Days Short Recap Friday, August 8, 2025

Daytime Soap Opera Short Recaps

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Recap written by Michele and Cheryl

Brady mailed Tate’s letter to the adoptive parents when he ran into Sarah at the town square. She was surprised when he mentioned Chicago. Sarah thought about finding out that Sophia lied about the sex of her baby. Brady noticed that something was off with Sarah, bur she covered her tracks. He invited her to go out for dinner at the Bistro. Gabi and Xander were at the Bistro. She flirted with him as she got him to keep drinking. Gabi praised him for going after DiMera Enterprises. She also talked to him about self-doubt. Gabi was digging for information to find out why his marriage ended. The only thing Xander told her was that he did something he regretted, and Sarah did something he couldn’t forgive. Gabi thought he should move on with his life. She made a move on him and kissed him. Sarah and Brady happened to be there when she kissed him. Xander spotted Sarah and ended the kiss. Sarah told Brady they didn’t need to go to a different place. Xander panicked because he thought he hurt Sarah until Gabi reminded him that he didn’t do anything wrong. She reminded him that Sarah was there with Brady. Xander’s panic turned into fury. His marriage was over, but his life wasn’t done. Gabi smugly smiled to herself while Xander ranted about Sarah. She tried to get information about Xander’s relationship with Philip. Xander didn’t provide anything because he was drinking and watching Sarah with Brady. He saw Sarah grab for Brady’s hand. Xander got upset and jumped out of his chair. He went to Sarah’s table and demanded Victoria back since she wasn’t with her. Sarah angrily reminded him that Victoria was with the nanny. She reminded him that they had a custody agreement. Sarah felt like Xander wasn’t in a place to be with Victoria. She said that he could make out with anyone he wanted, and she could do the same. Sarah pulled Brady into a kiss.

Belle felt like EJ wanting a mistrial was ridiculous. EJ defended his motion to Judge Daphne. The judge called a recess. She sent Johnny and the jury out of the courtroom. Judge Daphne called EJ a hypocrite since he had a conflict of interest too. She also reminded him about his relationship with Belle. Belle told her that their relationship was the least of their problems. She said that EJ was the victim and the defendant’s father. Judge Daphne reminded Belle that she was Johnny’s aunt. The judge denied the motion for dismissal. Belle informed the judge that her relationship with EJ wouldn’t be a problem because they weren’t together anymore. The judge released the jury for the day and threatened to throw Belle and EJ in contempt. Belle stormed out of the courtroom. Johnny went back in the courtroom and wanted to know why EJ treated Belle the way he did. EJ didn’t have a choice because she was turning the jury against her. He refused to apologize for stopping Belle from getting to the jury. Johnny didn’t want him to sacrifice his happiness with Belle because of him. EJ assured him that it would be his fault if his relationship ended. Johnny and EJ went into the hall while Belle talked to Marlena that she would never forgive EJ for what he did to her. EJ was about to say something when Marlena stopped him. Belle told her that she was okay. She took EJ into an empty courtroom. Belle yelled at him for what he did to her in the courtroom. She felt like he didn’t care who got in the way of what he wanted. Belle told him that they were done and that he was dead to her.

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Days Short Recap Thursday, August 7, 2025

Daytime Soap Opera Short Recaps

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Recap written by Michele and Cheryl

Xander told Alex that someone was trying to overturn the merger with DiMera, and he wanted him to find out who did it. Gabi went to Steve. He used the Freedom of Information Act to get the merger filings that raised red flags for Xander. Steve didn’t know if they could find the answers there, but he would keep looking. Gabi planned to keep looking too. She called Xander to make dinner plans with him. Later Alex asked Steve for his help to find the person messing with the merger. They came up with Daniel Lucas, but Alex thought it was an alias. Steve couldn’t find anymore information. Alex took his word for it since he was the best detective he knew. Steve questioned him about his grand theft and indecent proposal charges. Alex explained that it was a prank that happened in college. Steve apologized for asking. He was looking out for Stephanie. Tony talked to Anna about getting thr company back with Gabi’s help. Anna hoped he didn’t want to stay in Salem. Tony said Gabi would be CEO, and he could run the company from anywhere in the world. Chanel told Johnny that he didn’t have to testify during the trial. Johnny wanted to prove his innocence. He said his father was building a strong case that anyone could have shot him.

Everyone returned to the courthouse. The Attorney General (Johnathan) informed Belle that he would be watching her since she’s prosecuting her nephew. Belle assured him that she would be impartial. Johnny admitted to EJ that he was stressed out because Belle asked him about why he was mad at him. EJ warned him not to mention Sami’s rape. He said to tell that he got in the way of him and Chanel adopting. Belle got Johnny to admit he was upset because his mother was raped. He also admitted that he took Roman’s gun because he considered using it. Belle looked at Johnathan, and he nodded with approval. He left the building. EJ cross-examined Johnny, and things got heated when he accused her of bringing things into evidence that weren’t presented yet. Belle questioned Johnny again and got him to admit that he thought EJ got what he deserved and that he hoped he died. EJ git up to question Johnny again. He asked Johnny about his relationship with Belle. Johnny was confused, but he said Belle was his girlfriend.  EJ told the judge that Belle had a conflict of interest and shouldn’t be prosecuting the case. He called for a dismissal.

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Days Update Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Days of Our Lives Update

 

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Update written by Joseph

Gabi gets up at home and takes Rafe’s coffee, saying she needs the caffeine more than him because she has an important meeting with Xander and needs to be on her game. Rafe responds that he also has an important meeting.

Chad hugs Julie and tells her that he’s so grateful she figured out they were stuck in the elevator all night. Julie remarks that she can’t imagine how they passed the time. Cat mentions that after awhile, she fell asleep. Chad jokes that he can’t believe the repairman turned out to be their skydiving instructor. Julie calls the whole incident odd. Cat says luckily no one got hurt this time.

Johnny enters the living room of the DiMera Mansion where he startles Susan, who was watching a video on mediums. Susan tells Johnny that they missed him at breakfast. Johnny informs her that he went to Marlena’s to see Sami. Susan can’t believe Sami is back in Salem as EJ walks in to the room. EJ mentions that Sydney told him Sami was coming to visit and it’s good for her to be there for Johnny’s trial. Johnny clarifies that Sami won’t be coming to court. Susan bets Sami doesn’t want to see EJ and argues that Sami is still obsessed with EJ.

Gabi guesses Rafe’s important meeting is a top secret FBI rendezvous. Gabi asks if he’s working on any interesting cases. Rafe calls it nothing too exciting. Gabi is sure they’ll get around to getting him good stuff later on. Gabi asks if the FBI has finally assigned him a partner but Rafe claims that they haven’t.

Marlena takes Julie to get coffee at the hospital. Marlena says she knows Julie isn’t fond of Cat but asks her to try to hide her disdain. Julie claims she did but admits it wasn’t her best effort. Julie compares Cat to Gabi and says she doesn’t see how Chad can stomach being around her after all the pain she caused the Hortons. Chad apologizes to Cat. Cat says she understands why Julie isn’t excited to see her. Chad points out that Felicity was. Chad figured Felicity would stick around but she went to work and calls her a very loyal worker. Cat talks about Chanel being amazing with Felicity. Cat says she felt like Chad was about to tell her something when the elevator went haywire and asks what that was.

Xander has a dream about being in bed with Sarah, then is disappointed to wake up in bed alone.

Marlena goes to meet Sarah at the hospital for her appointment. Marlena explains that she was late because she was involved in a rescue as Chad and Cat got stuck in the elevator overnight, so she and Julie discovered them and helped until the repairman got them out. Sarah brings up that she told EJ last night about the elevator having issues and he did nothing. Marlena comments on EJ no taking care of business. Marlena asks about her test results. Sarah explains that she initially thought her symptoms were psychogenic but now she thinks there may be a physical underlying cause but all of her tests came back negative.

Chad claims to Cat that he doesn’t remember so it must not have been very important. Julie comes over and brings Chad a coffee. Julie tells Cat that she’s sorry but that was the last coffee. Cat says she should get going and exits the hospital. Julie questions where she’s off to in a hell of a hurry, suggesting she’s going to try to scam a new victim.

Marlena questions Sarah saying the test results didn’t show anything and asks what she is supposed to do now as she needs to know what’s going on. Marlena flashes back to Susan saying she sensed that she wasn’t well. Sarah asks Marlena if everything is alright.

Johnny assures Susan that Sami is not obsessed with EJ. Susan brings up Sami coming to see EJ last time which EJ notes was because he was unconscious. Johnny clarifies that Sami has made a quick trip to see Marlena and honor John as it’s the first time she’s been back since he passed away. Johnny explains that they both agreed it would be best for Sami to support from a distance, especially because Sydney still needs her and with the emotions it would stir up. EJ says he can respect that but Susan says she can not.

Xander sits in his office, looking at a photo of he and Sarah with Victoria. Gabi arrives and Xander points out that she’s late. Gabi blames her assistant for forgetting to print out the latest Gabi Chic numbers but tells Xander they are impressive. Xander says he told her that they would be. Xander asks if she’s glad she gave up trying to take her company and run. Gabi says she didn’t have a choice but it turns out they make a pretty good team. Xander asks about Arianna. Gabi says she’s good and just a little shaken up. Xander says he’s glad to hear it. Gabi thanks him again for offering to put up reward money to find her, noting it was extremely generous. Xander says he was happy to help and relates to wanting to keep their only child safe. Gabi offers to take Xander to lunch at the Bistro to thank him, saying it’s the least she could do but Xander questions what is going on here. Gabi claims she’s just trying to show her appreciation and argues that there’s no harm in colleagues having a meal together to celebrate a successful business partnership. Gabi clarifies that it’s not a date and says she knows he’s happily married, or unhappily at the moment.

Cat meets Rafe in his office and apologizes for being late, revealing she was stuck in an elevator all night at the hospital. Rafe says he’s so sorry and it must have been so awful. Cat clarifies that she wasn’t alone as Chad was with her.

Chad tells Julie that how she feels about Cat is up to her as it’s not his place to change her mind, but he asks that it goes both ways. Julie tells Chad that if he wants her to approve of his relationship with Cat, he can forget about it. Chad insists they are just friends. Julie questions being friends with someone who impersonated Abigail and caused their family so much false hope. Julie declares that she and Jennifer will never forgive her for that. Chad says he understands that but he won’t let anyone tell him who he can or can’t socialize with. Julie angrily asks if he wants her to set a place for her at the table and get her an ornament on the Horton Christmas tree. Chad understands that it’s about more than what Cat did to them as Julie wants to protect what he and Abigail had. Chad assures that no one could ever replace Abigail. Julie cries that it just makes her sick to see Chad with Cat. Chad says he knows because she tells him every chance she gets. Chad adds that she can hate Cat if she wants, but he doesn’t want to see or hear about it anymore. Chad tells Julie that he loves her but he wants her to keep her opinions about it to herself.

Sarah asks Marlena if she’s okay. Marlena says she’s fine. Sarah knows how frustrating it can be to not know what’s going on in your own body. Marlena says the tests aren’t going to show them anything so she guesses she’ll just have to live with it. Sarah asks if she ever attended any suppor groups. Marlena says she found a therapist and has had one session so far. Marlena adds that Sami is in town and they had a long, tender conversation that covered a lot of ground. Marlena talks about having wonderful family and friends. Sarah acknowledges that she’s been wonderful to them through so many hard times. Marlena asks how Sarah is since Brady told her that she and Xander separated. Sarah confirms that they just can’t be married anymore. Marlena says she’s sorry. Sarah says they just reached a breaking point. Sarah is glad they recognized it and acknowledged they needed to make a change and agreed that splitting up is the best choice so they can both move forward.

Xander informs Gabi that he and Sarah are legally separated as of yesterday. Gabi says she’s so sorry and suggests a nice lunch at the Bistro would cheer him up. Xander says there’s no way he’d get out to lunch as he’s way too busy with too much to do. Gabi suggests dinner instead which Xander says will work. Gabi reiterates that it’s not a date. Xander then get a call and asks who the hell it was which interests Gabi.

EJ argues that Susan is contradicting herself by not wanting Sami around him at the trial but then not supporting her decision to support Johnny from afar. Susan repeats that Sami is obsessed with EJ. EJ assures that he’s perfectly safe from Sami and all they have in common now is their children. Susan complains about Sami’s nasty streak. Johnny stops her and says that’s his mom she’s talking about. Susan comments on both parents having their faults. EJ says he had one good parent while Sami had two. Johnny says she basically had three with John. Susan talks about John being the sweetest man ever. Susan then declares that Marlena has gone back to the dark side which Johnny questions. Susan insists that deep trouble has resided within Marlena. EJ suggests Johnny go upstairs to get ready for court while he talks to Susan. Johnny wants to know why Susan would say that about Marlena. EJ understands but says trial comes first and there are some important documents for him to review. Johnny then heads upstairs. EJ question what is going on with Susan as he thought Marlena was one of her dearest friends. Susan says she is and that’s why she’s so worried about her. EJ asks what she’s worried about. Susan says she doesn’t know exactly. Susan adds that when she hugged Marlena, she got the strangest feelings and vibes. EJ argues that she was just sensing Marlena being in mourning. Susan decides he might be right. EJ suggests she put her psychic energy to good use and find out who really shot him which is why she came to Salem in the first place. Susan admits she’s not getting so lucky. EJ adds that he also had no luck at his latest attempt at figuring out what happened on the night he was shot since Marlena hypnotized him and it didn’t work.

Marlena comments that Sarah seems at peace with her decision. Sarah responds that she is since she and Xander have worked out a shared custody agreement for Victoria, so she feels like everything is going to be okay. Marlena admires her positive attitude. Marlena reminds her to keep an eye on her feelings because they won’t all be positive and it could be very difficult to end a relationship that’s been central to her life. Sarah assures that she knows and thanks her for listening as she really appreciates it. Sarah brings up how Marlena is feeling and says that grief is definitely a part of it. Sarah says therapy and time will help but she does think there’s a physical cause and she intends to find the answer that will give her relief. Marlena thanks her and says she is reminded of her dads, Neil and Mickey as they would both be so proud of her.

Rafe asks Cat about her having self-defense training. Cat says it was years ago and she’s sure it was nothing compared to what Rafe had at the academy, so she’s grateful for the refresh. Cat notes that Shane promised she wouldn’t be in the field often but she wants to make sure she can defend herself.

Marlena hopes she didn’t upset Sarah by bringing up Mickey and Neil. Sarah says not at all and that it’s really nice to think they’d be proud of her since she doesn’t feel very proud of herself right now. Sarah knows that she and Xander splitting up is the right choice, but she wanted Victoria to grow up with both of her parents under the same roof. Marlena says she’s been there and even though they might not be together, Victoria will still have a loving home. Sarah thanks her and says that’s enough about her since they are here to figure out what’s going on with Marlena. Marlena asks what Sarah is thinking. Sarah says it could be chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia. Marlena notes they are both illnesses that don’t have a cure and how they mostly affect women. Sarah says most of their symptoms can be treated but first they need to get her an accurate diagnosis. Sarah assures they are in this together and they will talk soon. Marlena says she will take her leave and see her soon as she exits.

Chad apologizes to Julie for coming off harsh. Julie decides he’s right that she should keep her big mouth shut and she always oversteps. Julie hopes he knows that it just comes from a place of love. Chad assures that he knows that. Chad hopes Julie knows how much he appreciates the love she gives him and the kids. Julie says since Doug died, the hours she spends with his children are the best hours of her day. Julie tells Chad that their favorite activity has been going to Foster’s Book Store in the town square. Julie mentions it being up for sale. Julie asks if Chad would be interested in buying it.

Xander says to find out who is behind it and he wants answers on this now as he hangs up. Gabi asks what’s going on. Xander informs her that someone filed an information request, looking in to Titan’s takeover of DiMera and whoever it is wants to see every single document. Gabi asks what they need to worry about if the takeover is legit. Xander decides they are all done here, so Gabi says she’ll be in touch about dinner as she then exits the office.

Rafe and Cat work on self defense techniques. Cat then begins to imagine Rafe as Chad until she snaps out of it and they start over.

Julie tells Chad how thrilled Thomas and Charlotte would be if their dad owned their favorite store. Julie believes there is still a market for books but Chad feels that’s getting smaller every day. Julie talks about opposing that and trying to give the kids a love of books. Julie feels kids need to see their parents reading and passing it on through generations. Chad comments on how passionate Julie is about this, so he asks why she doesn’t buy the book store.

Johnny returns to the living room and tells EJ that he didn’t find those documents. EJ admits there weren’t any and apologizes for the ruse, but he felt he needed a break from Susan. Johnny says he’s used to Susan ragging on Sami but the things she said about Marlena with darkness and evil took him back to the time when he was possessed. Johnny talks about feeling that way when he was so full of hate for EJ and he doesn’t want to be that person ever again.

Susan runs in to Marlena in the town square and apologizes for upsetting her yesterday when she said she was sick in the mind, soul, and body. Marlena tells Susan that she just had an appointment with her doctor, had some tests run, and got a clean bill of health. Susan calls that so strange and suddenly declares that she knows what’s wrong with Marlena.

Sarah runs in to Xander outside the Brady Pub. Xander asks if Victoria slept okay. Sarah says she did very well and thanks him for letting her stay an extra night. Sarah says Victoria is with the nanny now as she just got off work and is on her way to go check on her. Xander sends his love and then informs Sarah that he saw her with Brady last night in each other’s arms.

Julie tells Chad that she’s not going to buy a bookstore at this stage of her life. Chad asks why not, arguing that she’s ran a successful business before. Julie says she’s retired now. Chad brings up Julie always talking about how bored she is. Chad talks about how much Julie loves books and says it seems like a perfect opportunity. Chad asks if Julie is sure she wants to be retired and tells her to just think about it. Chad hugs Julie and says he’ll see her at home as he exits the hospital.

EJ tells Johnny that he had every right to be furious with him after learning what he did to Sami. Johnny doesn’t want to rehash it and says that Sami obviously was able to forgive him, so he’s determined to do the same. EJ says that grace is far more than he deserves. EJ recalls when he woke up from his coma and feeling like a changed man, who could start over and do some good in the world. EJ declares that if he’s going to defend Johnny, he needs to revert to his old ways and be ruthless, much more than he already has been. EJ wants Johnny know that whatever strategy or tactic he uses, it is not about hurting another person and is all about protecting him. EJ declares that anything he does is because he loves him with his whole heart. Johnny says he knows and he’s so grateful that EJ is on his side. Johnny says he loves him too as they hug.

Marlena tells Susan that she’s not in the mood for this right now. Susan says she needs her to listen. Susan brings up Marlena’s blood and wishes she could see what it was. Susan talks about caring so much about Marlena and wanting her to feel better. Susan feels awful that she can’t figure out what’s plaguing her but she wishes she could. Marlena says she does too.

Rafe tells Cat that she’s a quick study and that he’s impressed. Cat jokes about being ready to take on the bad guys. Rafe says they’ll have a few more lessons, but as long as she is his partner, he will protect her with his life.

Gabi goes home and gets a call from Tony. Gabi assures that she’s on it as she and Xander are having dinner tonight where she is going to work him and find out everything Tony wants to know.

Sarah tells Xander that she was hugging Brady goodnight. Xander remarks on Sarah not waiting until the ink is dry on their separation before moving on with his nephew. Sarah argues that Brady bought her a friendly drink and that might be a foreign concept to him, but one person can just be nice to another person without sex being involved. Xander feels she’s being defensive. Sarah tells him to get over himself and remarks that she sure has as she storms off.

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Days Short Recap Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Daytime Soap Opera Short Recaps

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Recap written by Michele and Cheryl

Sophia went to Melinda’s office, but Melinda wasn’t there. Tate called Sophia to ask her for the adoptive parents’ address since Rachel bought a gift for the baby. Sophia said she didn’t have the address, but she would reach out to her lawyer. When Melinda showed up, Sophia told her about Sarah snooping around. Melinda didn’t think Sarah would figure out that Sophia was lying. She told Sophia that it was okay because Sarah couldn’t say anything because of HIPPA. Sophia was upset about the lie, but Melinda told her she would handle it. Tate ran into Belle at the town square. Belle said she was staying away until Sami left. Tate didn’t see why Sami would be mad that she was prosecuting Johnny since she was forced into it. Belle said Sami didn’t always act rationally. She said she had to get through it for the greater good. It occurred to Tate that he should do the same thing about the baby. He thought he should be concerned about how Sophia was doing.

