Days of our Lives just stepped into 2026 and wrapped another drama-filled year in Salem. So, we’re going to talk about the many comings and goings in 2025.
Rafe Hernandez’s Evil Doppelganger and the Return of Nurse Whitley King
We’re going to take this by exit date as we look back. In February 2025, we saw Galen Gering end his double duty as Rafe Hernandez‘s (Galen Gering) evil doppelganger, Arnold Feniger (Galen Gering), aka fake Rafe, who got busted. Arnold Feniger was taken down for impersonating his lookalike Rafe and wreaking havoc on his and Jada Hunter’s (Elia Cantu) lives.
Also in February 2025, we saw killer crazy cat lady Nurse Whitley King (Kim Coles) back for a single episode. Kim Coles was in and out and always fun. Then we had a big recast as Sophia Choi (Madelyn Kientz) left the role and was replaced by Sophia Choi (Rachel Boyd), who is still in the role. Sophia is continuing to play mute at Bayview while causing trouble with little Rachel Black (Finley Rose Slater).
Theresa Donovan’s Exit and Emily O’Brien’s Return as Gwen Rizczech
In March 2025, we saw Theresa Donovan (Emily O’Brien) return for a two-week stint before she wrapped up Theresa’s storyline. She left Salem to go take care of her sick mother. This also ended Emily O’Brien’s double duty. And now she’s only playing Gwen Rizczech von Leuschner. Emily was off-screen from March until July 2025 when she came back as Gwen.
In April 2025, we saw the last of Ava Vitali (Tamara Braun). She went to Hong Kong to see her son Tripp Johnson (Lucas Adams) and his fiancée Wendy Shin (Victoria Grace). Since Ava took off right after EJ DiMera’s (Dan Feuerriegel) shooting, she was a suspect for a hot minute.
What’s really bizarre about her exit is that Tamara Braun and Lucas Adams, who played mother and son Ava and Tripp on Days, are now playing age-gap lovers over on The Young and the Restless. It is kind of jarring if you watch both soaps.
Joy Wesley’s Secret Pregnancy and the Rachel Black Recast
Also in April, we saw the last of Joy Wesley (AlexAnn Hopkins). She left Salem pregnant, headed to New York City to be with family. On her way out of town, though, she lied to Alex Kiriakis (Robert Scott Wilson) and Stephanie Johnson (Abigail Klein) and said she was not pregnant.
Joy was still not sure what to do about the pregnancy, so she decided to keep it hidden from Alex. I expect we could get Joy back in Salem with Alex Kiriakis’s baby at some point in 2026, especially after he and Stephanie settle into marriage this winter at some point.
In April, we also had a young character recast when Alice Holly replaced Finley Rose Slater as Rachel Black. But with Alice’s new role on the Little House on the Prairie reboot, we expect to see Rachel either exit the soap or be recast because of Alice Holly’s new project.
Rachel right now is at “baby Bayview” for an extended period. The Peacock soap could keep her off-screen for a while rather than do an immediate recast of the role. Of course, there are lots of questions about whether they might age her up when they get a new actress.
Billy Flynn Exits Chad DiMera Role for Conner Floyd Recast
In May, Days of our Lives casting news came out that Billy Flynn had wrapped taping at the soap. Even though he is still appearing as Chad DiMera (Billy Flynn) on Days of our Lives, you can also see Billy Flynn over on Y&R playing a recast role.
This is possible because they have a four-week tape-to-air delay there, whereas we’ve got an eight-to-nine-month tape-to-air delay over on Days of our Lives. So, we’re still seeing Billy portraying Chad DiMera right now.
We are going to see Billy Flynn’s replacement, recast actor Conner Floyd, making his Days of our Lives debut in April of 2026. It’s kind of funny because he’s coming from Y&R where Billy Flynn landed. There is going to be a gap in episodes where Chad is off-screen for a bit as they do the actor swap because there was a little delay there.
The Death of John Black and Emotional Returns for Drake Hogestyn
In late May and early June, we had a pile of short returns for the death and funeral of John Black (Drake Hogestyn). With the show’s advanced taping schedule, they had filmed John’s death episodes using a body double while Drake was still alive. But too sick to film. He knew they were filming the death scenes and had signed off on it.
John Black didn’t pass away until June 2nd, 2025, on Days of our Lives.
John’s death story arc coincided with Bo Brady’s (Peter Reckell) miracle coma comeback. John died from injuries sustained while getting medicine to save Bo’s life. That sad storyline gave us a brief comeback for Hope Brady (Kristian Alfonso) and Bo. But they left right after John’s funeral.
His funeral also brought back Carrie Brady (Christie Clark), Anna DiMera (Leann Hunley), Will Horton (Chandler Massey), Paul Narita (Christopher Sean), Andrew Donovan (Colton Little), and Shane Donovan (Charles Shaughnessy). We also briefly saw Victoria Konefal back as Bo and Hope’s daughter, Ciara Brady, for a handful of episodes last spring.
Sami Brady’s Surprise Engagement and Javi Hernandez Casting Changes
In 2025, we also got Alison Sweeney back as Sami Brady a few times for very short stints in April, August. And again in November for the show’s 60th anniversary episodes. When Alison was in and out in November, Sami revealed she was engaged. Next time she comes back, maybe we’ll meet her mystery man, Dante Vitali, who has never been seen on screen.
In July of 2025, Javi Hernandez (Al Calderon) wrapped taping. We know they recast the role, but Al’s replacement hasn’t been revealed officially yet. The actor landed a new role over on the primetime series Brilliant Minds.
That’s why he left, but since Days of our Lives tapes eight to nine months ahead of air, we’re still seeing Al as Javi for now. That should continue until about May 2026 when we meet his recast.
Thomas DiMera SORAS Rumors and the 60th Anniversary Celebration
We also saw Doug Williams III (Peyton Meyer) wrap up his stint in July, also known as Doug 3. Peyton debuted in November 2024 and wrapped his run in July 2025. Doug 3 redeemed himself on the way out of Salem and left on good terms with Julie Williams (Susan Seaforth Hayes) because he returned her grandmother’s stolen necklace.
We also found out in October of 2025 that Thomas DiMera (Christopher Cary) is leaving Days of our Lives. The actor landed four new projects, including two TV series, after playing Thomas for nearly six years.
The role is going to be recast and the new young actor is going to show up in Salem next April alongside the new Chad DiMera (Conner Floyd) actor. We could see an older Thomas, as there is a rumor that Days may SORAS the role—which, of course, is Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome.
60th Anniversary Returns
The last time we got a bunch of past characters returning was for the 60th anniversary episodes and the dedication of the Thomas Horton (Macdonald Carey) Free Clinic. We saw returns of Sami and her twin Eric Brady (Greg Vaughan), her son Will, and her ex Lucas Horton.
We also saw comebacks for Jennifer Horton (Cady McClain) and Jack Deveraux (Matthew Ashford). Plus, we got Mike Horton (Roark Critchlow) and Marie Horton (Maree Cheatham), Eli Grant (Lamon Archey) and Lani Price (Sal Stowers), newlyweds Paul Narita and Andrew Donovan. And Julie’s brother Steven Olson (Robert Mailhouse). We expect lots more comebacks in 2026 because Days of our Lives is always a revolving door with frequent changes to the character canvas.
As a matter of fact, we’ve had Jeremy Horton (Trevor Donovan) return and then we got Lucas Horton back for Christmas. We’ll keep you up with all the ins and outs as 2026 rolls on.
