Alex soon becomes a love interest for Shannon, and after a series of dates, the pair feel that they are soulmates. Shannon even poses in the nude for one of Alex's artworks. A writer for Inside Soap thought that Shannon had found "true love" with Alex following a series of disastrous romances. The writer noted that the pair had the same outlook on life and love, and shared an interest in their respective creative talents. The 35cm height difference between Fisher and Freedman meant that their romantic scenes were often filmed with them seated. Occasionally Freedman would have to stand in trenches dug in the sand, and Fisher had to stand on sandbags or stacks of telephone books. Fisher said that she would get whiplash craning her neck to kiss Freedman or a back injury from hugging him, while Freedman joked: "There's been a little bit of what goes around comes around, because I have to basically bend down to try and reach Isla. There was talk of an apple box (for Isla) from time to time. That, of course is probably a little too sexist, and the more realistic suggestion would be that I cut my legs in half!"