At the Bistro, Paulina was nervous about testifying at Johnny’s trial. She wasn’t sure how she would live with herself if Johnny was wrongly convicted. The Attorney General called and said he would be watching the trial carefully. He said someone from the office would be in court and said Belle would be disbarred if she screwed up the case. EJ got Johnny ready for court. Johnny said he didn’t like the idea, but EJ said he knew what was best. Johnny told him to go easy on Paulina. They talked about John and Sami. When they got to the courthouse, Paulina was there. Paulina wished Johnny luck. She wanted to talk to EJ, but he told her it was inappropriate since she was a witness for Belle. Paulina told him that she was also the mayor. She told him to back off Belle. EJ said he would and went into the courtroom. When Belle showed up, Paulina said she had something to tell her. In the courtroom, Belle questioned Paulina on the stand. Belle asked Paulina about Johnny’s anger towards EJ. She asked Paulina about Johnny refusing to see EJ at the hospital when he was shot. Paulina said Johnny thought EJ got what he deserved. Belle continued questioning Paulina. It was EJ’s turn to question Paulina. EJ asked if Paulina was upset with him. He asked if she thought Johnny was innocent. Paulina said she did. Belle asked Gabi about going to the mansion and hearing Johnny and EJ arguing on the night of the shooting. The people in the courtroom were shocked when Gabi said she heard EJ telling Johnny to put the gun down. Gabi said she saw Ava leaving the mansion. EJ asked Gabi about the gun she had the night of the shooting. While he was questioning Gabi, she admitted that she might have misidentified the person talking to EJ. He got her to admit that Ava could have came back to the mansion. When EJ grilled Gabi, Belle asked for the judge to get him to stop badgering her. The judge decided to call for a break. Tate ran into Sophia and apologized for the way he has been treating her. He asked how she was doing. Sophia said she was fine. While they were talking, he asked her questions about the parents. Sophia said they had to live with what happened. Tate said he couldn’t do that. He said he wanted to meet the parents and their daughter. Sophia said that would make things worse. She said the baby wasn’t his anymore. Tate said he wasn’t going to let it go. Sophia called Melinda and told her that Tate wanted to write a letter to the parents asking if he could meet the baby. Melinda said to tell him to write the letter and she would respond as the parents and tell him he couldn’t see the baby.

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Days Update Monday, August 4, 2025

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Update written by Joseph

Julie greets JJ in the living room of the Horton house, saying she can’t believe she slept so late. Julie asks if the kids are already at their Harry Potter camp but JJ reveals that Thomas and Charlotte are still sleeping. Julie questions if Chad overslept too but JJ admits he has no idea where Chad is.

Johnny and Chanel walk through the town square. Chanel talks about being glad that Sydney is on the mend and that Sami is able to come home to visit. Johnny says Sami won’t be able to stay long but it will be good to see her. Johnny brings up Sami also having a complicated relationship with EJ and Belle. Johnny hates that he gave Sami yet another thing to worry about with his trial. Felicity rushes up and tells Chanel that she has to help her because her sister Cat is missing.

Cat is asleep in the elevator until she wakes up in a panic. Chad tells her that she was dreaming but she’s okay.

Marlena comes out from her room to find Sami in the living room with tears in her eyes as they have a tearful embrace.

Johnny and Chanel sit with Felicity as Chanel questions Felicity about Cat missing. Felicity informs her that she never came home. Chanel asked when they last spoke. Felicity says it was yesterday before work and she hasn’t seen her since. Johnny and Chanel step aside. Johnny thinks they should call the police. Chanel tells him that she will handle this and he can go be with his mom. Chanel promises to call him if she finds anything out. Johnny walks away as Chanel tells Felicity that they should go to the police station to see if they can help find Cat.

Cat tells Chad that she just had the worst nightmare. Chad asks if she wants to talk about it but Cat says not really.

JJ calls Leo to ask him to let him know if Chad checks in with him. Julie says calling Chad is going straight to voicemail which is unlike him as he never turns his phone off and there’s no word from his assistant. Julie says she would say call the police, but JJ is the police. JJ assures that as soon as he gets to the police station, he will look in to it and they will find him. Julie tells JJ to keep in touch as he exits.

Sami tells Marlena that her plane landed early and she came straight to the house. Marlena cries that she missed her so much. Sami is sorry she wasn’t there to hold her hand while saying goodbye to John. Marlena assures that Sami is always in her and John’s hearts. Sami wishes she had done more, said more, called and visited more. Sami wishes she had thanked John for everything in her childhood. Marlena assures that he didn’t need her thanks and that he loved her. Sami cries that she didn’t deserve it because she was so mean to John all the time and she hated him for loving Marlena. Sami says she would blame John for everything that went wrong in her life and it was so unfair, but he was still always there for her, would help her when she was in trouble, and treated her like his daughter. Marlena assures that John felt she was his daughter and he adored her. Sami regrets not telling him enough how sorry she was and how bad she feels about everything she put him through. Sami breaks down crying about it being too late as she hugs Marlena. Marlena insists that John always knew how she felt and he wouldn’t want her to have any regrets. Marlena encourages Sami to picture John being there, telling his baseball stories. Sami talks about admiring how John always stayed calm and positive in all situations. Sami comments on John making her feel loved and respected. Marlena knows she had her issues but John never judged her and was always proud of her. Sami cries that she has to pull herself together because Johnny is going to be there in a few minutes. Sami says she’s supposed to be asking Marlena if she’s alright, but she comes here and is crying her eyes out. Marlena thinks they both needed to cry so she’s glad they are able to do it together. Marlena says everyone is moving on and getting back to their lives, so things are going to be quiet and she’s going to need to lean on Sami a bit. Sami assures that she’s always here for her. Johnny then arrives and embraces Sami, saying he’s so glad she’s there. Marlena says she will give them time to be alone and catch up while she catches up with work from the hospital. Marlena adds that she will want to hear stories from their walk down memory lane.

JJ goes to the police station as Chanel and Felicity arrive to tell him they need his help because Cat is missing.

Cat apologizes to Chad for scaring him. Chad says being trapped in an elevator takes the cake for scaring. Chad asks Cat again if she wants to tell him about her nightmare. Cat calls it a recurring dream about her accident. Cat realizes they’ve been there all night and that Felicity will be worried sick about her. Chad guesses Julie probably thinks something terrible happened. Cat decides that she’s changed her mind about sitting tight and takes her shoes off, declaring she’s getting them the hell out of here.

JJ questions Cat missing. Chanel explains that she apparently didn’t come home last night and hasn’t called or texted. JJ informs them that he and Julie just discovered that Chad is also missing. Chanel wonders if they could be together. JJ says he has to check in with his sergeant and then he will need them to tell him everything they know about the last time Cat was seen, what she was wearing, and what she said. JJ then steps out while Chanel promises Felicity that they are going to find Cat.

Julie goes to the hospital and runs in to Marlena, surprised that she’s back to work so soon. Marlena says she just came to see a few patients and she has an appointment with Sarah. Marlena asks if everything is alright with Julie. Julie says not at all as she reveals Chad is missing which Marlena questions. Julie explains that Chad was at the hospital yesterday to pick up a prescription for Charlotte and one of the nurses remembers seeing him, but no one has seen him since and his phone is going straight to voicemail. Julie then notices the out of order sign on the elevator and begins to wonder.

Cat is unsuccessful in her attempt to escape the elevator. Chad says it was worth a shot even though she told him yesterday it wouldn’t work. They joke that they are both going to need therapy when they get out. They get close as they talk about being cramped in this little elevator. They then begin hearing Julie knocking on the elevator and calling out to Chad. Chad calls back out that they are fine. Marlena asks if someone else is in there with him. Cat calls out to Marlena which upsets Julie. Marlena tells Cat to hang in there and they will get them out while Julie shouts for Cat to keep her hands off Abigail’s husband in the meantime.

Sami asks Johnny how he’s doing. Johnny says he’s a lot better than last time she was in town and repeats that he’s so glad she’s here. Johnny adds that he doesn’t expect her to be at his trial as it would be too much for her to be in the court house, just a few feet from EJ and it would make him worry. Sami says it’s actually great that EJ is defending him as he will help and she’s really glad that Johnny found a way to get past his anger towards EJ and forgive him. Johnny feels it’s what John would’ve wanted despite all the horrible things that EJ did to him over the years. Sami recalls thinking John was dead when she named him John Roman, but then he got to meet him and he was really proud that Johnny was his namesake. Sami is glad that Johnny got to have so many years with John. Johnny wishes it could’ve been more as they tearfully embrace.

JJ tells Chanel and Felicity that he’s just waiting on the paperwork. JJ then gets a call from Julie. JJ informs Julie that he’s at the station with Felicity as her sister Cat is also missing. Julie then informs JJ of the news. JJ says that’s a relief and says that he will let them know. JJ hangs up and reveals to Felicity and Chanel that Chad and Cat were trapped in the hospital elevator all night and they are working on getting them out now. Chanel offers to take Felicity to the hospital so she can be the first person that Cat sees when she gets out. Chanel thanks JJ for his help. JJ says he didn’t really do anything as Chanel and Felicity exit the station.

Julie complains to Marlena about Chad being stuck in the elevator all night and how it could plunge at any second. Marlena feels Julie seems worried now than when she thought Chad was missing and asks if that has to do with Cat. Julie argues that where ever Chad goes, Cat follows him like a parasite. Julie feels Cat staged this on purpose which Marlena questions, reminding her that there have been problems with the elevator for days. Julie says maybe she didn’t do that but Cat has had her sights set on Chad. Marlena feels Cat doesn’t have romance on her mind. Julie says the same about Chad. Marlena brings up Julie shouting for Cat to keep her hands off Abigail’s husband. Marlena points out that Chad is no longer married to Abigail but Julie doesn’t see it that way. Julie feels the love that Chad and Abigail shared was something extraordinary, sacred, and eternal like she had with Doug and Marlena had with John. Julie declares that as far as she’s concerned, she will always be Doug’s wife, Marlena will always be John’s wife, and Chad will always be Abigail’s husband.

Cat stands back and tells Chad that she’s keeping a distance between them for when the doors open since Julie will be right there and not happy to see them together. Chad argues that Julie won’t blame Cat as it would be crazy to think she orchestrated the whole thing. Cat calls the whole situation crazy but they admit they didn’t mind.

Johnny tells Sami that he’d love to stay and talk with her but he has to get ready for court. Sami says she loves him and hugs him. Sami says to tell EJ to take care of him. Johnny assures it will be okay as he exits. Sami goes to the photos of John on the mantle and talks about how grateful she is for how John loved Marlena and their whole family. Sami adds that John wasn’t afraid to show his kids tough love when he needed to and she knows she needed it the most. Sami says she appreciates that now along with John’s kindness and big heart. Sami apologizes for blaming John for her unhappiness and insecurities as she knows it wasn’t fair. Sami wishes she had said this to him before but she thought he would always be there and that she had plenty of time. Sami cries that it’s not fair and thanks John for showing her how to be strong and brave. Sami calls John a big part of who she is as she flashes back to a past time with John. Sami cries that she would give anything for one more hug from John.

Marlena tells Julie that after the loss of Doug and John, she can’t imagine finding a way to go on without him and she knows Julie feels the same, but they will find a way and find comfort in their memories. Julie asks what her point is. Marlena brings up that Julie said Chad will always be Abigail’s husband but that isn’t true because they didn’t have a long time together and their marriage was cut tragically short. Marlena can’t imagine Julie doesn’t want Chad to love again as that would be a double tragedy. Julie assures that she wants Chad to live his life with someone wonderful who makes him happy but argues that someone is not Cat Green. Chanel and Felicity come over to ask if there any updates and if Cat is okay. Marlena says she’ll be just fine. Julie assures they will come right out of the elevator any minute now. Chanel explains that Felicity is finding it hard to believe that Cat was stuck in the elevator, but she also didn’t think Cat was working yesterday. Marlena confirms she wasn’t scheduled to work..

Cat and Chad jokingly move closer and then end up in each others’ arms when the elevator jolts.

The maintenance man tells Felicity, Marlena, and Julie that they are working on the elevator and should have them out soon. Chad and Cat are then heard yelling for help so Julie questions what is happening now.

Johnny meets Chanel in the town square and says he got her text that she found Cat. She reveals that Cat and Chad were stuck in an elevator at the hospital all night. Johnny asks if they are okay. Chanel says she guesses so as they were apparently stuck between two floors and a repairman is trying to get them out now. Chanel adds that she would’ve stayed but she had to get back to work, adding that Felicity stayed with Marlena and Julie. Johnny says it sounds like she’s in good hands. Chanel asks if he had a nice visit with his mom. Johnny confirms it was great and says they talked about forgiveness and what a wonderful man John was and how lucky they were to have him in their lives as Chanel hugs Johnny.

Sami holds onto a photo of John and recalls when she was so upset after Franco was murdered and John promised to be there for Marlena and take care of her which he did as she flashes back to that time in their lives. Sami declares that now it’s her turn and that John can rest easy, knowing they are all here to take care of Marlena for him. Sami wants John to know that he will always live in her heart and that’s a fact.

Julie questions what’s happening now. Marlena guesses they will find out soon enough and encourages Felicity that they will get everybody out. The repairman then gets the elevator open, revealing Chad and Cat holding each other. The repairman remarks that they just can’t stop taking a plunge together as Felicity watches with a smile but Julie looks on in anger.

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Days Update Friday, August 1, 2025

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Update written by Joseph

EJ is at home in the living room of the DiMera Mansion and calls his daughter Sydney, leaving a message that he just wanted to check on her recovery after her fall. EJ hangs up and looks over at the portrait of Stefano on the wall. Gwen walks in and remarks that she hears EJ might actually be able to speak to Stefano in person rather than staring at his portrait. EJ guesses she’s been talking to Susan. Gwen confirms that she ran in to her earlier and she didn’t realize that communicating with the dead was part of her skillset. EJ says that Susan is training to be a medium. EJ warns Gwen that if Stefano is alive, he would not be happy to find out she’s living in the house based on a sham marriage to a long lost cousin. Gwen responds that something tells her she’ll be just fine.

Marlena sits at home and begins daydreaming about Stefano making her his Queen of the Night. She looks over at photos of John on the mantle when Brady comes home with Rachel from the movies. They talk about how much they enjoyed it. Rachel wishes Marlena could’ve seen it too and asks if she’s feeling better. Marlena says she is now that she’s home as Rachel hugs her.

As Xander attempts to leave the hospital through the elevator, he complains about it taking forever. Sarah mentions having problems with it lately. Xander figures it would be quicker to take the stairs at this point. Xander offers to carry the stroller if Sarah takes Victoria but Sarah decides she will just wait for the elevator. Xander says goodnight to Victoria then and that he loves her very much.

Chad complains that none of the buttons on the elevator are working while Cat can’t get reception on her phone. Chad tries screaming for help to no avail. Chad says he doesn’t do well in small spaces so they need to get out of here. Chad tries to encourage staying calm and being patient until someone comes to rescue them, but Cat says she wouldn’t count on it.

Brady asks if Marlena was able to get some rest. She says she got a little bit. Marlena suggests she and Rachel have a girls night which Rachel says sounds great. Brady says he will see them in a little while then and exits. Rachel asks Marlena why she wanted to get rid of Brady. Marlena admits she wanted to talk to Rachel alone about something very important.

Sarah calls EJ to inform him that they have an issue at the hospital that needs to be fixed immediately as one of the elevators hasn’t been working properly and even though Kayla has called the repair company, no one has come to fix it. EJ questions what she expects him to do about it. Sarah says it’s his hospital so it’s his responsibility to make sure everything is working in a safe manner. EJ tells Sarah that he’ll have someone come look at it tomorrow morning. Sarah asks what to do in the meantime. EJ suggests using another elevator or just taking the stairs to get some exercise. Sarah argues that there are people in wheelchairs that can’t take the stairs. EJ assures the elevator will be repaired first thing in the morning. Sarah calls him unbelievable and starts to say she almost wish Xander won the bid for the hospital. EJ tells her that ship has sailed, so she’s stuck with him.

Chad questions Cat saying she doesn’t think anyone is going to rescue them. Cat says they will get out eventually, but visiting hours are over so fewer people are on the floor and the elevator has been having problems all week so she doesn’t think people will notice. Chad questions no one making the elevator top priority. Cat blames EJ’s budget cuts so Chad says he will talk to him. Cat says she would appreciate that but points out that it wouldn’t help their current situation. Chad argues that people will know they are gone or Felicity will suspect something isn’t right when Cat doesn’t go home. Cat notes that Felicity is at the movies with her boyfriend, so she won’t be missed for hours. Cat suggests that they just wait.

EJ tells Sarah that he would appreciate any future complaints be made to his office and repeats that he will have the elevator fixed in the morning as he hangs up. Rita then walks in and tells EJ that she did warn him that nickel and diming the hospital would cause a revolt. EJ reminds Rita that it was her idea to terminate the yoga and wellness program which he’s heard complaints about all day. Rita says she’ll deal with them but the elevator problem is totally on EJ for canceling the maintenance program. EJ asks if there’s a reason Rita came to see him. Rita presents him with the latest budget reports and highlighted some of the important figures he might want to keep an eye on. Rita asks if there’s anything else she can do for him. EJ responds that he does have a question about his father. Rita admits that she does dream about Stefano often and she misses his wit and his grin. Rita adds that she feels the presence of Stefano in the room strongly. EJ then asks if Rita believes Stefano is really and truly gone.

Chad tries to find a way to escape the elevator but can’t. Cat sits down while Chad questions her calm behavior and asks if she’s been in this situation before. Cat responds that it’s not her first rodeo. Chad jokes that he’s not getting on an elevator with her anymore as she’s bad luck. Cat laughs off Chad being dramatic. Chad sits with Cat and decides he will stay calm and positive. Cat jokes that if they did plummet to their death, it’s kind of like skydiving.

Xander goes to the Bistro for dinner. Gwen approaches and questions him eating alone. Xander remarks that it’s better than drinking alone. Gwen thinks doing anything alone is not that exciting so she decides to join him, though Xander suggests she not join him.

Sarah walks through the town square with Victoria and stops to catch her breath. Brady approaches and asks if she’s okay. Sarah explains that she just carried Victoria down six flights of stairs at the hospital because the elevator was broken. Brady questions why she didn’t use another elevator or ask for help. Sarah admits she wanted to prove a point to herself that she’s a very self-reliant and capable of woman who can take care of Victoria on her own, but she proved that she’s stupid and stubborn, joking that she had a lot of time to contemplate her life choices as she went through six long flights of stairs.

Rachel guesses that Marlena wants to talk about Johnny’s trial, complaining that it’s all anyone is talking about. Marlena knows she’s upset about having to testify in court and that Kristen and Brady told her she needs to tell the truth. Marlena declares that she’s here to also tell her it’s very important to tell the truth. Rachel responds that EJ wants her to lie. Marlena ask what he said. Rachel says he didn’t say anything but hinted at it. Rachel asks if she shouldn’t listen to EJ since she does have to tell the truth.

Rita tells EJ that of course his father is dead and asks why he would ask that. EJ explains that Susan claims that she can sense his presence and that he’s still alive. EJ points out that they never did actually find the body. Rita says she can only tell him what Dr. Rolf told her which is that Stefano did survive Hope shooting him, only to die years later while in hiding. EJ does find it strange that Stefano never said goodbye or came home. Rita questions if EJ really believes this is true. EJ says of course not and that he’s sure Susan just got her wires crossed so there’s nothing more to it.

Gwen questions Xander’s mood. Xander blames Gwen interrupting his lovely solitary meal. Gwen assumes he’s having lots of solitary meals lately so she thought this was a chance to shake things up a bit. Xander talks about enjoying every moment with his daughter lately. Gwen asks if he means instead of the moments he’s currently spending with her.

Sarah and Brady sit together in the town square. Sarah brings up not being able to go to Bermuda because of Xander, but says she doesn’t want to bore Brady with the details of her failed marriage. Brady reminds her that if she needs to vent, he’s her guy and that he’s not going to cast judgment. Sarah admits she shouldn’t be complaining since Xander did something very nice today and brought Victoria to her a day early because she was asking for her which Brady calls shocking. Sarah and Brady agree that co-parenting with someone you’re fighting with all the time sucks.

Marlena assures Rachel that it’s very important she tell the truth about what she saw on the night that EJ was shot. Rachel says that’s what Brady told her too but she loves Johnny and doesn’t want to see him go to prison. Marlena says the best thing she can do to help is tell the truth and then the grown ups will handle it. Marlena assures that they won’t let Johnny go to prison.

