Days of Our Lives’ Deidre Hall Opens Up About Life After Drake Hogestyn’s Passing: ‘It Was a Shock’

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Few actors are lucky enough to play opposite someone they love and respect for not just years, but decades. Outside of the daytime world, in fact, it’s just about impossible. But Days of Our Lives‘ Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn got that chance, not just acting on the same show for nearly four decades, but playing characters so inextricably combined, it’s nearly impossible to think of Marlena without John.

That, though, is the reality we and everyone at Days of Our Lives faces in the wake of Hogestyn’s passing. His onscreen love spoke out a bit about how much Hogestyn meant to her, and now, Hall shares with Access Hollywood how life in Salem has adjusted since his passing.

First off, losing Hogestyn was not something Marlena’s portrayer, nor the rest of the Days of Our Lives family ever expected.

“We had very little notice,” she says of learning of Hogestyn’s cancer diagnosis and, sadly, death. “It was a shock. And I think we’ve all talked about privately, ‘What??’ And the resounding comment was, ‘Not Drake!’ Drake, I mean the healthiest, the most positive. And then there it was.”

John’s longtime portrayer may have passed back in September, but it had been some time before that since he had been able to film Days of Our Lives. But despite the time that’s passed, Hogestyn’s absence still isn’t something that Hall has adjusted to.

“I loved him so,” she shares. “Marlena loved him so. They loved each other so. I will sometimes be sitting on the set and thinking, ‘John is gone, and oh my gosh, Drake is gone!’”

Take a look at the Access Hollywood video below to see her talk about one of her favorite “Jarlena” scenes of all time.

Hogestyn may be gone, but he will never, ever be forgotten.

“I have so much that I have stored up with him over the years,” Hall shares warmly with Access Hollywood. “I miss that he doesn’t get to come to work. I miss that he doesn’t get to play with us.” At the end of the day, “He loved being here, just loved it. And I miss that for him.”