagues that had to tolerate each other through some of the most extreme weather conditions, sleep deprivation, and never-ending hours on set together," she explained.

"Slowly sparks started firing and the laughter got louder, and also more intimate. Ziggy and Dean were falling and so were Sophie and Patrick.

"For some time I questioned whether I actually had feelings for him, or if that was just the result of our characters being crazy about each other?"

Dillman continued by saying she finally realised her feelings were genuine when she stopped feeling like she was "kissing a colleague" and there were "butterflies" in her stomach.

Although she and O'Connor were a little apprehensive about dating and upsetting the vibe on set if it didn't work out, they were so confident in their love they decided to give it a shot anyway.

"And thank goodness we did," Dillman added. "We have a few years under our belt, a fur baby, many crazy holiday stories, and have moved across the world. Thank goodness Ziggy and Dean found each other. Not many people get to be so lucky."

Home and Away airs weekdays at 1.45pm on Channel 5 and 6pm on 5STAR. First-look screenings air at 6.30pm on 5STAR and the show also streams on My5.