Rita tells EJ that she understands why he’d like to believe his father was alive because of how much they cared for each other. EJ acknowledges that he never got a chance to say goodbye. Rita says that Dr. Rolf was a miracle worker, but everyone has to die, even the great Stefano DiMera. EJ admits he still misses him every day. Rita says she does as well. EJ calls Rita his right hand woman who knew where the bodies were buried.

Cat asks Chad how the trial went for him. Chad says that EJ actually thanked him for what he said on the stand. Cat remembers how devastated Chad was when EJ was shot. Chad adds that after the trial, EJ called him over to the house to thank him and says she would not believe the scene he walked in on. Chad explains that Susan Banks believes she’s a psychic and is training to become a medium, so she was sensing Stefano’s presence and thinks he’s still alive. Cat asks if Chad thinks that could be true.

Gwen assumes Xander is not enjoying his time with her and says she’s a bit surprised because she thought they were on good terms and brings up the other night until he ditched her. Gwen tells Xander that Leo did see them going in to the Salem Inn together. Xander guesses Sarah doesn’t give a damn what he does these days since they will be legally separated tomorrow when the papers are filed. Gwen says she’s sorry to hear that which Xander questions. Gwen states that she’s not completely heartless. Gwen thinks Xander’s problem is that he’s always trying to change himself for Sarah when he knows he’ll never be good enough for her. Gwen thinks his whole good boy act is not him and she much prefers the moody Xander as being more fun.

Brady assures Sarah that he understands the struggles of shared custody. Sarah brings up Brady saying he regretted the war that he and Kristen waged over Rachel, so she doesn’t want to repeat those mistakes with Victoria. Brady is glad because he thinks the fallout of his war with Kristen affects Rachel every day. Sarah praises Rachel’s qualities and jokes that she wouldn’t credit Kristen. Brady credits Marlena, Belle, and the rest of the family including Sarah as influences. Brady reminds Sarah that she raised Rachel for the first year of her life, giving her love and security. Brady calls it sad but best that was the most stable year of her life. Sarah thanks him for saying that, but asks if things are getting better for her. Brady states that he and Kristen are on the same page and Rachel’s appointments have been helpful as long as her time with Marlena. Brady jokes that he was kicked out of the house so they could have girl talk.

Rachel mentions that Brady and EJ both say that Johnny is innocent. Marlena adds that she believes that as well. Rachel brings up seeing Johnny with the gun while Marlena points out that she didn’t see Johnny shoot EJ. Rachel questions who did it if Johnny didn’t. Marlena says they don’t know that yet which is why she wanted to ask her if she remembers anything else from that night that she hasn’t told anybody yet, like if anyone else came to the house that night. Marlena tells her to take her time and really think about it. Rachel responds that she’s sorry but swears she doesn’t remember anything else. Marlena says it’s okay and she believes her. Marlena is just so sorry she has to go through this ordeal, but encourages that it will all turn out okay. Marlena tells Rachel that she loves her so much as they hug.

Chad tells Cat that Stefano’s nickname was the Phoenix because he had a habit of rising from the ashes when everybody thought he was gone, but says this time there’s no way he’s alive. Cat asks how he can be sure. Chad responds that Stefano had his issues but one of his biggest redeeming qualities was how much he loved his family so there’s no way he wouldn’t reach out to them. Cat asks if they were close. Chad says they had their moments and mentions not knowing Stefano was his father until he was a teenager. Chad feels they didn’t have nearly enough time together before he died, unlike EJ who Stefano raised as his own which is probably why EJ is so much like him. Cat says based on everything she’s read on Stefano, it seems he was quite the criminal mastermind and asks if EJ shared that too. Chad says he doesn’t know about that. Cat brings up EJ being shot by Clyde Weston when running drugs for him. Chad hopes that EJ learned his lesson.

EJ thanks Rita for the reality check and the budget report. Rita adds that she’s no fan of excess waste, she does think EJ is pinching more pennies than he needs on the hospital. Rita says profits are up so he could loosen the purse strings a bit. EJ responds that those extra pennies will come in handy soon as he has grand plans. Rita asks if he wants to share his plans.

Sarah tells Brady that she hopes things with her and Xander will be better now that they’ve signed the separation papers. Brady feels they are being awfully sensible about the whole thing. Sarah asks if there’s something wrong with that. Brady says not at all but Sarah did admit that she still loves Xander which makes him wonder if there’s something up with this whole facade. Sarah acknowledges that Brady’s not wrong. Sarah brings up that next week would be her and Xander’s one year wedding anniversary. Sarah says they were so happy then compared to now. Sarah adds that a few months ago, they were talking about having a second child. Sarah says a house full of kids is all she ever wanted but guesses it wasn’t meant to be.

Gwen argues that Xander has to admit that they had a lot of fun being bad together. Gwen says maybe he and Sarah weren’t meant to be together and calls it a shame seeing Xander being sad all the time as it’s not the Xander she knows. Xander says he’ll spare them any more torture and be on his way as he then walks out of the Bistro, leaving Gwen frustrated.

Chad suggests he and Cat play Never Have I Ever. Cat doesn’t know if she could come up with anything that could shock Chad. Chad is sure she could and tells Cat to go first. Cat says she once pushed her brother Mark on a swing until he fell off and got a concussion. Chad reveals that he once faked a brain tumor to get a guy to break up with Abigail, blaming it on being young, dumb, and in love. Cat says she snuck backstage at a NSYNC concert to try to meet Justin Timberlake but she got kicked out. Chad reveals that he once won a drag queen contest which Cat wishes there was a video of. Cat decides she can’t top that and Chad wins.

EJ tells Rita that it’s not that he doesn’t trust her but all will be revealed in time. Rita hopes that whatever his plans are include repairing the hospital elevator to avoid a lawsuit. EJ then gets a call back from his daughter Sydney.

Chad tries yelling for help again but it doesn’t work. Cat gives Chad some water and finds some mints but she only has one left so they joke about who should take it. It ends up falling on the floor and Chad takes it while Cat admits she’s glad she isn’t stuck in the elevator alone.

Rachel worries to Marlena about her Grandma Rachel since EJ said something might happen to her if she tells anyone what she saw. Marlena promises nothing is going to happen to her and declares she won’t let anybody hurt anybody she cares about again. Marlena then gets a call and says she can’t believe it.

Cat comments to Chad that they have been in the elevator for over an hour. Chad says it feels like an eternity. Cat decides she will try to rest her eyes. Chad questions her taking a nap when they are trapped like this. Cat suggests he try it too to help pass the time. Chad argues that he can’t sleep like this. Cat says her only problem is it’s a little cold in there, so Chad gives her his jacket.

Sarah tells Brady that she should get Victoria home. Brady apologizes as he didn’t mean to suggest she should give up on her marriage to Xander, feeling they could work things out. Sarah doubts that would happen and understands Brady was trying to be helpful because he’s such a great friend. Sarah and Brady hug right as Xander and Gwen come out from the Bistro and see them together.

EJ tells Sydney that he’s sorry she’s still in pain from her surgery but he hopes her doctors and Sami are taking good care of her. EJ tells Sydney that’s a surprise as he hangs up. EJ then informs Rita that Sydney gave him some interesting news about Sami.

Marlena says that means so much to her and she can’t wait to see her as she hangs up. Rachel asks who was on the phone. Marlena reveals it was Sami and announces she’s coming home tomorrow.

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Days Short Recap Tuesday, August 5, 2025

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Recap written by Michele and Cheryl

Chad overheard Julie badmouthing Cat and wanted her to stop doing it. He refused to change his mind about Cat. Julie wouldn’t do it either. Chad reminded her that he’s an adult and wanted her to keep her thoughts to herself. His demeanor came off strong because Julie started crying. She apologized and told Chad that he meant the world to her. Spending time with his kids was the best thing for her right now. She enjoyed spending time at the bookstore. Julie hinted that he buy the bookstore. The kids would love it. Chad thought the book business was shrinking. Julie thought it would be great to teach the kids about the joys of reading. Chad agreed with her but thought she should buy the bookstore. Julie had reasons not to buy it.  Sarah told Marlena that her test results came back negative. They didn’t show anything wrong with her. She said nothing was wrong. Marlena felt like Susan’s premonition was a problem. She told Sarah that she found a therapist and had a great conversation with Sami. Marlena shifted the conversation to Sarah and Xander. Sarah did tell her some of her story until she decided to talk about Marlena’s condition again. She was determined to find answers for her. Sarah told Marlena that she reminded her of both her fathers. At the mention of Neil and Mickey, Sarah started crying because she was still raw from losing her daughter. She let Marlena know that there are theories about her condition. Johnny went to the DiMera mansion and saw Susan. Susan wasn’t happy to hear that Sami was in town. It didn’t help that Sami wasn’t going to be at the courthouse. She was there for one day. Johnny defended his mother to Susan. EJ heard them talking and tried to defend Sami. Susan wasn’t having it and went off about her. She said that Sami had good parents and now Marlena went to the dark side. EJ wanted to talk to his mother alone so he sent Johnny off to get legal documents. After Johnny left, EJ wanted an explanation from his mother. Susan told him that things weren’t vibing with Marlena. He told her that she was mourning. EJ wanted her to use her powers to find his shooter Susan left the mansion.

Xander wanted to know why Gabi wanted to meet with him for lunch. Once she heard that he and Sarah were separated, she wanted to do something to make him feel better. He agreed to dinner with her, but he received an upsetting call. Gabi wanted to know what happened. Somebody filed a FOIA request on the takeover of DiMera Enterprise. Gabi didn’t understand the problem. Xander didn’t want to answer her question and wanted her to leave. Susan ran into Marlena and apologized for the things she said about her. She didn’t feel right and realized what was wrong with Marlena. Susan told Marlena that it was something blood draining which made her uncomfortable. Marlena wanted to leave. Xander ran into Sarah at the square. Things got awkward when he told her that he saw her hugging Brady. Sarah told him that people could hug without it leading to anything. She snapped at him to get over himself.

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Days Short Recap Monday, August 4, 2025

Daytime Soap Opera Short Recaps

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Recap written by Michele and Cheryl

While Chanel and Johnny were in the town square, Felicity came up them and told them Cat was missing. Chanel told Johnny to be with his mother and took Felicity to the police station. At the Horton House, Julie and JJ didn’t know where Chad was. JJ went to the police station and wanted to put out a B.O.L.O. for Chad. Chanel and Felicity showed up to tell him that Cat was missing. JJ assumed Chad and Cat were together. Marlena and Sami reunited. Sami apologized for not making it home to say goodbye. Marlena was appreciative that she was there now. Sami was upset with herself for not visiting enough or thanking John enough. She was also sorry that she treated John the way she did. Sami said he treated her like a daughter. Marlena said he thought of Sami like a daughter. Sami was upset that it was too late to make it right. Marlena let Sami know that John knew how she felt. They talked about John and how he loved Sami and was proud of her. While they were talking, Sami said she would be there for her. Johnny showed up and reunited with his mother. Marlena left to give them space.

Johnny told Sami that he didn’t expect her to be at his trial since EJ was defending him. While they were talking, they talked about John. After they finished talking, Johnny told her he had to get ready for court. When Sami was alone, she talked to John’s picture. She thanked him for making her who she was. There was a flashback of John supporting Sami when she was marrying Lucas. Marlena and Julie ran into each other at the hospital. Julie told her what was going on with Chad. When she noticed the out of order sign on the elevator, she figured out what was going on. Cat woke up in the elevator after having a nightmare. She told him she was having recurring dreams about the car accident. Cat decided she wanted to get out of the elevator and decided to climb out. Her plan didn’t work. Julie knocked above the elevator and called out to them. Chad and Cat were able to hear her. Later on, Julie talked to Marlena about Cat. She told Marlena that Chad and Abby’s love was eternal like her love for Doug and Marlena’s love for John. Julie said Chad was Abby’s husband. Marlena told Julie that Chad should fall in love again. Julie wanted Chad to fall in love again with someone like Cat. Sami talked to John’s picture again. There was a flashback of John visiting Sami in prison. She promised John that everyone would take care of Marlena.

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Days Update Thursday, July 31, 2025

Days of Our Lives Update

 

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Update written by Joseph

Steve and Kayla are making pizza together at home when Kayla notes that Steve isn’t as enthusiastic as usual and asks if something is wrong. Steve acknowledges that she always could read him like a book, so she asks what’s going on. Steve tells her it’s a case he’s working on and he’s stumbled on something that could affect Stephanie.

Stephanie goes home where she is surprised to see Alex is inside cooking, wearing an apron with his shirt off.

Rafe walks through the town square with Tesoro and runs in to Cat. Rafe says he’s glad he ran in to her because he’s meaning to contact her to thank her for everything she did for Holly and Arianna. Cat calls it just part of the job while Rafe says they are home safe because of her. Cat says she didn’t know Rafe had a baby. Rafe clarifies that he isn’t his and calls it a long story. Chad then walks up so Cat greets him.

At the hospital, Sarah runs in to Xander with Victoria. Sarah ask what he’s doing there and if something is wrong with Victoria.

At the DiMera Mansion, Susan remarks that some days EJ sounds just like Stefano. Susan then starts to panic about feeling Stefano’s presence and declares that he’s here. EJ questions what she’s saying. Susan shouts that Stefano DiMera is alive.

Chad apologizes for interrupting but Cat and Rafe say he’s not at all. Chad didn’t know they knew each other. Cat explains that she’s been in Salem for awhile now and they have crossed paths a few times. Rafe claims he dropped one of Tesoro’s toys and Cat was nice enough to pick it up. Cat thanks Chad again for picking up Felicity. Chad says he was happy to help and he hopes everything worked our with her work emergency. Cat says everything is good now and thanks him. Chad says he’s glad to hear it and then walks away. Cat tells Rafe that was close and worries about anyone finding out that she’s in the ISA or that Rafe is her partner. Rafe suggests not tempting fate but Cat says there is something she needs to talk to him about, just not here, so they walk away.

EJ tells Susan that she’s not making any sense. Susan says she doesn’t want it to be true either but insists that she feels Stefano’s presence. EJ argues that Stefano has been dead for nearly a decade and Susan’s never had this vibe that he was still alive, so he questions why now. Susan says that was before she became a medium.

Kayla questions Steve learning something in a case that could affect Stephanie. Steve says he can’t really get in to particulars, but his new client asked him to look in to a matter involving the Kiriakis family and he came across something disturbing. Kayla asks if it’s about Alex.

Alex hopes Stephanie is in the mood for Greek tacos. Stephanie calls this incredibly sweet and sexy and a perfect surprise to come home too. Alex is glad because the surprises don’t end there as they kiss.

Xander tells Sarah that nothing is wrong and Victoria is fine. Sarah questions what he’s doing there then. Xander informs her that Victoria had been very vocal about wanting to see her mom, so he thought he’d see if she wanted to take her for the night. Sarah is surprised and calls that very nice of him but notes that she thought he wasn’t going to bring her by until tomorrow. Xander repeats that Victoria wanted to see her tonight. Xander adds that if she’s still on the clock, he can wait there with Victoria. Sarah calls that very generous of him but also very unlike him to do without an ulterior motive so she questions what the catch is.

Stephanie asks Alex about his other surprise. Alex presents his tablet and reveals her manuscript is a real book and is at the printers as they speak. Stephanie looks it over and points out the passage that she told him about and says she thought he was having it removed.

Kayla asks Steve how bad it is. Steve says that’s to be determined. Kayla says that’s not very comforting. Steve reveals that several years ago, before Alex came back to Salem, he was arrested for a couple of crimes. Steve says the charges are not clear yet but his sources will get back to him on that soon. Steve states that all he knows is that Alex plead guilty to overwhelming evidence. Kayla asks if Alex’s family knows about this. Steve informs her that he spoke with Justin, who said Alex was young and stupid, got a slap on the wrist, and then straightened himself out. Kayla says that’s a good thing. Steve says maybe he shouldn’t have brought it up, but it upset him to hear this about Alex because it reminded him of someone else that Stephanie dated years ago who turned out to be bad news…

Xander asks Sarah if she’s heard of positive reinforcement. Sarah responds that she’s positive that he’s always up to something these days. Sarah says she’s just confused as she thought they agreed the nanny would handle the hand offs so they didn’t have to see each other. Xander says fine if that’s the way she wants it but Sarah stops him.

Cat tells Rafe that it must have been a shock to suddenly become a foster parent. Rafe responds that he’s had plenty of experience with all the children in his family. Cat calls him a natural as he seems like he’s done this before. Rafe says thankfully Javi and Leo have taken the lead on this. Rafe acknowledges that everyone is saying Leo has changed, including Chad who has to be a pretty good judge of character. Cat complains that Chad will realize she’s lying to him again and she hates doing that. Rafe points out that it’s for the greater good as they have to find out what EJ is up to with the hospital, noting that the ISA and FBI both think he’s up to something. Cat worries about investigating in public while Rafe points out that maybe it was a blessing in disguise as now Chad knows they know each other so if people see them together, they won’t think it’s weird. Cat says what she needs to talk to him about can’t be discussed in public as she has an issue with the case. Cat explains that her job at the hospital was an advantage for her in the case but since John died, Marlena has been out a lot so she’s been having to make up excuse after excuse to still show up there. Rafe admits he was worried about that. Rafe guesses Cat hasn’t found anything out yet there. Cat says just complaints about EJ being a terrible manager, budget cuts, and shortage of staff. Rafe says there is a chance EJ is just doing this to shake up the hospital plans, but that would be petty for EJ. Cat agrees as Rafe notes that EJ is not a patient man. Cat wonders what EJ is really up to.

EJ questions Cat saying she’s a medium and it not going against her faith. Cat explains that the website says her talents are a blessing from the lord that she uses to promote love, healing and peace. EJ jokes that he’s going to need more alcohol as he takes another drink. Cat says she is connecting with the spirit world and right now, she does not like the connection she is making one bit.

Rafe tells Cat that she’s come to the right place for a tutorial on all things DiMera. Cat knows he’s had some intense experiences with them through the years. Cat states that she knows Chad and she’s had run ins with EJ and Kristen, but asks about Tony. Rafe responds that Tony is one of the good DiMeras, unlike his twin brother Andre who was killed by Abigail when she was not in her right mind. Rafe says at least they know where he ended up unlike some of the DiMera siblings like Stefan and Megan who disappeared and Megan’s son Dimitri who they only recently learned about and seems to have vanished. Cat asks what about Stefano and asks if they are really sure he’s dead.

EJ suggests Susan could just feel a breeze from the air conditioner. Susan tells EJ not to tease her and argues that she’s never been wrong about these things before. Chad comes in and says he can come back but Susan says he’s just in time as she was just telling EJ that Stefano DiMera lives and that is very bad, so they need to do something about it.

Kayla guesses Steve is talking about Jeremy Horton. Steve talks about how Jeremy though pretty highly of himself until he and Bo found out that he had a criminal record. Kayla recalls Stephanie admitting that he got abusive with her but encourages that Alex isn’t Jeremy. Kayla doesn’t think Alex would ever lay a hand on Stephanie. Steve says he’s not saying he would but he wishes he never found out about this since he was never Alex’s biggest fan. Kayla knows he was warming up to him but points out that Justin said he straightened up his act. Steve points out that Jeremy swore to have changed too. Steve says on one hand, he feels Stephanie deserves to know so she can make up her own mind but on the other hand he feels it’s none of his damn business and he should drop it.

Alex assures Stephanie that he told Kate to remove the passage. Stephanie points out that she obviously didn’t and asks if Kate went rogue or something. Alex blames himself but Stephanie says she should’ve told Kate herself how important it was to her to have it cut. Alex assures he will straighten it out and have it cut now. Alex makes a call, saying it’s very important that he talk to Kate. Alex is put on hold but repeats to Stephanie that he’s going to make it right.

Xander tells Sarah that she made it clear he’s not welcome here. Sarah apologizes for questioning the very nice thing he’s done for her but she’s under a lot of stress. Xander guesses it’s more budget cuts from EJ. Sarah explains that she had a very long conversation with a patient about a very difficult decision they had to make as a parent. Xander is sorry if he touched a nerve. Sarah says it’s just that talking with her patient made her realize how lucky they are to be able to provide for Victoria. Xander brings up that they can no longer live with each other. Sarah responds that it may not seem like it and she might hate that she does at times, but admits she still loves Xander and she always will. Xander responds that he feels the same way.

Rafe tells Cat that he sees where she’s going but brings up how old Stefano would be now, so he doubts that he’s still among them. Cat brings up the fountain of youth serum and Stefano’s essence being contained in a microchip. Rafe points out that was all destroyed but admits that they wouldn’t know if there was a backup. Cat says she was looking for reassurance but now she’s got Rafe questioning things too. Rafe says he’s just saying to never count anything out in Salem, especially when it comes to the DiMeras. Cat decides she will go back to the hospital to poke around a bit more. They agree to meet back here at noon tomorrow. Cat tells Rafe that from what she’s learned of Stefano, she really hopes he is dead. Rafe says he does too, but there’s a reason that Stefano was known as The Phoenix, because he always found a way to rise from the ashes…

EJ tells Chad that Susan fancies herself as a medium now. Susan insists that she’s taking a course and everything. Chad asks if she talks to the dead. Susan responds that she does and she feels Stefano’s presence, not in a body but in soul. Susan decides she will excuse herself and go walk around to feel the energies. Chad guesses that’s not why EJ invited him over. EJ confirms that he wanted to talk to Chad about what happened at the trial and to thank him for what he said on the stand about their family. EJ says he’s sure it went a long way with the jury and it meant a lot to him. Chad responds that he just spoke the truth as he believes Johnny is a good kid, EJ is a good father and he loves him. EJ responds that he loves him too. EJ says all this talk about Stefano has got him thinking about how important family is and invites Chad to stay for dinner. Chad says that sounds nice but he has to get to the hospital and mentions complaining about the new hours. EJ says they had to cut back on costs. Chad tells EJ to wish Susan luck on her studies as he exits.

Steve asks Kayla if he should speak up or stay out of it. Kayla thinks Stephanie has a good head on her shoulders and she remembers Steve being a bad boy that nobody approved of with a checkered past. Steve admits that back in the day, he’s pretty sure he did worse things than Alex might have done. Kayla says it was nothing that wasn’t redeemable and she was lucky to meet him when she did, but their daughter has not been lucky in love. Steve says maybe because she was looking for a bad boy like him. Kayla encourages that Stephanie is happy now so she doesn’t want to rock the boat. Steve agrees to keep an eye on Alex and not say a word to Stephanie.

Alex finishes his call with Kate and informs Stephanie that the manuscript already went to print so there’s no fixing this problem unless they stop the whole run. Stephanie worries about it costing a fortune. Alex assures that she’s more important than any profit. Stephanie thanks him and admits she’s not thrilled about it but says it’s not the end of the world. Stephanie notes that particular passage had some history in it which Alex questions. Stephanie explains it was inspired by something that happened between her and an ex, so she didn’t want him to see it. Alex asks if her ex is a big romance novel guy. Stephanie says not that she knows of, so Alex encourages that she’s in the clear then and questions the odds of her ex picking up a copy of the book. Stephanie agrees and that he wouldn’t even know she wrote it. Alex assures that she has nothing to worry about but he does feel terrible about the mistake. Alex asks if she’s sure she’s okay with it. Stephanie guesses she will have to be.

Sarah acknowledges that she and Xander still love each other and says at least they still have that in common. Xander asks where that leaves them. Sarah hopes they are in a decent place because they have to move forward to do right by Victoria, which means being at peace with their decision to separate legally. Xander asks if that’s what she wants. Sarah responds that she thinks so. Xander then presents Sarah with an envelope from his attorney. Sarah sees it’s papers for their separation. Xander calls it pretty standard and says all she has to do is sign it.

Kayla asks Steve if he’s okay. Steve says he is thanks to her and doesn’t know what he would do without her. Kayla says he’ll never have to find out because she’s his forever. Kayla calls Steve a great dad and husband as they kiss.

Alex promises Stephanie has never had anything like the tacos he made for her. Stephanie jokes that they better be after his screw up. Alex suggests blaming Kate, but notes that Kate was wondering if Stephanie has any other books that she’s been working on. Stephanie thinks that’s premature, noting her first book isn’t even out yet. Alex points out that she didn’t say no. Stephanie admits she may have something but says it’s a completely different genre, revealing it’s more of a murder mystery.

Sarah guesses Xander did have an ulterior motive for bringing Victoria. Xander clarifies that he wasn’t going to mention it until she said she was at peace with their decision. Sarah admits everything seems to be in order and points out that Xander already signed everything. Sarah then signs the papers and hands them back to Xander, who says he will have them filed tomorrow and it will be official. Xander tells Victoria that he had the best time with her and he will see her in two days.

Chad goes to the hospital and runs in to Cat, who jokes about them running in to each other like this. Chad thought Cat had the day off work when he saw her in the town square with Rafe. Cat says she was just tying up loose ends for Marlena but says she’s glad that she ran in to Chad again since she wasn’t sure when she’d see him again since he didn’t pick Charlotte up from gymnastics. Chad says that JJ took the lead on that since he had to be in court for Johnny’s trial. Cat says she’s sure that wasn’t easy for him. Cat jokes about the DiMeras having lots of history with trials and issues with the law. Cat says she’s sure Chad has a million stories he could tell but Chad says there’s none he’d like to get in to as they walk away.

EJ complains that he wants Susan to identify his shooter and all she has done is scare away his brother. Susan responds that he did that himself when asking Chad to skew the trial coverage in his favor. EJ questions how she knew that. Susan responds that she’s still a psychic. EJ says he will get out of her hair if she will be alright by herself. Susan says she will be here trying to get in touch with her spirit guide.

Alex asks Stephanie if he can read her murder mystery. Stephanie jokes that she’d have to kill him if he did. Stephanie calls it a work in progress that she’s definitely not ready to share. Alex asks what else he’s going to do tonight then. Stephanie points out that they haven’t even had dinner yet. Stephanie adds that she’s sure there is something they can do together after dinner as they kiss.

Kayla and Steve continue kissing at home.

Chad and Cat get on the elevator at the hospital which gets jammed.

Xander watches on as Sarah asks Victoria if she’s ready to go home now.

Cat wonders what just happened and what’s going on as Chad realizes it looks like they are stuck in the elevator.

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Interview with Louise Sorel

TV Interview!

 

Louise Sorel - 2023 from her Facebook page

Interview with Louise Sorel of “Days of Our Lives” on Peacock by Suzanne 7/19/25

It was so great to speak with Louise! She’s such a legend in the theater and in daytime soaps. She worked for many years in primetime TV and movies as well.  She’s most known for playing Augusta Lockridge on the daytime soap “Santa Barbara” 1984-1991 and playing Vivian on “Days of Our Lives” since 1992 (off and on). She plays a great villain with a lot of humor and style.

She’s not only an outstanding actress, but she’s quiet beautiful. “Star Trek” had no shortage of beautiful guest stars, but she stood out in the third season episode “Requiem for Methuselah” as Rayna, the woman that Lazarus/Methuselah/Flint created to be his companion.  She made the mistake of falling in love with Captain Kirk (like so many women did) and couldn’t choose between them, which destroyed her.

Louise has a book coming out August 6th that is part memoir and part poetry. It sounds like a lot of fun. Pre-order it now!

You can hear the audio of our interview here, and the transcript is below. She was very entertaining as we walked down memory lane.

 

Suzanne:  Well, anyway, so you’ve got a book coming out in August. What made you decide to write it?

Louise: Well, actually what it is, is I’ve been journaling for years. I’ve had a rather odd and interesting life, and so I have all these journals and poems and observations and things, and friends of mine – once in a while I’d. say to a friend, “Oh, can I read you this?” And they say, “Oh, for God’s sakes, why aren’t you putting that somewhere?”

Suzanne: Right.

Louise: So, it just was in my head, and I thought, last September I went, all right, I have no excuses. So, I thought, maybe I could actually do that, because it feels productive, and I like to be productive. So, I found a brilliant editor who offered to – First of all, he was interested in the writing, which made me feel good. Some editors will say, “Are you kidding?” But he liked the work.  So, that’s how it happened, and I’m so thrilled with myself, because I can’t even believe – Even now, I can look at the book in my head and say, “Who did that?” I’m so impressed with myself for doing it, because I think a lot of people I know would like to do it, and they often they say, “Well, I’m so impressed that you did that, because I’ve always wanted to, and I just haven’t done it.” So, I encourage people to do that, if they want.

Suzanne: So, the title is, If There Were No Dogs: Musings and Mutterings. What does that mean?

Louise: Well, first of all, I’m a dog advocate. I’ve had nine to ten dogs in my life, and I can’t be without. I don’t understand – I mean, I do understand; a lot of people don’t, but for me, I would be bereft without a dog.

So, the title came from a poem I wrote, which is in the book. And it started out to be, the cover was Musings and Mutterings, and I was showing it to a PR person out in LA, who’s on Days; she’s sort of their person, and she saw the other title that I had, which was If There Were No Dogs, and she said, “I like that title better. I like that.”

I thought about it. So, I reversed it so, that it’s, If There Were No Dogs is the title, and of course the picture. The cover is with a dog. And then the Musings and Mutterings were sort of like a reference to what goes on in the book.

Suzanne: Okay, and how many dogs do you have right now?Nicolas Coster, Louise Sorel and her dog, 2019 (photo from her Facebook)

Louise: Oh, I only have one. I’m not in a position to – believe me, I would have a hundred if I could and every other animal on the planet.

Suzanne: There’s a lot of work and cost and everything.

Louise: Well, so are children, and so is life and everything else, so why not?

Suzanne: Right, right. I can’t handle more than one myself.

Louise: No, I only have one. At one point I did have two, briefly. I saved a Dobie and a little dog that I had, but I thought that Dobie deserved more than living in Westwood, Los Angeles. So, I found a farm for him that I thought he’d be happier. So, somebody took him, yeah, so he got freedom.

Suzanne: Right, but about two years ago I was walking my dog and another dog that was very skinny, it turned out to be a puppy, but it was a big puppy, came bouncing up next to us, very friendly, and followed us home. So, we kept that dog for about a week, tried to find a home for it, fattened it up because it was starving, took it to the vet and all that. It was a really sweet dog, really sweet dog.  And we fortunately found a sanctuary place that not only took it in and trained it to be a service dog for a retired firefighter in Los Angeles.

Louise: Oh, how fabulous.

Suzanne: Yeah, it turned out really well and she is thriving now. So, we get pictures of her once in a while.

Louise: Oh, that’s great. And your dog is wonderful.

Suzanne: Oh, thank you. She’s a sweetie. Everybody loves her.

Louise: What a great looking dog.

Suzanne: Thank you. Yeah, my husband calls her the star of the internet, but she’s not really, but…

Louise: Well, you know, I was going to – I have a thing. I’m thinking of doing. It’s a one-woman show, and it’s called My Life with Dogs and Other Men. [laughs] Which sort of made me laugh when I thought about it. And I visualized the opening of it, which just the opening alone I think would be worth it. I would have a stage, and it would be a cutout of every dog I’ve owned, every shape, size, color, done by an artist. And when people came into the theater, they’d all be barking. Then, I would come out on stage with a little wagon filled with all kinds of paraphernalia and memories and tell them all to be quiet, and one by one they would stop barking. I thought, I think that’s a great opening for a show, and then maybe that’ll be it, and then I’ll say, “Curtain!”

Suzanne: Where do the husbands come into it, though?

Louise: Oh, yeah, well, you know. Well, quite frankly, they’re dead. But it was just a thought. I think it could be a very funny entertainment. But at any rate.William Shatner (Captain Kirk) and Louise Sorel (Rayna) in "Star Trek" (photo from her Facebook)

Suzanne: So, yeah, I remember that you’ve done a lot of different movies and TV shows, but I remember you playing Rayna in the original Star Trek, and I was looking at your IMDb, and I see that you also co-starred with William Shatner, or [rather], guest-starred with William Shatner, in an episode of “Route 66,” and on his show “Barbary Coast” in the 70s, which I loved (that show). So, you worked with him quite frequently?

Louise: Yes, we got on well. You know, he was a horseman. So, I used to ride with him. He did horse shows out in the valley, Los Angeles, and I did some of that with him. We just, you know, he’s one of these people if you have a sense of humor, and you look right at him, and you just start laughing. I mean, maybe not with anybody anymore, but we always had this, I don’t know what it was, it would trigger something, and we would just start giggling, because he looks like he’s going to burst into laughter.

Suzanne: He’s a funny guy.

William Shatner (Captain Kirk) and Louise Sorel (Rayna) in an episode of "Route 66" (photo from IMdb)Louise: Yes, he is. And so, I mean, we got on very well, even on “Star Trek.” There’s a picture in my book that I – You know, you have to put some pictures in. So, there’s a picture of me dancing with Bill, because we did a waltz or something. And I just put a notation under that saying, “Excuse me, what did you say?” That’s sort of our relationship. He’s 90-something now. I haven’t seen him in a long time.

Suzanne: Right. Well, he’s still doing horse shows and is active on Twitter. Yeah, whatever they let him do, he does.

Louise: Yeah, that’s how you keep going.

Suzanne: Yeah, I think so. So, you’ve had a great long career in daytime, primetime, and movies. Do you have a favorite genre that you prefer?

Louise: Theater.

Suzanne: Theater, right? That’s where you got your start, right?

Louise: Yes, yes. To me, it’s the purest form. I mean, once in a while, you’ll find, oddly enough, when I was on a show called Santa Barbara, there were a lot of theater actors. So, I’d never done a soap or seen a soap, and I wasn’t sure I was going to want to do that. Then I saw we had Dame Judith Anderson talk about the theater, and then Nicolas Coster. Nicky was in England in theater and all over the place, and we both had worked together before. And there were a couple others, Lane Davies, who does Shakespeare all the time now in Prague. So, you know, it was quite amazing to walk onto a soap opera and have that kind of group to work with. And we did work like we were in theater. So, you know, that was nice. Although, yeah, it was as close to theater for me, doing that. It ended up not being so close, because it ends up you have to get the show in the box, and you have to get it done, and everybody’s looking at their watch, and that makes it a different experience. However, it was a very good experience, I must say.

Suzanne: Plus no live audience.

Louise: No live audience, no. But, you know, I did a show with Don Rickles, and we did have a live audience. So, it was sort of like theater.

Suzanne: When was the last time you did theater?

Louise: Last, let’s see… Oh my God, I hate to say this. It was about, really seriously, about ten years ago here in New York with a transport group. We did “I Remember Mama,” and it was an absolute huge hit. And every actress in it was a theater – I call them theater rats, because they’re devoted to the theater. Wonderful actors all the way down the line. Everyone was a theater actor, and we got rave reviews here. It was supposed to move to Broadway but financially they couldn’t do it which was really a shame, because it was so unusual. I don’t know if you know the movie…

 

Suzanne: I’ve seen it, but a long time ago.

Louise: Yeah, well, it’s a lot of different characters. We were ten women doing the men, the children, and the adults. So, we were all playing – I played a younger sister. I played this very older woman who was a writer, a very arrogant sort of woman. Heather McRae played a man. I didn’t play any men, but several actresses played men as well as women, and Barbara Berry was wonderful. She played the lead character, so it was a great group of women with very unusual experience

Suzanne: Wow, that sounds great. Yes, you last appeared on “Days of Our Lives” in April. Do you know if you’ll be back again soon?

Louise: Yeah, I’ll be on in September.

Suzanne: Oh, good.

Louise: Now it’s sporadic, because I live in New York, and they have to fly me out and put me up, which is nice. And then they’ve got new writers, so I don’t know what they’re doing. I don’t know what direction it’s going in, but they might not want to just continue putting me in there unless they were to do a really interesting storyline, because Vivian’s up to cause havoc, and I don’t know if there’s anybody left for her to care about in terms of her storyline, so I have no idea, but I know I will be back. I’ve done them – I can’t remember what date, March I think, and they’ll be on in next September

Suzanne: Oh, good. I know you have a lot of fans out there who always enjoy Vivian coming on and causing trouble.

Louise: It’s kind of fun to do that. You never want to be – who is it? BIlly Wilder or something [said], “Don’t be a victim.” You don’t want to play those roles.

Suzanne: Well, I think Vivian plays the victim in her mind, but nobody else agrees.

Louise: Yes, exactly.

Suzanne: Exactly. I’ve watched Days off and on since the 90’s. I’ve seen a lot of your work. I think my favorite was when Vivian buried Carly alive. Do you have a favorite Days storyline?

Louise: Well, that was fun, because we committed to that. I’ve been very lucky, because the writers… I don’t know what possessed them, but they wrote me some pretty funny stuff. I mean, I was Elvis Presley. I was a French woman. I had something put in my teeth so that I was being operated [on] by – I mean there were just so many

Suzanne: Controlled by Stefano…

Louise: That’s right. I mean it was always surprising. I remember walking in one day to the wardrobe department there was a wonderful man doing the wardrobe there, Richard Bluer just fabulous, and he said, “Do you want to know what you’re wearing tomorrow?” And he said “Maybe not. I don’t think I’m going to tell you that.” So, I walk in, and there is a large box of french fries. I mean, large – you know 6 feet high or not quite 5 something. I said, “Richard please tell me.” He said, “Yep, that’s you.” I was a box of french fries, and Ivan, my butler, was a hamburger. So, you know, as much as I thought they were out of their minds, when I reflect on it, I thought, “Thank you.” I had such a fun time to be quite insane, so it makes it much more fun than doing a mournful dreary victim storyline where you’re crying all the time and wondering who did what to you. I’d much rather do it to somebody.

Suzanne: I always loved Vivian and Ivan’s relationship

Louise: Oh, so did I. I’m sad they didn’t bring that back, because we talk once in a while. He used to come into work and say “Madam” – he called me madam – “do we have any lines today?” Ivan, we’ve got 20 pages. I mean it would drive me nuts. I mean, he knew the work, but we had that kind of relationship, and I thought it was a very good one that worked well in the show

Suzanne: What is he doing now?

Louise: He lives in Santa Fe on a really lovely piece of property. He also does go to work. He’s from Prague, and I think he goes and works there once in a while. I haven’t spoken to him in a while, but I’d like to say “hello.” I was very fond of him. I mean to have that kind of person to work with was just – I actually got a T-shirt that said “madam feels like shit today” [laughs] because that would be sort of our relationship. Yeah, we had a great time.

Suzanne: Yeah, they definitely should bring him back, too.

Louise: Oh, yes.

Suzanne: So, you’ve appeared in so many plays, tv shows and movies…Which character, that you’ve played, do you have a favorite?

Louise: You know, I can’t say that I do. I wonder when people say they have a favorite that you don’t spend that much time with these characters. There’re so many of them. I had more of an enjoyment of being able to play a Greek girl, because I do dialects, or a gypsy. I was thrown into a lot of those roles – a French girl on “Rat Patrol” – and that was so enjoyable for me, but it wasn’t any one specific, because they don’t last that long.

Suzanne: Sure, especially back then…

Louise:  Right, and Broadway shows – I mean, I did several, but I can’t really say that any one particular thing was more a favorite than another. I just enjoyed doing it whatever it was.

Suzanne: Well, you probably played Vivian longer on the screen than anyone else.

Louise: That’s true. I do love the character. You know, at first I was very intrigued, and then there was a point where I was doing really silly things, but now I realize that that was part of the charm of the character. I would balk at certain things they ,wanted for instance the burying alive of Carly. When it said, “Vivian does a jig,” and I said “What are they talking about?” So, I marched up the stairs and said, “Excuse me; I don’t jig.” I had a tendency to make statements or ask questions. I’m very loving of my character, and I always want to protect them. So, he said – mortified – he said “What is it you want to do?” because of course he couldn’t come up with anything, one of the producers. I said, “I have no idea, but I’m going to a lunch hour, and I’m going to work on it,” which I did. So, I came up with – don’t ask, I don’t know where it came from, maybe Shakespeare – she loves me; she loves me not. I did this strange wandering around the grave and the crew was in shock, because they just pulled the camera back, and they said, “We don’t know what she’s going to do. Okay, shoot it,” and then it was dead silence when I finished, and a couple of people said it gave them chills, but whatever. You know, it’s sort of fun to create those things.

Suzanne: Well, it was definitely memorable for sure, even though they kind of repeated it a little bit later on with other characters.

Louise: Yeah. I didn’t get anything to cover to make sure they couldn’t steal it, but anyway…

Suzanne: Was there anything that you wish that you could have done on Days or any of the other soaps that you didn’t get to do?

Louise: Well, I don’t know, because each of them was so different. The characters were so different. You sort of go along with what they write for you, and the things that I would do that may not have been appropriate for the character, I did have an idea about something which I went and told one of the producers, and I won’t say who, but another character ended up doing what I had suggested, and that was as annoying as hell, but, you know, nothing you can do about that. I did have an idea of playing a character that was my twin sister who is a Brit coming over and being my conscience, and the other character saying, “Vivian, what the hell do you think you’re doing? Stop it!” You know, a conscience sort of character. It didn’t happen, but you think about those things.

Louise Sorel (Vivian on "Days of Our Lives") photo from her Facebook PageSuzanne: You were on “One Life to Live” as a judge, And “Port Charles”…

Louise: No, I think on One Life I was a lawyer. I was a lawyer on that, and judge on “All My Children.”

Suzanne: And you were a fashion designer on Port Charles briefly.

Louise: Very briefly [laughs] very very briefly, yes.

Suzanne:  So, would you do any of the other soaps that are on now if they asked you to? “General Hospital,” or “Young and the Restless,” “The Bold and The Beautiful?”

Louise: Well, you always want to work. I think what’s happened, and I don’t know if I could work that way anymore, and it’s nobody’s fault… but the rapidity now of getting things done, which I experienced on Days last time, is the rush to finish, and the lack of time to really delve in and make them the best. You know, they try their best, but everybody is under the clock, and that’s a very difficult thing for everyone to work with. I mean, if it was some wonderful character for a brief thing, I think that would be fun, but there are only four shows left, and I think they’ve got enough people. I don’t think they’re looking for anything.

 

Suzanne: Well, actually, there’re five now.

Louise: Five… oh, right, [Beyond] The Gates.

Suzanne: “Beyond The Gates”, yeah… a couple of actors from the other soaps have gone over there for [more] work. I’m just glad people have work…I think everybody that works on soaps is happy that there’s a new one, just because it means it’s [not] all ending.

Louise: Yes, I mean they dwindled from twelve to four.

Suzanne: Yeah.

Louise: That’s really a lot

Suzanne: Tell me about it. When I started my site there was like nineteen, I think. (I was wrong about this, oops!)

Louise: Oh, when did you start?

Suzanne: Well, in the late 90’s

Louise: There were nineteen soaps?

Suzanne: I think there were. I’d have to go back and look. There were a lot, I know that.

Louise: I didn’t know there were that many.

Suzanne: I’ll have to go count and let you know, but yeah, just to see them go down, but you know all of TV is having that problem, not just daytime, unfortunately. And worldwide, even the British shows are having [problems] because of streaming and everything. I mean, there are more parts for actors because of streaming, but it’s hard to get people to watch so many shows. So, it’s difficult, and then all the financial problems, so, yeah… don’t mean to be doom and gloom, though…

Louise: No, but it’s true. Financially, it’s a lot of pressure, just huge, and sometimes I feel bad that sometimes I have to stop shooting a scene, and I want to correct something or make it better, and I feel sort of guilty, because I’m stopping them ,and they’re looking at their watches, but you can’t help it. If you care about something, you just want to make it the best you can.

Suzanne: Yeah, definitely. Are you still close to or in touch with any of your favorite cast mates besides Ivan?

Louise: Ivan… Well I’ve maintained a friendship, because I’m living so far away. I don’t really see them. There’s a wonderful girl on Days of Our Lives, Judi Evans, and she is an angel from heaven, that’s all I have to say. I have never met anyone like her and [with] the loss that she’s had, you would never know anything other than full love respect for everyone. She’s like a bundle of joy. I was just so overwhelmed by her generosity of spirit. We’re not close friends, but we sort of became friends when I went back on Days a couple of times. You know, you lose lots of time, because I live in New York, so I really feel like you go to do your work, and if something happens it comes out of it, like Judith McConnell.

Transcribed by Jamie

Book cover of "If There Were No Dogs": Musings and Mutterings by Louise SorelMORE INFO:

If There Were No Dogs”: Musings and Mutterings Paperback – August 6, 2025

The book is a collection of prose pieces and poems by actress Louise Sorel drawn from her life, childhood, and career. Her father was a Hollywood movie producer and her Egyptian-born mother an actress and musician. Louise Sorel began her career on Broadway with actors such as Art Carney, Charles Boyer, and Rita Moreno, and toured with George C. Scott, Walter Pidgeon, and many others. She guest-starred in dozens of TV shows and movies such as Bonanza, Route 66, Kojak, Medical Center, The Flying Nun, Airplane 2, Plaza Suite, Star Trek, and many others. She appeared as Augusta Lockridge on the show Santa Barbara, and has starred as the iconic character Vivian Allemain on the show Days of Our Lives for many years. Louise’s life and adventures from which this book comes have been motivated by her love of the theater, her devotion to dogs and other animals, and her many travels.

A flashy, aggressive, cold and calculating villainess and eternally hopeless meddler on a number of daytime soap operas, Louise Sorel has given her opulent, show-stopping characters major doses of humor and grit that have allowed her to become one of daytime’s more popular figures for over six decades.

Of Jewish heritage, Louise, whose roots are in theatre, was born on August 6, 1940 in Los Angeles to entertainment professionals. Studying at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York, she made her Broadway debut playing a teenager in the 1961 comedy “Take Her, She’s Mine” starring Art Carney and also had subsequent roles in “Lorenzo” (1963) and “Man and Boy” (1963). Her initial interest obviously was sparked by her actress/concert pianist mother Jeanne Sorel, and father Albert J. Cohen, who produced films in the 1940s and 1950s. Louise went on to co-star on Broadway with Rita Moreno in “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” in 1964 and appeared with George C. Scott and Colleen Dewhurst as Princess Alais in the 1967 Bucks County Playhouse production of “The Lion in Winter.”

Given a bit part (billed as Jacqueline Sorel) in the exploitation teen film Eighteen and Anxious (1957), Louise, in 1964, married comic actor Herb Edelman, best known for his recurring role of Bea Arthur‘s ex husband Stan in The Golden Girls (1985). Around this time, she began setting her sights on TV drama, appearing on various dramatic shows including “Dr. Kildare,” “The Defenders,” “The Trials of O’Brien,” “Route 66,” “The Rat Patrol,” “The Virginian,” “Run for Your Life,” “Star Trek,” “The Big Valley,” “The Fugitive,” “Night Gallery,” “The Bold Ones,” “Banacek,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “Owen Marshall,” “Kojak,” “Hart to Hart,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Ironside” and several episodes of “Medical Center,” as well as a recurring part on the short-lived nighttime soap opera The Survivors (1969) starring Lana Turner and George Hamilton. In a change of pace, Louise turned to comedy as Don Rickles‘ wife on his poorly-received series The Don Rickles Show (1972).

Though she divorced Edelman in 1972, Louise nevertheless co-starred with him again in the failed sitcom Ladies’ Man (1980). She met second husband actor Ken Howard in 1972 while appearing with him in a Philadelphia stage production of “Volpone.” They married a year later but divorced a couple of years later in 1975.

Appearing in support in the films Plaza Suite (1971), Every Little Crook and Nanny (1972), Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), Where the Boys Are (1984), and Crimes of Passion (1984), Louise moved quite steadily ahead not only with a regular role in the short-lived comedy series Ladies’ Man (1980), but with co-star/featured roles in the TV movies The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped (1974), The Mark of Zorro (1974), When Every Day Was the Fourth of July (1978), Mazes and Monsters (1982), Sunset Limousine (1983) and A Masterpiece of Murder (1986).Vivian (Louise Sorel) and Victor (John Aniston) on "Days of Our Lives" (photo from Days of Our Lives Fandom Wiki)

Various daytime soap operas reinvigorated Louise’s career tenfold in the late 1980s. She began her road to sudsy infamy in 1984 as the eccentric archvillainess Augusta Lockridge for the entire run of Santa Barbara (1984). From there she was given recurring roles as Judith Sanders on One Life to Live (1968) and as Donatella Stewart Port Charles (1997). In 1992, Louise joined the cast of Days of Our Lives (1965) as the manipulative Vivian Alamain. By the time she left in 2000, she had won five Soap Opera Digest Awards.

More recently, Louise has had devilish fun in the quirky soap Passions (1999) and in a recurring role on the political drama Beacon Hill (2014). Bio from IMdB

Vivian Alamain is a fictional character from Days of Our Lives, an American soap opera (that aired on the NBC network for multiple decades until its September 2022 switch to streaming via Peacock). Created by head writers Richard J. Allen and Beth Milstein, and introduced by executive producers Ken Corday and Al Rabin, the role is most recognized as portrayed by actress Louise Sorel. In addition to Sorel, the role has been portrayed by Marj Dusay, Robin Strasser and Linda Dano. (From Wikipedia)

Days of our Lives is the multi-award-winning daytime drama that has weathered and reflected political and societal shifts without pause since 1965. Featuring drama, romance, mystery, and suspense, “Days” follows the lives, loves, and conflicts of the Horton, Brady, DiMera, Kiriakis, and Hernandez families and their many friends and colleagues. As one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, it is enjoyed in many foreign territories including Canada, Sweden, New Zealand, Israel, South Africa, and Australia. Peacock is the exclusive home of Days of our Lives. Audiences can access the past season and new episodes every weekday. Days of our Lives is Nicholas Coster and Louise Sorel in "Santa Barbara" (from her Facebook page)produced by Corday Productions Inc. in association with Sony Pictures Television. (From the NBC/Uni site)

Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera that aired on NBC from July 30, 1984, to January 15, 1993.[2] The show revolves around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California. Other prominent families featured on the soap were the rival Lockridge family, and the more modest Andrade and Perkins families.

The serial was produced by Dobson Productions and New World Television, which also served as distributor for the show in international markets. Santa Barbara was the first series for New World Television.

Santa Barbara aired in the United States at 3:00 p.m. Eastern (2:00 p.m. Central) on NBC in the same time slot as General Hospital on ABC and Guiding Light on CBS and right after Another World. Santa Barbara aired in over 40 countries around the world.  It became the longest-running television series in Russia, airing there from 1992 to 2002. Santa Barbara won 24 Daytime Emmy Awards and was nominated 30 times for the same award. The show also won 18 Soap Opera Digest Awards and various other awards.  (From Wikipedia)

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

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Days Short Recap Friday, August 1, 2025

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Recap written by Michele and Cheryl

Marlena wanted to talk to Rachel about the trial. She said that she wanted Rachel to tell the truth. Rachel told her that EJ wanted her to lie. She admitted that EJ didn’t say that, but he implied that he wanted her to lie. Marlena told her that her only job was to tell the truth at the trial. She let Rachel know that she thought Johnny was innocent. They didn’t know who shot EJ. Marlena wanted to know if Rachel remembered anything else about that night. Rachel didn’t remember anything else. Sarah ran into EJ at the hospital. She demanded that he do something about the elevators not working. He didn’t care until she said it was his responsibility. EJ agreed to get it fixed the next day. While he talking to Sarah, he goaded her about Xander not getting the hospital. Rita arrived at the hospital and told EJ that nickeling and diming was going to last of long. She wondered if there was anything else that could get cut. EJ asked her if she thought Stefano was dead. She assured him that Stefano was dead. EJ told her about Susan’s theory about not finding a body. Rita told EJ that Stefano survived Hope’s shooting and died later. EJ was ready to believe what Rita said. Rita changed the subject and told him that he might be pinching the pennies too much. He said that everything was going according to his plan.

Sarah met Brady at the town square. She was kicking herself for not letting Xander help her carry Victoria down the stairs at the hospital. He offered to get a drink with her. She vented about Xander. Sarah remembered that Xander did something nice for her. Co-parenting with Xander sucked. She decided to take Brady’s advice and avoid a war with Xander. He said he and Kristen messed things up for Rachel, but she was okay. They talked about how she made the right decision by trying to be civil with Xander. EJ talked to Sydney to check on her. He found out something about Sami. Marlena promised Rachel that everything would work out. She wouldn’t let anything happen to anyone she cared about again. Marlena’s phone rang. She answered it and found out that Sami was coming home tomorrow.

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Days Short Recap Thursday, July 31, 2025

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Recap written by Michele and Cheryl

Steve talked to Kayla about the disturbing info he found about Alex. He knew it would hurt Stephanie. It turned out that Alex was arrested a few times before he returned to Salem. Alex pled guilty to the charges against him. Justin told Steve that Alex was young and straightened himself out. Steve didn’t like how it reminded him of the other guy Stephanie dated that was bad for her. Kayla reminded him that Jeremy Horton abused Stephanie, and Alex wasn’t like that. Steve understood that, but he wasn’t really a fan of Alex. He wondered if Stephanie should know the truth or should he leave it alone. Kayla believed that Stephanie had a good head on her shoulders. She talked about the bad boy she fell for (Steve). Steve admitted that he did bad things too. Alex surprised Stephanie by showing her some of her book. She became upset when she saw the passage she wanted out of the book still in it. Alex forgot to tell Kate to edit the passage out of the book. He called her, but Kate said that it was too late to take it out of the book. It would cost a fortune to take it out now. Alex was prepared to pay the cost to have it removed, but Stephanie changed her mind about it. She said that it wasn’t the end of the world. Stephanie admitted that the passage was inspired by an ex. Alex didn’t think her ex would read a romance novel. He reminded her that she used a pseudonym. Cat and Rafe met at the town square. They were talking when Chad showed up. He didn’t realize they were acquainted with each other. Cat downplayed how she and Rafe knew each other. Chad made small talk and then walked off. Cat couldn’t believe how close they were to getting caught. She wanted to talk to Rafe somewhere else. Cat talked to Rafe about what’s going on with Marlena. She hadn’t been at the hospital much so she didn’t have a reason to be there. The only things she heard was that EJ was a cheapskate. She thought it was petty for him to shake down the hospital. Cat thought EJ was after something else. Rafe was willing to tell her about the DiMeras. Cat met all of them except Tony. She wanted info about Tony. Rafe started telling her about the rest of the DiMeras. Cat wondered about Stefano. She wondered if he was really gone. Cat talked to Rafe about the microchip essence. He told her that it was destroyed unless someone made a backup. Cat was concerned about that. Rafe wouldn’t put anything past people in Salem.

Xander brought Victoria to see her mother. Sarah thought it was sweet of him to do that, but she knew that didn’t happen without a motive. Xander got upset with her and wanted to leave. Sarah stopped him from going She apologized for questioning his kindness. Sarah dealt with a difficult patient (Sophia). The patient made her more appreciative of the fact that they could provide for Victoria. While they were talking, they admitted that they loved each other. They were hoping things would go well for them. Xander gave Sarah the papers from his lawyer. Sarah thought that was his ulterior motive. He wasn’t going to say anything until she was at peace with their decision. Sarah felt like he didn’t do anything wrong. She looked through the papers and signed them. He agreed to file them the next day and said goodbye to Victoria. Susan got a chill and demanded that EJ tell her that Stefano was alive. She wasn’t happy about it, but she had a feeling that Stefano was alive. EJ reminded her that Stefano was gone for years so why was she sensing it now. Chad showed up at the mansion while Susan was talking to EJ. She said that Stefano was still alive. Susan felt like they needed to do something about it.

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Days Short Recap Wednesday, July 30, 2025

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Recap written by Michele and Cheryl

Tate sent Sophia messages asking if she heard from the adoptive parents or had any pictures of the baby. Sophia wanted Tate to let it go. Amy came into her room and asked why Sophia wasn’t over it since she wasn’t pregnant anymore. She told Sophia that she was upset that she went to Chicago to have the baby and that none of them got to hold the baby. Sophia snapped and said it was hard for her and reminded her that it was her life. Amy apologized for making it about her. She said her heart was aching that Sophia was hurting. Amy said the love Sophia had in her heart for her child would never go away. She said it was how she felt about Sophia. Sophia said having her child with people who cared was helping her. Amy said she was worried about her. When she touched her head, she realized that Sophia had a fever. Amy wanted to take Sophia to the hospital. Sophia didn’t want to go, but Amy said she was going. Johnny was upset with EJ for going after Roman the way he did in court. EJ said he had to do it to establish that other people had motives to shoot him. EJ told him to trust him. Johnny said he had to meet Chanel. Belle told EJ that he did a good job. EJ yelled at her for her opening statement attacking Johnny. She said she had a job to do just like him. EJ said Johnny was her flesh and blood and asked how she could do that to him. Belle said she tried to get out of the trial, but he interfered. She said this was what a fair trial looked like. EJ tried to apologize. He said he shouldn’t have questioned her loyalty to her family after losing her father. When he tried to comfort her, she told him they couldn’t do anything until the trial was over.

Chanel and Paulina met at the town square. They wanted to trial to be over but they didn’t want EJ to pin the crime on Chanel. Chanel said she was okay with it if it could help Belle’s case. While they were talking, Johnny showed up. He told Chanel what happened in court. Johnny and Chanel wanted to go to the pub for lunch. Paulina left so they could spend time together. She said she would pray for them. Holly met with Tate at the pub. Tate said he heard that Doug left town. He said he was glad she was okay. Holly said she hoped he got his money back from the police soon. Tate said he didn’t care because finding her was more important. Holly said she didn’t deserve his kindness since it was her fault he missed his baby being born. Tate said he was where he needed to be and he didn’t have any regrets. He said he was sorry that he wasn’t going to see his baby grow up in Salem. Tate blamed Johnny for backing out of the adoption. While he was talking, Johnny and Chanel showed up. Johnny told them about what happened in court. They talked about the baby being with her parents. Johnny and Chanel went to another table. They talked about what Tate has been going through. Chanel said she wouldn’t rest until Johnny was free. Tate talked to Holly about being disappointed that he wasn’t involved with the baby’s adoption. Holly said she understood his position as well as Sophia’s. She advised him to give Sophia some space. He said she was being so sweet and brought up how she was leaving for France. Holly said she wasn’t going and decided to go to Salem U. Tate was happy that she was staying. At the DiMera mansion, Susan told EJ she had a bone to pick with him. She said he was supposed to be a better man but that didn’t last long. EJ said he was doing what he had to do for Johnny. Susan said Johnny and Chanel were innocent. She said he knew Chanel was innocent and the truth about what he did to make Johnny look innocent would come out. Belle went to Paulina to tell her that she was resigning as DA. Paulina said she wouldn’t let her quit because it would look like she was trying to affect the trial. She told Belle that she wished she could get her off the case but it was too late. Paulina said she would be happy if the case ruined Belle’s relationship with EJ. Belle agreed to stay on the case for Johnny’s sake. Sarah checked Sophia and said there was no sign of infection. She said Sophia’s uterus was contracted more than expected for someone who just gave birth. Sophia asked if that was a good thing. When Sarah asked about the sex of the baby, Sophia froze. Sophia told Sarah that she couldn’t say anything about what she thought she knew. She ended up confessing to Sarah about what happened. Sarah asked if the baby was okay. Sophia said the baby was safe and that was all she needed to know. Sarah said she needed to know more or she would have to report it.

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Days Short Recap Tuesday, July 29, 2025

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Recap written by Michele and Cheryl

Roman talked to Kate about testifying in Johnny’s trial. Kate assured him that he would get through it. Roman left the pub as Philip showed up. He wanted to see how she was doing at Titan Publishing. He read One Stormy Night and believed it would be a best-seller. Philip wanted to know who the author was. Kate couldn’t tell him, but he reminded her that he’s in charge. He demanded to know who wrote the book. Kate refused to tell him. Philip was upset, but he believed he would figure out the person’s identity. He recognized some of the passages in the book and realized that Stephanie wrote the book. Kate told him not to say anything. Philip thought she was hiding her identity because her exes might figure out they were in her book. Chad ran into EJ at the town square and told him that he was Belle’s first witness. EJ wanted him to tell the truth. He would take care of the rest. Chad assured him that it would work out the way it should. Johnny walked by Belle while she was on the phone. He tried to get by without talking to her until she stopped him. She let him know that she loved him and believed in him. Johnny knew she was doing her job and walked into the courthouse. EJ arrived at the courthouse and barely talked to Belle. Johnny told EJ that Susan visited him. Susan believed he was innocent. EJ assured him that he was innocent. He had an idea who shot him. Johnny warned his father not to target Chanel because she didn’t shoot him.

Johnny’s trial began. Belle gave her opening statement. She planned to prove that Johnny tried to shoot his father. Belle said that Johnny’s actions were premeditated. She touched on the fact that EJ was representing Johnny. Belle felt like EJ would do anything to protect his son. EJ had his turn to make his opening statement. He drove it home that the DAs always had it in for the DiMeras. EJ pleaded with the jury not to punish him for his mistakes. Chad was the first to testify. He talked about what happened the night EJ was shot. Belle questioned Chad about Johnny’s relationship with EJ. She got Chad to admit that Johnny told him that he didn’t care if his father lived or died. It was EJ’s turn to cross examine Chad. He has Chad about the French doors being open to the outside and that he didn’t see Johnny at the mansion. Jada testified that Roman’s gun was the weapon used in the crime. EJ asked her if Johnny’s fingerprints were found on the gun and whether it was in his possession. Jada said no to both questions. She tried to bring up Johnny’s motives, but EJ stopped her before she could talk about it. EJ asked her if she had a motive to want to see him dead. She admitted that she had a motive and told someone that she wanted him dead. Roman was the next person to testify. He talked about Johnny learning about the gun, and he noticed it was missing. Roman said Johnny had a lot of reasons to be upset with EJ. He heard Johnny say he wanted to hurt his father. Roman went to follow Johnny only to find the gun in a planter at the DiMera mansion. He took the gun to protect Johnny and put it back. Roman noticed a missing bullet and wiped the gun clean before he put it away. Belle wanted to know why he did that. Roman admitted he was protecting his grandson. EJ cross-examined Roman. He had Roman admit that he never saw Johnny take the gun. EJ wanted to know how Roman felt about him marrying his daughter. Roman admitted that he didn’t like him marrying her. EJ asked him if he ever wanted him dead. He said that Roman had the motive, opportunity and the means to shoot him. It was his gun that shot him. EJ thought he could have shot him. Belle objected to his comments, and EJ withdrew them. He smugly sat down.

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Days Update Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Days of Our Lives Update

 

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Update written by Joseph

At the Kiriakis Mansion, Maggie informs Holly about Doug III stealing the necklace back and returning it to Julie. Maggie says that Julie sounded like they got to a good place. Holly says she’s glad and she wants to hear all about it, but she has to go meet Tate at the Brady Pub. Maggie asks how he’s holding up. Holly says he’s pretty bummed about Sophia giving the baby up for adoption without him getting to meet his baby. Maggie knows they agreed it was for the best, but a decision like that is never easy. Sarah walks in and says especially because Tate wasn’t there. Sarah says she didn’t mean to eavesdrop but she ran in to Brady earlier and he said that Sophia went in to labor while in Chicago. Sarah questions Sophia going to Chicago so close to her due date. Holly explains that she went with her lawyer to meet with the adoptive parents. Holly says it’s good the parents were there but it sucks that Tate didn’t get to meet his baby before the adoption was finalized. Holly says she feels really bad for Tate.

Tate sits at the Brady Pub and texts Sophia, asking if she’s heard from the adoptive parents and if she has any more pictures.

Sophia lays in bed when she gets Tate’s text. She hopes that Tate will let it go for both of them.

Maggie assures that Sophia was just doing what she thought was best for the baby. Holly feels it’s still pretty sad. Sarah invites Holly to join her and Maggie for lunch but Holly says she already has plans. Sarah tells her to have fun. Maggie reminds Holly to text her when she gets there as Holly then exits.

Johnny questions if EJ really had to go after his Grandfather like that. EJ responds that if he’s going to get him out from these charges, he needs to create reasonable doubt by pointing out there’s no shortage of people in town that wish him dead.

Paulina and Chanel have lunch in the town square. Paulina talks about being glad they get to do this when they are normally too busy. Chanel says business was a little slow which is probably good with Johnny’s trial ongoing. Chanel just hopes it’s over soon. Paulina hopes so too as long as EJ doesn’t try to point the blame at Chanel.

Johnny argues that there has to be some way without making someone else look guilty. EJ says they don’t have that reach and they are only casting doubt in the jury’s minds. EJ needs Johnny to trust him to clear his name. Johnny declares that he’s had enough of this place for today and he needs to go see Chanel, so he exits. Belle comments to EJ that it’s really tough on Johnny but she thinks when the trial is over, he will see that EJ did right by him. Belle compliments EJ on doing goo work today. EJ responds that he wishes he could say the same about her and questions what the hell her opening statement was about. EJ asks Belle how she could’ve gone after Johnny like he’s some cold-blooded killer. Belle compares it to how EJ went after Roman. EJ argues that she knows he has to make other possible suspects. Belle remarks that they both have a job to do.

Sarah tells Maggie that she’s sorry she had to cut her vacation short but says Holly and Arianna being kidnapped is a good reason. Sarah guesses they just never stop worrying about their kids and grandkids. Maggie asks how things are going on the custody front with Victoria. Sarah responds that she’ll be happy to know that Xander let her see her and they worked out a shared custody agreement, so Victoria will be home soon. Maggie calls that wonderful news but questions what she isn’t telling her. Sarah responds that they didn’t just make a decision about Victoria’s custody but about their marriage too. Sarah declares that they are going to legally separate.

Amy goes to Sophia’s room and questions her still being in bed at this hour. Sophia tells her to give her a break since she just gave birth. Amy argues that she’s not pregnant anymore so there’s no reason for her to be laying around in bed all day. Sophia calls it recovery while Amy argues that after she gave birth to her, she was back in church that Sunday. Sophia tells her to lay off. Amy questions why she should go easy on her after she went off to Chicago on her own and didn’t tell a soul before giving her grandchild away to strangers. Amy bets Tate is as furious with her as she is.

Holly meets Tate at the Brady Pub. Tate asks how she’s hanging in. Holly assures she’s good. Tate hopes she never has to go through something like that again now that Doug Williams III is gone. Tate is so relieved that she is okay as he doesn’t know what he would’ve done without her.

Amy complains that her and her husband didn’t even get to meet their grandchild or hold her and neither did Tate. Sophia asks what about her. Sophia complains that she’s talking all about what they went through while showing no sympathy for her when she’s the one who carried the baby for nine months and had to give birth. Sophia says it’s hard enough as it is without her constantly berating her for not handling it exactly how she wanted her to. Sophia declares that this is her life so she gets a say in how it goes. Amy sits with her and apologizes, saying she doesn’t mean to make it about herself. Sophia says she could’ve fooled her. Amy says being a parent is like living with your heart outside of you, unprotected, and her heart is now aching knowing that Sophia’s is broken. Amy says that Sophia was so determined to give up the baby so that she and Tate could have a better life and she wouldn’t say she told her so, but the feeling of yearning she has for her child never goes away because it’s exactly how she still feels about Sophia. Amy hugs Sophia as she cries.

Chanel argues that the video of her saying crazy things to EJ doesn’t mean people are going to believe that she shot him. Chanel says if it’s just casting doubt on Belle’s case, then she’s willing to take the hit. Paulina worries that’s not all because the video will put more pressure on Jada to make an arrest. Paulina wants Johnny acquitted too but not if it means Chanel gets railroaded. Johnny then arrives in the town square so Chanel rushes up to hug him and asks how it went in court. Johnny responds that EJ raked Roman over the coals, Belle eviscerated him in her opening statement, but other than that it was smooth sailing.

EJ questions Belle comparing her hit job of an opening statement to him questioning a witness. EJ asks how Belle could be so callous to her own family. Belle argues that she tried to get off the case because she knew how difficult it would be to prosecute her own nephew, but EJ pressured the judge to get her back on the case. Belle asks if EJ wanted a fair trial because that’s what this is. Belle says she’s being watched like a hawk, so she has to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law whether she likes it or not, just like EJ needs to give Johnny the best defense possible.

Chanel suggests they go to the Brady Pub to celebrate and they can worry about the trial tomorrow. Johnny says he can’t keep her from work but Chanel says it was slow today anyway so Johnny says he’s in then. Paulina decides she will sit this one out since she’s next to be called to the witness stand so she worries she would bring down the mood. Paulina tells them to enjoy each other. Johnny guesses he’ll see her tomorrow then. Paulina assures that she’s praying for all of them as they walk away.

Belle tells EJ that she’ll see him in court tomorrow. EJ stops her to apologize and acknowledges that he put her in a horrible position when he knows how much she loves Johnny. EJ admits he shouldn’t have questioned her being loyal to family. Belle says it’s been really hard on all of them, especially Marlena. EJ is sure she’s grateful to have Belle to lean on. EJ wants Belle to know that she can lean on him, but Belle says she can’t until this trial is over as she then exits.

Sarah tells Maggie that sometimes she doesn’t even understand how she and Xander got here as they both went in to their marriage with so much hope for the future, but now she’s trying to wrap her head around paperwork that makes their estrangement legal. Maggie asks how she’s feeling about it. Sarah responds that she’s trying to make peace with it as she knows their marriage couldn’t carry on like that. Sarah admits that part of her feels free.

Holly can’t believe the police took Tate’s money as evidence. Tate says they will pay him back eventually. Holly knows he was saving up for a car. Tate says he would’ve emptied his entire trust fund to save her because that’s how important she is to him. Holly tells him to stop being so nice to her, feeling she doesn’t deserve it because he lost his money because of her and it’s her fault that he missed out on seeing his baby being born.

Sophia tells Amy that she and Tate weren’t ready to be parents and their baby deserves to be raised by people who are. Sophia says she might be a little sad, but the thought of her baby being cared for by people who adore her is helping her heal. Amy calls that the silver lining in all of this, but says she’s worried about Sophia since she’s been holed up in her room. Sophia promises she’ll be fine. Amy notices Sophia is warm and worries that she has a fever and they discharged her from the hospital too soon. Sophia insists that she’ll be fine but Amy feels exhaustion could be a symptom of something more serious. Amy wants to take Sophia to get properly checked out at the hospital but Sophia says no.

Tate tells Holly that it’s not her fault that he wasn’t there when his baby was born. Holly argues that if he wasn’t trying to rescue her and Arianna, he could’ve made it to Chicago. Tate assures that he would not change anything. Holly points out it was his one chance to meet his baby and she knows it must be killing him. Tate says it does kill him but he’ll never regret getting Holly home safe and sound. Tate calls it very complicated as he was always prepared to give the baby up since that was the plan all along. Tate wishes Sophia didn’t finalize the adoption before he got the chance to say goodbye but it was never going to be easy. Tate adds that what made the decision easy is that he was going to watch his baby grow up in Salem which is how it would’ve gone if Johnny didn’t back out of adopting at the last minute. Johnny and Chanel then enter the Pub.

Amy questions what has gotten in to Sophia. Sophia says she already got checked out in Chicago so she’s tired of being poked and prodded. Sophia wants to forget she ever had the baby and move on with her life. Sophia asks if she can’t pretend things are back to normal for awhile longer but Amy tells her that she can’t because she’s still her baby and she won’t let her neglect her health. Amy demands Sophia get ready and meet her outside, declaring they are going to the hospital and that’s final.

Johnny and Chanel greet Tate and Holly. Tate says he hears things went pretty well for Johnny in court at least according to Roman. Johnny supposes that’s true but EJ threw Roman under the bus to help his case. Tate notes that Roman didn’t seem too shook up and says as long as it gets Johnny acquitted, that’s all that matters and he agrees. Johnny thanks Tate and says that’s worth a lot. Johnny adds that Marlena told him that Sophia had the baby. Johnny confirms that they already placed her with adoptive parents which Chanel calls wonderful news. Johnny says they are happy to hear that Holly and Arianna got back in one piece. Chanel can’t believe they were kidnapped and is thankful they are okay. Holly responds that she’s really lucky. Chanel jokes that between that and the trial, she’s surprised Dateline hasn’t done a whole season on Salem. Chanel tells Tate that she’s really happy things worked out for he, Sophia, and the baby. Johnny and Chanel then go to get a table.

EJ goes home to the DiMera Mansion and pours a drink. Susan walks in so EJ goes to hug her but Susan says no hugging until she picks a bone with him.

Belle runs in to Paulina in the town square. Paulina says she already heard all about the trial from Johnny. Belle says that’s not why she needed to see her. Paulina asks if she needs to go over her testimony, but Belle announces she wants to resign and step down as district attorney. Paulina argues that if she let her abandon the case now, it will look like she’s trying to influence the trial. Belle says she will make sure it won’t look like that and complains that it’s been too hard having to prosecute Johnny and deal with EJ. Paulina tells her to let her deal with EJ.

Susan tells EJ that he has disappointed her because he hasn’t kept in touch after she prayed for him to get out of his coma then he woke up and told everyone he turned a new leaf, but guesses the kinder EJ is already gone. EJ argues that he’s using his power to do good in the world and he needs to project strength to protect Johnny from ridiculous attempted murder charges. Susan says he doesn’t have to convince her that Johnny is innocent as she could’ve told him a month ago that Johnny didn’t shoot him and neither did Chanel.

Chanel asks Johnny about the look on Tate’s face when the adoption came up and feels it’s hitting him pretty hard. Johnny acknowledges that Tate probably thought his kid would be staying in Salem. Johnny is surprised Tate could even look at him or speak to him and sometimes he’s surprised Chanel can either. Chanel assures that Tate has forgiven him for backing out of the adoption and she has too. Johnny doesn’t know what he did to deserve her. Chanel says they deserve each other and declares that she won’t rest until she’s in the clear. Tate tells Holly that he made peace with Johnny changing his mind awhile ago. Holly encourages that maybe things worked out for the best since now Johnny is on trial for shooting his own father, so he and Chanel will be focused on clearing his name instead of raising a newborn. Holly remarks that any kid raised under the DiMeras don’t come out unscathed, pointing out that Nicole being married to EJ still messed with her. Tate acknowledges that she’s not totally wrong but he thought things were going to turn out differently. Tate checks his phone, so Holly asks if he’s waiting on a call. Tate responds that he keeps texting Sophia about the baby and she’s not responding, so he’s starting to think she’s avoiding him.

Amy brings Sophia to the hospital. Sophia apologies for wasting Sarah’s time and says her mom was being unreasonable. Sophia asks if she’s fine. Sarah confirms that there’s no infection but notes that her uterus has contracted more than she expected for someone who just gave birth two days ago. Sophia asks if that’s a good thing. Sarah says there is something she needs to ask her. Sarah says that Brady said she gave birth to a little girl, but she knows from the ultrasound that she was expecting a boy. Sarah asks if there’s something she would like to tell her.

Chanel repeats to Johnny that she just wants this to be over and asks what she was thinking by reaching out to Susan for help. Johnny calls that a bit of a stretch but understands her heart was in the right place. Johnny says the only problem is that whatever Susan sees would be inadmissible in court, so the only person who has all the answers is EJ but for some reason he still can’t remember what happened that night.

Susan argues that they both know Chanel didn’t shoot EJ. EJ remarks that she isn’t as sweet as she thinks after the things she said to him that night. Susan says that Chanel may have said some things out of anger but she doesn’t have it in her to do that. EJ says as long as she provides a reasonable alternative to Johnny then he’s done his job. Susan warns EJ that the truth is going to come out about whatever he did to make Johnny look innocent in the eyes of the law and when that truth comes out, it may just do the opposite of setting him free.

Paulina tells Belle that if EJ is giving her trouble, she’ll be more than happy to handle him for her. Belle says she was just venting. Belle admits EJ is going after the people she cares about but he’s just doing it to protect his son. Paulina says if she could get her off the case she would, but that ship has sailed and it’s no longer possible. Paulina declares that one of these days, EJ’s schemes are going to blow up in his face.

Tate tells Holly that he knows Sophia has been through Hell but admits he’s pissed that she left him out of the adoption. Tate asks if that makes him a horrible person. Holly says it doesn’t as it was one of the most important decisions in both of their lives. Holly adds that she can see where Sophia is coming from since she carried the baby and gave birth alone. Holly thinks Sophia just needs time and space, then when she’s ready, she’ll give him the answers he’s looking for.

Sarah tells Sophia that this is a safe space and she can tell her anything. Sophia argues that Sarah can’t say anything to anyone as she knows her rights and her medical information is confidential. Sarah says there are limits to that, so she needs her to tell her the truth. Sarah asks if her baby is safe and what she did with him.

Tate tells Holly that he really appreciates her having Sophia’s back when he knows she’s not her favorite person. Holly believes Sophia has a right to process this on her own terms, but that doesn’t mean Tate has a right to his own feelings too so she’s trying to be fair. Tate says she’s been way more than fair, she’s being really amazing. Tate says that’s one of the reasons he will miss her so much when she goes to France. Tate assures that he’s happy for her but the timing sucks since so much weighed them down last year and now that high school is over and the adoption is finally over, it feels like they are finally back on track but now she has to leave. Holly asks what if she told him that she’s decided not to go to France.

Sarah tells Sophia that if she has reason to believe her baby is in danger, that supersedes confidentiality. Sophia questions her thinking that she hurt her baby. Sarah thinks her story doesn’t add up since her examination indicates that Sophia gave birth much earlier than she said she did and she knows that she’s lying about the sex of the baby. Sophia responds that he’s safe and that’s all she needs to know. Sarah says she needs more than just her word, otherwise she has to report it to the authorities. Sophia then agrees to tell her everything.

Tate tells Holly that she has to go to France because that’s her dream. Holly says she may have exaggerated that. Holly says she applied and the main reason she said yes was to put distance between her and everything going on with he and Sophia. Holly adds that she was worried about Nicole and Eric but Nicole said things are fine between them now. Tate questions if it’s not her dream school. Holly says lots of other schools have great programs including Salem U. Holly adds that Salem U also has something Paris can’t match and that’s Tate. Tate can’t let her stay in Salem just because of him. Holly assures that it’s not because of him, but for herself so she can be close to him. Tate tells Holly how happy she just made him. Holly says she feels the same. Tate says he loves her and Holly says she loves him too as they hold hands. Johnny asks Chanel if she has room for dessert. Chanel responds that what she wants for dessert isn’t on the menu, so she suggests they head home where she can make him forget all about his day in court. Johnny then calls for the check.

Sophia asks Sarah if she won’t say anything now that she knows the baby is safe. Amy enters the room and asks if everything is alright. Sophia confirms there’s no infection. Sarah tells her that Sophia is doing great and just needs to rest for a couple of days. Amy thanks her. Sarah tells Sophia to feel free to come back anytime. Sophia assures that she’ll be fine and thanks her as she then exits with her mom.

Paulina tells Belle that if she wants what’s best for Johnny, she will stay the course and if it tanks her relationship with EJ, that’s just icing on the cake. Paulina argues that Belle is better off without EJ in her life. Belle admits she has a point about Johnny, so she will stay on the case. Paulina knew she would see it her way.

EJ thanks Susan for her advice and says he’ll take it under advisement. Susan tells him not to sass her. EJ says he needs to prepare for another day of court. Susan tells him not to dismiss her either. Susan remarks that some days he sounds just like Stefano. Susan then starts to panic about feeling Stefano’s presence and declares that he’s here.

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Days Update Tuesday, July 29, 2025

Days of Our Lives Update

 

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Update written by Joseph

Kate goes to the Brady Pub and greets Roman, who is dressed in a suit for court. Roman remarks that he’s going to testify against his own grandson. Kate encourages that he will be fine as she grabs an apron off the counter and begins putting it on. Roman questions what she is doing. Kate responds that she is starting her other job.

Jada gets dressed at home as Stephanie comes in, leaving a voicemail for EJ. Jada questions Stephanie working for EJ and if she’s sure that’s a good idea. Stephanie admits she’s not.

EJ runs in to Chad in the town square. EJ mentions Belle having Chad listed as her first witness. Chad hates that she asked him to testify. EJ tells him to just tell the truth and leave the rest to him. EJ starts to ask for a favor but Chad says he won’t slide the coverage in favor of Johnny. Chad encourages that it will all work out the way it’s supposed to and says he’ll see him at the courthouse as he walks away.

Belle finishes a call outside the courtroom and runs in to Johnny. Johnny says he’ll see her inside but Belle stops him and says whatever happens, she needs him to know that she loves him and believes in him. Johnny appreciates that and knows she’s just doing her job. Johnny then heads inside. EJ arrives and walks past Belle on his way in to the courtroom.

Roman argues that Kate is the editor-in-chief of Titan Publishing so she doesn’t have to bus tables anymore. Kate points out Roman being short staffed. Roman argues that he can manage on his own but Kate says it’s a family business, they are family, and she’s here for him as they kiss.

Stephanie tells Jada that she can’t always choose her clients if she wants to make money. Jada warns Stephanie about what she’s getting herself in to. Stephanie assures that she knows who EJ is and what he’s capable of, adding that part of the reason she took the job was to be a buffer between EJ and Kayla. Jada says that makes sense but she doesn’t like the idea. Jada apologizes for being judgmental. Stephanie understands her being worried and says she has every right to be considering what EJ has done to them and so many other people.

Philip goes to the Brady Pub and tells Kate that he missed her at the office. Kate says she left early so she could be here for Roman since he’s short staffed and he had to be in court. Philip asks how it’s going at Titan Publishing. Kate asks if he’s asking as her son or her boss. Philip remarks that he gets enough of being treated with utter contempt from the rest of his family.

Johnny tells EJ that Susan stopped by to see him earlier and said she knows it in her bones that he’s not the shooter. Johnny wishes they could find out who was the shooter. EJ says they don’t need a psychic as he has a pretty good idea of who it was. Johnny says he already told him there’s no way it was Chanel and warns him not to go there as Belle enters the court room. The judge then enters to resume the trial. She calls for Belle to start with an opening statement. Belle stands and give a speech about upholding the law and declares they are here to find justice as she intends to prove that Johnny, full of anger and rage, was on a mission the night that EJ was shot as he went to his family home not just to confront his father, but to murder him.

Kate tells Philip that she has no problem with him being her boss. Philip says he’s thrilled to be working with his very gifted mother. Philip brings up reading One Stormy Night and calls it a best seller in the making. Kate talks about the author emerging out of nowhere. Philip guesses Anastasia Sands is a pseudonym. Kate calls that not uncommon which is why she can’t tell anyone who they might be, including him. Philip reminds Kate that he is her boss and says she has to tell him.

Jada tells Stephanie that she’ll see her later as she’s heading for court. Stephanie wishes her luck. Jada sees the box on the table from the mail and asks if Stephanie saw it. Stephanie confirms that Alex brought it in and guesses it’s from one of her exes. Jada points out that there’s no return address on it and asks why an ex would send her something. Stephanie doesn’t know and says that if it’s from who she thinks it is, she’d rather pretend she never got it.

Belle says that during the trial, she intends to prove the crime was premeditated and she’s sure they are all wondering why EJ is representing the man accused of shooting him. Belle admits it’s unorthodox and maybe unheard of. Belle says EJ may believe his son is innocent but that’s not what this is. Belle declares that EJ would do anything to protect his family’s name, bringing up what the DiMera name means in Salem. Belle tells the jury not to be fooled in to believing that EJ is here out of the goodness of his heart to protect his son when he’s a DiMera through and through. EJ tries to object but the judge tells Belle to continue, though reminds her that EJ is not the one on trial. Belle continues that EJ will try to paint a contrived picture of his relationship with his son but it’s their job to follow the facts. Belle declares that her job is to prove that Johnny shot his father at point blank range with the intent to kill. Belle then takes her seat as EJ stands to speak next. EJ calls that quite an opening speech from Belle, noting it also was dramatic, deceiving, and misleading. EJ states that Belle accused him of only being there to defend his family name but he’s confident that he’s the best man for the job because he loves his son with his whole heart and more importantly, he knows that he is innocent. EJ says it would all be easier if he could simply remember the details of that horrific night but he doesn’t. EJ adds that Belle forgot to add they have no concrete evidence either with no fingerprints or DNA. EJ says they are making up facts which is the definition of reasonable doubt. EJ calls it reasonable to question their evidence or think someone else might be the shooter. EJ admits that quite a few people in town wanted him dead. EJ brings up that Belle said it was her job to prove the case which is what she will try to do at all costs, even if she knows she has no case.

Jada doesn’t know what Stephanie is afraid of but says the box isn’t going to go away if she ignores it. Stephanie responds that she’d rather not dig up the past. Jada says she gets it after everything that went down with Bobby and Everett. Jada thinks it’s better to be prepared with whatever it is but Stephanie says no and drops the box in the trash can.

Philip continues asking Kate about Anastasia Sands but Kate says he’ll just have to accept that is the author of the novel. Philip remarks that he thinks he knows who it is anyway as there may have been some semi-autobiographical parts of the novel that he recognized which Kate questions. Philip points out that she’s blushing. Kate doesn’t think she wants to hear anymore. Philip guesses that he’s right that Anastasia Sands is Stephanie Johnson. Kate reluctantly admits it but argues that Philip cannot let anyone else know as Stephanie is a very successful PR journalist, who doesn’t want people to know that she’s writing erotic novels on the side. Philip thinks there’s more to it than that.

EJ says he won’t pretend he comes from a family of angels as he’s well aware of how people in town feel about him, specifically that the district attorney and her office has always had it out for the DiMeras but that’s not what this case is about. EJ says it’s about Johnny, his innocent son. EJ asks the jury not to punish Johnny for the sins of his father. Chad takes to the witness stand. Belle asks him to recall the night. Chad says he went to the DiMera home to see EJ and the butler Harold had the night off, so he let himself in. Belle asks how Chad would’ve felt if he lost his brother. Chad admits that he and EJ haven’t always gotten along, but he’s his brother and he loves him so he would’ve been devastated. Belle asks if Chad was aware of Johnny’s strained relationship with EJ. Chad says he knew there were issues. Belle questions if Chad talked to Johnny about EJ after the shooting. Chad confirms that he told Johnny he should go visit EJ in the hospital and he said he didn’t want to go. Belle asks if Chad told Johnny how dire his father’s condition was. Chad confirms that he did. Belle demands to know what Johnny said. Chad admits that Johnny said he didn’t care if his father lived or died. Belle then takes her seat while the judge calls on EJ. EJ asks what Chad can tell them about the state of the house when he walked in that night or if there was anything unusual. Chad remembers the doors in the living room were open to the outside, but there was no sign of the shooter. EJ asks if he saw Johnny anywhere. Chad confirms he did not and as far as he could tell, the only person in the house was EJ and he was afraid it would be the last time he ever saw him.

Kate questions Philip thinking there’s another reason that Stephanie is hiding her identity. Philip says that Stephanie would be the first to tell that she’s made some mistakes, boyfriend wise, himself included. Philip points out that if he could recognize stories in the book, they might too, and that wouldn’t be good for anyone.

Jada takes the witness stand. Belle asks her to explain the ballistics report. Jada explains that it confirmed that the bullet used to shoot EJ came from Roman Brady’s gun. Belle asks where the gun was found. Jada responds that Roman turned it in, himself. Belle points out that Johnny’s grandfather. EJ points out that Johnny’s fingerprints were not found on the gun with no other evidence. Jada tries to argue but EJ says that’s all as the judge reminds her to just answer the question. EJ calls it interesting that Jada started to bring up motive and asks if Jada had motive to want him dead. Belle objects, arguing that Jada is not on trial but the judge allows it. EJ asks again if Jada had a reason to want him dead, perhaps believing he ruined her wedding or got her fired from her job which Jada admits. EJ asks if she ever told anyone that she wished him dead. Jada admits that she did and tries to explain but EJ says that will be all and sits back down. Roman then takes the witness stand. Belle brings up Roman being a police officer for most of his life and says they just heard from Jada that the bullet matched Roman’s pistol and that Roman turned the gun in because he was concerned that someone had taken it. Belle asks Roman to walk them through the events leading up to him realizing the pistol was missing. Roman explains that he was at the Pub, talking with Johnny and he mentioned that he kept a gun behind the bar. Belle asks if Roman had any reason to believe Johnny took his gun or that he knew Johnny was upset with his father. EJ objects, arguing that Roman is being asked his opinion on the defendant’s state of mind. The judge overrules, arguing that Roman would have first hand knowledge of the situation and asks Roman to answer the question. Roman states that Johnny was upset with EJ for something current and something going back many years.

Stephanie runs in to Chad in the town square and asks if he’s alright. Chad informs her that he just testified at Johnny’s trial and it wasn’t great. Stephanie hopes EJ can keep Johnny out of prison. Chad says that EJ is going to fight like hell and he hopes whatever he’s up to doesn’t bring Stephanie down with him. Stephanie guesses he heard about her new job. Chad reminds her that he’s on the hospital board so he hears about all new hires. Chad states that he loves his brother and he cares about Stephanie a lot, but people who are tied to EJ don’t usually end well.

Kate knows Philip has concerns about the book and there’s parts in it that may resemble events from Stephanie’s life, but she’s changed names, is using a pseudonym, and has her to protect her. Kate wishes she had been so lucky, since she wrote a book once about her love affair with Bill Horton while still married to Curtis. Philip didn’t know about this and asks what happened. Kate informs him that Jack found it, tried to publish it, she got it killed at Titan but it all came out again at Curtis’ murder trial. Philip is sorry she had to suffer through that and thinks about how many times he’s screwed up his life. Kate encourages that’s all in the past and to look at what he’s accomplished. Kate calls this his second chance and says he’s got it with the help of Xander.

Belle asks Roman if he ever heard Johnny say he wanted to hurt his father. Roman admits that he did. Belle asks if Roman tried to track Johnny down when he realized his gun was missing. Roman responds that he did, but he was too late as he walked up to the door of the DiMera Mansion when he saw his gun in a planter, so he got a sinking feeling that it might be too late, but before he could investigate, he heard sirens so he figured help was on the way. Roman states that he grabbed the gun to protect Johnny and got the hell out of there. Roman adds that he went back to the Pub and returned the gun to it’s lockbox behind the bar. Belle asks if Roman looked in the gun’s chamber first. Roman confirms he did and that there was a bullet missing. Belle asks what he did then. Roman admits he wiped it down. Belle questions why he took the gun from the DiMera Mansion and why he cleaned it and hid it. Roman admits that he thought Johnny might be the shooter. Belle then takes her seat.

Stephanie appreciates Chad’s concern but assures that she’s not going to let EJ push her around or compromise her values. Chad asks how it’s going with Alex. Stephanie says it’s going well. Chad says he’s happy for her. Chad tells her from experience that when you’re happy in life or a relationship, the past doesn’t matter anymore. Chad encourages her to stop letting it hurt her which Stephanie agrees with.

Philip tells Kate to just ignore Xander. Kate says she plans to but she’s glad she’s in the company in case Xander gets any more ideas, so he’ll have backup. Kate reminds Philip not to forget to keep his friends close and his enemies closer as she resumes working at the Pub.

Stephanie goes home and tells Jada that she wins, so she’s decided to face this head on. Stephanie retrieves the box from the trash and opens it up, learning that it’s a tote bag that she forgot she ordered. Stephanie says now she feels silly. Jada says she pushed her but questions why she was so suspicious about an ex and if he’s been in contact with her. Stephanie guesses she’s had him on the brain because she had to put herself back in that place because of her novel. Stephanie explains that a lot of those events are based on events that happened in the past but she’d like to keep them there.

EJ comments that Roman has a lot of opinions on Johnny’s state of mind on the night of the shooting. EJ argues that as a cop, Roman knows he needs proof. Roman confirms that he did not see Johnny with the gun. EJ brings up Roman once being his father-in-law. EJ asks how Roman felt about him marrying Sami. Belle objects to not being relevant but the judge overrules it and instructs Roman to answer. Roman admits he wasn’t happy about it. EJ asks if Roman ever wished him dead. Roman responds that he didn’t shoot him if that’s what he’s getting at. EJ questions just taking his word for it while Belle objects again. EJ brings up Roman saying he found his own gun at the scene of the crime, took it home, cleaned it, and put it back in his safe box which Roman confirms. EJ adds that Roman claims he did all of that to protect his grandson, but he’s the one who turned it in and is a witness trying to have him convicted. Roman argues that he didn’t want to be here as Belle objects. EJ goes over Roman admitting to being at the mansion and having the means and motive to avenge Sami. Roman cuts him off and asks if he’s serious. EJ states that it was Roman’s gun that shot him, so maybe he was the one that pulled the trigger. Belle objects so EJ withdraws and decides no further questions.

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Days Update Monday, July 28, 2025

Days of Our Lives Update

 

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Update written by Joseph

Gabi goes to the DiMera Mansion where Tony offers her a drink. Tony asks if she’s given any thought to how she’s going to help him take back DiMera Enterprises. Gabi points out that it hasn’t even been 24 hours so she hasn’t had time to formulate a plan. Tony says he has a blueprint. Tony declares that if in-fighting could take down the DiMeras, maybe it could do the same for the Kiriakis family.

Steve and Kayla sit together to eat in Steve’s office. Kayla talks about how being there reminds her of John. Steve informs Kayla that he’s happy to report that Julie has her necklace back. Kayla calls that amazing and asks how she got it back. Steve guesses it was the power of the Horton spirit.

Gwen walks through the town square and runs in to Julie, shocked to see her wearing the necklace. Julie remarks that it does look better on her than it did on Gwen.

The book “1001 Arabian Nights” lies nearby as Marlena begins to dream about when Stefano made her his Queen of the Night until she suddenly wakes up.

Gwen tells Julie that she knew she stole the necklace from her. Julie denies it and asks how she could steal something that was never Gwen’s in the first place. Gwen questions how it ended up around her neck then. Julie responds that a certain person decided to right an egregious wrong. Julie tells Gwen to go ahead and call the police if she wants to. Gwen decides it’s not worth the trouble. Julie says Gwen only stole it out of spite and calls it misplaced revenge. Gwen tells Julie to enjoy her gaudy necklace for now. Julie asks if that’s a threat. Gwen says those are her words.

Gabi asks if Tony wants to fight fire with fire. Tony comments on burning up family ties. Gabi recalls that Xander and Philip were very much on the same page as co-CEOs at first but not so much now, like one day someone flipped a switch and now they can’t stand the sight of each other. Tony brings up that when Philip was brutally beaten, the police immediately suspected Xander. Gabi notes that Philip said Xander had nothing to do with it, but she’s seen them together and they hate each other. Tony states that something must have happened to turn brother against brother. Gabi guesses nobody knows. Tony feels that somebody must know. Gabi agrees and decides they will have to find out who that is.

Julie warns Gwen that if she comes for her family in any way, she’ll finally get what she deserves. Gwen mocks that she won’t be able to hang an ornament on the Horton family tree. A man named Foster comes over from the nearby bookstore and complains that Gwen has been going on near his store and tells her to get out of here and leave this wonderful lady alone. Gwen warns Julie that she’ll be hearing from her while the man tells her to just leave already. Gwen then walks away. Julie comments that chivalry is not dead and thanks him for coming to her rescue. Foster remarks that it sounds like Gwen’s the one that needs rescuing.

Steve informs Kayla that Doug Williams stole the necklace back from Gwen and gave it to Julie. Kayla says she normally doesn’t condone stealing but since it belonged to Julie, she thinks he did the right thing. Kayla says she should get going as she has a pile of paper work at the hospital. Kayla complains that her office is so hot right now along with the entire hospital. Kayla thinks EJ is trying to save money by putting the air conditioner on minimum and not having fresh fruit and vegetables in the cafeteria. Steve hopes Kayla can make it home at a reasonable hour. Kayla says she’ll do her best. Steve says he’s not one to tell her how to do her job, but he’s worried that she’s running herself into the ground. Kayla responds that she’s fine and that it’s Marlena that she’s worried about with everything going on and now dealing with Johnny’s trial. Steve calls Marlena a strong woman. Kayla agrees but says everyone has their limits. Kayla informs Steve that Marlena fainted at the trial today. Steve questions if she’s alright. Kayla confirms that Sarah checked her out at the hospital and sent her home to rest.

Marlena gets up and picks up the “1001 Arabian Nights” book and finds a note from Belle underneath, saying she had to go back to court while Brady took Rachel out so she could rest in a quiet home and to call if she needs anything. Marlena then gets up and exits the house.

Gabi tells Tony that she’ll let him know if she learns anything about Xander and Philip. Tony is glad she’s on board as he worried that she would back out of their deal. Gabi asks why she would back out. Tony acknowledges that her relationship with his family is complicated. Gabi mentions how badly she wants to be CEO of DiMera Enterprises. Tony brings up that Gabi was hesitant about stabbing Xander in the back. Gabi acknowledges that he was supportive, but business is business and he has what she wants. Gabi then walks out of the room.

Marlena goes to the hospital where Kayla asks if everything is alright after she passed out in court. Marlena confirms that she went home and rest, but says she can’t sleep away the entire day. Kayla asks if she’s experienced any more symptoms. Marlena says no and that she’s completely fine. Marlena says she came to consult with Dr. Fuller on a shared patient. Kayla asks if she can’t just take a few days off but Marlena doesn’t think that’s necessary. Marlena then reveals to Kayla that she is the patient.

Julie goes to the bookstore with Foster, who says he’s missed her the last few months. Julie says she missed this as well but she’s been very busy. Foster says he has a whole list of books to share which Julie calls something to take her mind off Gwen. Foster compliments her necklace. Julie calls it a family heirloom. Julie informs Foster that she’s looking for a gift for a friend. Julie then notices a sign that says the shop is for sale and questions that.

Gwen goes to the DiMera Mansion and takes Tony’s drink for herself, calling it one reason she liked living there. Tony mentions hearing that she moved in. Gwen asks if that will be a problem for him. Tony says not at all and he’s happy that she’s going to stay there which surprises her. Gwen says that Tony is the first person to say something nice to her since she came back to Salem. Tony suggests they take the opportunity to catch up as he has a couple of questions about her time in Alamainia. Gwen asks if the questions are personal. Tony wants to ask about his nephew Dimitri as he finds it strange that after all this time, Dimitri hasn’t tried to divorce her or take back control of his fortune. Gwen doesn’t find it strange and thinks he has other priorities. Gwen states that she is Dimitri’s wife so she is entitled to his fortune. Tony questions if she didn’t happen to hear anything about his brother Stefan.

Gabi goes to see Steve in his office and tells him that she wants to hire him.

Kayla questions Marlena being at the hospital as a patient. Kayla knew she was considering grief counseling but Marlena says this isn’t about grief, but more about feeling a little out of control which Kayla questions. Marlena explains that Sarah suggested passing out and other problems she’s been having are most likely psychogenic, so she just wants a second opinion and to make sure it’s not a problem with her soul.

Julie asks Foster if he’s really selling the book shop. Foster says he’s afraid so. Julie asks if business is not doing well. Foster explains that his kids all live in California while he’s been widowed for a few years now which Julie relates to. Foster says he planned to be alone for the rest of his life with nothing but his books to keep him company, but his daughter was telling him that his grandson is now pitching in Little League and he realized he’s not alone. Foster says nothing was keeping him from being with his family but the bookstore. Foster admits he will miss it, but he’d miss watching his grandkids grow up even more. Foster says he had a good run in Salem. Julie can’t imagine what she’ll do without him and the shop since it’s been her comfort in good times and bad. Foster encourages that she’ll be fine. Julie questions what will happen to the property and what the shop could be changed in to. Foster recalls Julie telling him about an adventurous book club meeting with pot donuts. Julie jokes about him remembering that. Foster says if she knows anyone who would like to take over the shop, he’d be happy to make a deal. Julie agrees to ask around.

Steve asks what Gabi wants to hire him to investigate. Gabi first wants him to promise to keep it confidential which he agrees to. Steve asks what’s going on. Gabi wants him to investigate the heads of Titan-DiMera, but Steve says absolutely not. Gabi questions him turning her down just like that and why he doesn’t want to investigate Xander and Philip. Gabi argues that he’d be exposing some very shady stuff going down. Steve doesn’t doubt that. Gabi states that she knows for a fact they are working very hard to cover something up which Steve questions. Steve says he intends to steer clear of cases that are personal. Gabi calls BS on that and questions Steve being close to the Kiriakis family. Steve brings up his brother in law, nephews, and Stephanie. Steve doubts Stephanie would be happy that he’s investigating her boyfriend’s family. Gabi clarifies that she’s not asking him to investigate Alex. Steve questions why she cares and what’s in it for her.

Kayla asks about Marlena being worried that she’s having a problem with her soul and hopes the Devil is not back. Marlena says not exactly but brings up the time when Stefano would invade her dreams and refer to her as his Queen of the Night. Marlena says she was vulnerable to evil. Kayla calls that a long time ago and says Stefano is dead while she reclaimed her soul with John’s help. Kayla questions her thinking of that. Marlena says she hasn’t forgot what it’s like to feel lost and ill. Kayla asks if she’s feeling that way now. Marlena confirms that she had a dream about being Queen of the Night. Kayla points out that it was just a dream. Marlena explains that Susan had come by earlier and said she could feel that she was ill in her body, mind, and soul.

Gwen tells Tony that she hasn’t heard from Stefan and asks if he’s worried that he will come back for a piece of the DiMera pie. Tony says he wouldn’t be that petty and that Stefan is entitled to his share. Tony adds that he finds it strange that Vivian said Stefan was living it up in Alamainia but Gwen didn’t see him and none of his family have heard from him. Gwen argues that if she was Stefan, she’d stay away too since they didn’t like him anyway. Gwen isn’t sure why Tony cares since he always treated him like an outsider as well as Dimitri, so she thought he’d be thrilled that they are both missing.

Foster asks Julie what kind of book she’s looking for. Julie says she’s looking for a book on grief as a very good friend recently lost her husband and she recalls Foster recommending a very good book when she lost Doug. Foster asks if she doesn’t think that book is good for her. Julie explains that they are different people and it was different circumstances. Foster asks what her friend is like. Julie responds that she’s serious, selfless, and a psychiatrist. Foster suggests a memoir which Julie says is perfect.

Kayla asks Marlena if her dream this morning was like those dreams all those years ago. Marlena says yes, just not as real. Kayla says it can’t be real because Stefano is dead and asks if she wants to tell her about the dream. Marlena mentions that she’s been reading to Rachel every night and they’re at “1001 Arabian Nights” so it was kind of that same scene. Kayla guesses the book just got in her head and prompted the dream. Kayla hopes she didn’t let Susan in to her head. Marlena says they both know that Susan is eccentric and things she comes up with aren’t necessarily based in scientific fact. Marlena guesses her psyche has just taken a beating lately. Kayla is sorry that she’s having to deal with Johnny’s trial on top of everything else. Marlena says she better get to her appointment with Dr. Fuller. Kayla asks if there’s anything she can do to help her. Marlena responds that she’s already doing it. Kayla tells Marlena to find her after her appointment so she can hear how it went. Marlena says she will, thanks her, and walks away.

Gabi tells Steve that all she want is to take Gabi Chic back from Titan-DiMera and since they won’t let her leave, she has no choice but to play hard ball. Steve says there are easier ways. Gabi refuses years of litigation. Gabi knows corporate machinations are hardly his thing but she knows how much he cares about the town. Gabi says it was bad enough when Titan and DiMera were separate. Gabi urges that Steve would be doing Salem a favor by exposing Xander and Philip’s lies. Steve agrees to talk about the terms. Gabi asks if she’s convinced him to take the job. Steve responds that he enjoys a challenge.

Tony tells Gwen that he doesn’t wish ill on his brother or his nephew, but she’s right that they are not particularly missed in this household. Gwen questions why he cares where they are then. Tony supposes it’s his controlling nature and not wanting to be left in the dark. Tony says with all that’s going on in Salem, he’s feeling uneasy about not hearing from them. Gwen asks if it’s out of concern or to gloat. Tony responds that he likes to keep track of his family. Gwen asks if that’s in case one of them decides to stab him in the back. Tony calls that always a valid concern with the DiMeras.

Foster talks to Julie about how a book can transport them to a different time and place and help them empathize with people. Foster adds that books help build connections with other book lovers like her. Foster tells Julie how grateful he is for that. Julie wishes him all the happiness and good fortune that he’s about to embark on his new adventure, adding that he will be sorely missed as they hug.

Marlena returns from her appointment so Kayla asks how it went. Marlena responds that she’s afraid that she’s left with more questions than answers about the dream and this unsettling feeling she’s having. Kayla suggests another session will get the answers she needs but Marlena declares that she doesn’t think she wants the answers.

Steve tells Gabi that she’s got herself a detective. Gabi asks how this is going to work. Steve says he’s already on the clock, so he’ll let her know if he finds anything. Gabi accepts that and exits the office.

Gwen was under the impression that Tony had removed himself from the family business. Tony responds that it his legacy. Gwen asks if he’s trying to get back in. Tony calls that none of her business and exits the room.

Steve gets a call from Kayla and asks if everything is okay. Kayla says she just saw Marlena which got her thinking that she should heed his advice and take the rest of the day off. Kayla suggests they could spend the day together since Steve is his own boss. Steve responds that he just got a new case so he thinks she will beat him home. Kayla says she’ll be waiting for him and tells him not to be too long as they hang up.

Marlena returns home and picks up the 1001 Arabian Nights book but Julie shows up at the door which Marlena calls a nice surprise. Marlena notices that she got her necklace back and says she’s so happy as she asks how that happened. Julie reveals that Douglas Williams III returned it and it’s a very long story for another day. Julie declares that Doug III redeemed himself and then left town. Marlena is glad to hear it and asks what brings her by. Julie says she was walking through town and saw Foster’s Bookstore so she thought some good writing could help her find peace of mind. Julie informs Marlena that she brought two memoirs about facing grief and embracing life again after losing the center of your universe as they both have. Marlena calls that so kind of her. Julie says that Marlena helped her so much on the darkest day of her life and is still helping her. Julie understands how much she has to deal with and says she’s here for her too, so she’s not alone. Marlena responds that she knows Julie understands all too well as they hug.

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Days Update Friday, July 25, 2025

Days of Our Lives Update

 

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Update written by Joseph

Gabi goes to the Brady Pub and introduces herself to Doug III as Arianna’s mom. Gabi says that Ari told her that he’s leaving town which she thinks is a good idea but warns that he’s not getting off that easy.

Gwen opens the safe in her room and discovers it is now empty. Gwen goes to leave her room when Julie arrives and informs her that she’s suing her for the return of her Grandmother’s necklace. Gwen calls that convenient and argues that Julie knows she can’t give her the necklace because it’s gone.

Brady and Rachel meet Belle at the hospital. Brady asks how Marlena is and if they know why she passed out. Belle says not yet but Marlena is insisting it’s not a big deal. Rachel asks if she’s going to be okay.

Sarah checks Marlena out in a hospital room, noting that her blood pressure is a little high. Marlena responds that she’s stressed and exhausted but these tests checked out just fine last month. Sarah still wants to run a couple of extra tests to be safe.

Chanel and Johnny are at home where Chanel asks if there’s any word on Marlena. Johnny says not yet but he hopes it’s nothing serious. Susan Banks then shows up at their door. Johnny is surprised and asks what she’s doing there. Susan responds that she’s there to make sure he doesn’t go to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Doug III tells Gabi how terrible he feels about Arianna getting involved in the situation as that was never his intention. Gabi argues that he made one stupid decision after another, complaining that he did nothing to protect Arianna and nearly got her killed. Doug III repeats that he’s really sorry. Gabi responds that he has a lot to be sorry for. Gabi argues that Roman took him in and gave him a job and this is how he repays him. Doug III agrees that Roman was really good to him and he messed things up badly. He adds that he wanted to apologize to Roman in person but he hasn’t been around, so he wrote him a letter and left his room key which Gabi agrees to make sure he gets.

Julie questions Gwen saying the necklace is gone. Gwen explains that she put the necklace in her safe last night and then this morning, she saw the safe was empty. Gwen accuses Julie of acting and that she’s trying to cover for the fact that she stole the necklace. Julie argues that she’s sure Gwen still has it stashed somewhere to pretend it was stolen because she knew she was coming. Gwen insists she doesn’t have it so Julie questions who does have it. Julie declares that she’s calling the police. Gwen says not if she beats her to it as Julie storms out of the room.

Belle assures Rachel that Marlena will be just fine. Rachel questions why she fainted then. Belle thinks Marlena is just under a lot of stress lately. Brady compares it to when Rachel had an upset stomach and then she felt better. Belle agrees that she has no reason to worry. Brady says they can wait for Marlena if Belle has to get back to court. Belle says the judge called a recess so they don’t have to go back until after lunch. Brady asks how Johnny is doing. Belle says he’s alright. Brady asks about Belle. She says she feels as she expected and just hopes that Johnny will be found innocent.

Susan hugs Johnny and talks about her flight being delayed. Susan reveals that Chanel called and told her the trial was delayed until after lunch. Johnny questions Chanel being in contact with his Grandmother. Chanel reminds him of their conversation about getting in to contact with someone to help them find the real shooter, so she thought who better than Johnny’s own Grandmother who also happens to be a psychic.

Gwen comes out of the Salem Inn and runs in to Doug III in the town square as they pass by each other. Gwen stops and remembers seeing Doug III pretending to be room service at the Salem Inn.

Rachel asks Brady if they can buy something for Tate’s baby from the gift shopt while they wait. Brady agrees that’s a great idea and tells Belle to text him when she knows anything. Belle promises Rachel that everything will be just fine. As Brady and Rachel walk away, Sarah brings Marlena over. Marlena tells Belle that she’s perfectly fine. Sarah says she will call with the rest of the test results and encourages Marlena to get some rest and not skip any more meals. Belle tells Marlena that she will take her home.

Johnny doesn’t know that having Susan using her psychic powers to find out who the real shooter is will work. Susan questions why not. Johnny responds that some people don’t buy in to all that and it will never hold up in court. Chanel argues that it’s a start since the police aren’t looking at any other suspects, so they need to take it in their own hands and think outside the box. Johnny asks if EJ knows about this. Chanel says of course not. Susan can’t believe EJ would think Johnny shot him and says she could’ve told him from the start that it wasn’t him. Susan says she feels things in her bones and declares that Johnny is innocent.

Gwen tries calling in her necklace being stolen but gets put on hold as Gabi approaches and says look what the cat dragged in. Gwen questions if the baby that Gabi has is Leo’s baby. Gabi says no and explains that the baby was abandoned at the fire station where Javi works, so her family is fostering him. Gwen tells the baby to run for the hills because he would not want to be raised here by a bunch of despicable ghouls. Gabi tells Gwen to say whatever she wants about Leo but warns her not to insult her family. Gwen says she’ll restrict it to her then and calls her the ghoul. Gabi says if this is about her stealing Jake from Gwen, it’s not her fault that she couldn’t keep him satisfied. Gwen calls Jake a classless fool who couldn’t keep up with her intelligence. Gwen then brings up Stefan cheating on Gabi with Ava. Gwen asks who would’ve thought her marriage would have a longer shelf life. Gabi questions her boasting about her marriage to a closeted gay man who cheated on her with her best friend. Gwen brings up her husband’s bank account. Gabi remarks that her husband has gone missing. Gwen says she doesn’t miss him as the money keeps her warm. Gabi remarks that she will squander the fortune and finds it funny that Dimitri didn’t track her down to demand his money and a divorce. Gabi asks if Gwen killed Dimitri.

Julie goes home, complaining that Gwen is not going to get away with this. Doug III then shows up at her door. Julie asks what he wants. Doug III informs her that he’s leaving Salem. Julie calls that no concern to her. Doug III says he has a parting gift for her and presents her with the necklace.

Susan says she feels the dark energy and laughs, saying they should see what she just saw. Johnny asks what she saw but Susan says it’s too raw and she needs to let her psychic energy marinate. Susan declares that she has somewhere very important to be right now and quickly exits.

Belle brings Marlena home. Marlena thanks her and assures she’s perfectly fine on her own if Belle has to get back to work. Belle says she wanted to ask her about her hypnosis session with EJ. Marlena says she can’t discuss that. Belle says EJ told her a little about how he can’t remember who shot him. Belle asks Marlena if she thinks it’s just the trauma or if it’s about the identity of the shooter. Marlena responds that she honestly can’t say.

Rachel greets Sarah at the hospital. Sarah informs her and Brady that Belle took Marlena home. Rachel asks if Marlena is going to be okay. Sarah assures there’s nothing to worry about. Rachel shows Sarah the stuffed animal she got for Tate’s baby and adds that the baby was already born. Sarah is surprised and asks when. Brady informs her it was yesterday as she went to Chicago to meet potential adoptive parents and went in to labor. Sarah questions if everything went okay. Brady says it went fine but the problem is Sophia gave the baby to the adoptive parents right away so he and Tate never even got to meet her. Brady comments on Sarah looking surprised. Sarah says she’s still processing that Sophia was out of town when she went in to labor, but she’s glad it went well. Rachel is glad the baby was a girl, joking that they have too many boys in the family. Rachel wonders what they named the baby and comments that she likes the name Mackenzie, not knowing that was the name of the baby that Sarah had lost.

Marlena tells Belle that she doesn’t feel comfortable talking about her session with EJ. Belle apologizes and doesn’t want to add more stress to her life when she has enough to worry about and she’s still grieving John. Belle asks if they talk about that enough with everything going on with Johnny, Arianna, Rachel, and Tate but none of that compares to Marlena losing the love of her life. Marlena calls it a terrible loss for Belle as well. Belle says they are talking about Marlena now and assures what she is going through never leaves her mind. Belle says she doesn’t bring it up because she respects that she’s a stoic person that may not want to open up about it. Marlena agrees that’s what is right for her right now. Marlena states that John was stoic, strong, and brave so she would like to live a life, emulating him. Belle encourages that she’s doing a really good job but wants her to lean on her so she can be there for her. Belle tells Marlena how grateful she is for her and is thankful they have each other as they hug.

Gwen questions Gabi accusing her of murder. Gabi points out that Gwen would not only have killed Dimitri for money, but he also betrayed her in such an egregious manner. Gabi wonders how far Gwen would go for revenge. Susan appears and tells Gabi that she’d like to ask her the same question. Susan talks about some thoughts not going away and asks Gabi if she shot EJ. Gabi tells her to give it a rest already because she did not shoot EJ. Susan brings up that she sensed Gabi was at the DiMera Mansion that night and she denied it like crazy, but then she’s heard since then that Gabi confessed to being there. Gwen jokes that Susan’s really got Gabi’s number. Gabi admits she told a little white lie, but insists that she is innocent. Gabi says based on evidence, the real culprit is either Johnny or Chanel. Susan calls that not true and says she intends to prove it. Susan warns Gabi to pray that she doesn’t find out it was her or she will be in a world of trouble. Susan then walks away. Gwen laughs at Gabi accusing her of murder.

Julie questions where Doug III got the necklace. He admits that he stole it from Gwen’s hotel room because it doesn’t belong to her, it belongs to Julie. Julie says she was just with Gwen and she didn’t believe she didn’t have the necklace but guesses this one time she was telling the truth. Julie remarks that Gwen’s head will explode when she finds out she got it back. Doug III asks if Julie will tell Gwen that he’s the one who stole it. Julie doesn’t think that’s necessary. Doug III repeats that he’s really sorry about everything. He acknowledges that Julie took him in, made him feel so welcome, and showed him so much kindness and love which he hadn’t felt in a long time but he knows he blew it big time, breaking her heart and her trust which he will always regret. Doug III says now he has to get going. Julie stops him and asks him to help her put on the necklace which he agrees to do. He tells her that it looks great on her. Julie says it does make her feel closer to her Grandmother. Doug III talks about one of his most prized possessions being a pair of gold cuff links from his other Grandfather which makes him feel closer to him. Julie goes to a drawer and presents Doug III with a locket that Doug had with him during World War II to bring him luck and says perhaps it will do the same for him. Doug III thanks her and says it’s so kind of her. Julie tells him that when he gets settled where ever he’s going, she will wire him however much money that he ows the loan shark. Doug III questions why she would do that. Julie says until he pays off the debt, he’s in danger and she wouldn’t want him hurt. Doug III doesn’t know what to say. Julie knows it’s what Doug would’ve wanted and he’s his grandson and her family.

Rachel asks Sarah if she made her sad. Sarah claims she just has allergies. Brady sends Rachel to the vending machine to get whatever she wants. Brady tells Sarah that he’s sorry. Sarah understands that Rachel doesn’t know. Brady thinks she may remember that Eric had a baby named Mackenzie. Sarah says maybe deep down, she remembers that used to be her name. Brady calls that possible. Sarah apologizes for getting emotional and blames it on her and Xander deciding to legally separate. Brady says he’s sorry. Sarah says she’s spent far too much time fighting the inevitable, so it’s time to move on.

Susan goes to see Belle, who says she didn’t know she was in town. Susan explains that when she heard Johnny was on trial, she got there as fast as she could and she also wanted to offer her condolences to Marlena. Belle says right now Marlena needs some rest but Marlena comes back in to the room. Susan tells her how sorry she is for her loss as she praises John. Marlena acknowledges that John was very fond of Susan. Susan hugs Marlena and says she can’t believe John is gone. Susan then says she just got a weird vibe from Marlena.

Johnny tells Chanel that when they talked about getting outside help to find out EJ’s shooter, he thought maybe they would hire a private investigator. Chanel says that’s still an option but encourages that Susan loves him and will do whatever it takes to find the truth. Johnny argues that he’s sure she will but she can’t just look in to a crystal ball and figure it out because it’s not that easy. Chanel points out that they are desperate as his trial starts in a matter of hours. Johnny agrees that they are sort of desperate and admits it can’t hurt to see what kind of vibes Susan gets.

Marlena questions Susan getting strange vibes. Susan calls it very peculiar as she senses that Marlena is not well and that there’s trouble residing in her mind, body, and soul. Marlena asks what kind of trouble. Belle thinks it’s time for Susan to go. Susan argues that she just got there. Belle warns Susan that she might get a parking ticket. Susan says her goodbyes to Marlena as Belle hurries Susan out the door.

Doug III promises Julie that he will find a way to pay her back. Julie says he doesn’t have to as she doesn’t need the money, just for him to stay out of trouble. Doug III knows he hurt a lot of people but promises to make changes so he doesn’t keep making the same mistakes which Julie is glad to hear. Doug III decides he should get going. Julie reminds him to keep in touch about the money. Doug III says he will check in to see how she’s doing and thanks her again for everything. Julie tells Doug III that he has a great deal of potential so he just has to get his life together. Julie asks him to come back to Salem when he does to show her well he’s doing. Doug III promises to do that as he then exits.

Gwen asks Gabi what her motive was for shooting EJ. Gabi responds that she didn’t shoot EJ and not that it’s her business, she was very upset with EJ for kidnapping her brother and replacing him with a doppelganger. Gabi adds that EJ is also the reason that her marriage to Stefan went up in flames. Gwen asks how so but Gabi refuses to tell. Gwen guesses it must have been pretty awful for Stefan to dump her and go running to his mom. Gabi asks if Gwen didn’t run in to him while she was there. Gwen asks if she’s still holding a torch for him. Gwen says no and that Tony said he and Anna reached out to him but never heard back, so she was curious. Gwen guesses Dimitri isn’t the only one who has gone missing then. Gwen tells Gabi to give her regards to her family. Gabi tells Gwen to go to Hell as she walks away.

Johnny tells Chanel that he doesn’t have enough time to get back to work before he’s due in court again. Chanel says she has an idea and kisses him. Johnny likes that idea so they head to their room.

Sarah tells Brady that she should’ve broke things off with Xander the moment she found out that he tried to hurt Brady, but she was so in love that she ignored all the obvious red flags. Brady feels she’s being way too hard on herself. Sarah says she’ll do everyone a favor and quit talking about her failed marriage. Brady says he’s been there, done that so if she wants to vent, he’s here because he won’t make any judgments. Sarah thinks it’s just that Victoria is staying with Xander right now so she has all the time alone to think and wallow. Brady suggests she come to dinner with he and Rachel as a distraction. Sarah admits she would like that as Rachel comes back to say bye to Sarah. Rachel and Brady then exit the hospital. Sarah goes to her charts and confirms that Sophia’s baby was definitely not a girl.

Belle returns from walking Susan out and finds Marlena has fallen asleep on the couch. Belle puts a blanket over her and quietly heads to her room. The book “1001 Arabian Nights” lies nearby as Marlena begins to dream about when Stefano made her his Queen of the Night.

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Days Update Thursday, July 24, 2025

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Update written by Joseph

Brady reveals to Belle and Marlena that Sophia had her baby and already gave it up for adoption, explaining that she had a new lawyer and went to Chicago where she went in to labor which shocks Belle and Marlena. Marlena says that must have been so difficult for her. Marlena asks how Tate is. Brady says he’s overwhelmed, explaining that Tate went out to rescue Holly and Arianna then found out that Sophia went in to labor and the baby was gone. Belle says it all happened so fast. Marlena questions the adoptive parents taking the baby so quick. Brady explains that Sophia thought it was for the best and admits she’s probably right. Brady says he feels bad for Tate because he did want to hold his daughter just once. Marlena says it’s been such a rollercoaster ride for Tate. Belle says not just for him. Marlena brings up Johnny going on trial but Rachel comes in and asks Marlena to read her a story. Brady says that’s going to have to wait, reminding Rachel that she lost her goggles so they have to go to the DiMera Mansion to get the other pair. Rachel asks if Brady can’t just go. Brady reminds her that they working on being responsible, so he exits with Rachel. Belle calls it lovely that Marlena is reading with Rachel every night. Marlena thought it would take her mind off the fact that she might have to testify against Johnny in court. Belle agrees that it wouldn’t be any easier in a room full of people.

At the Brady Pub, Abe finishes a call with Theo and then sits down with Paulina. Abe points out that Paulina has hardly touched her breakfast. Paulina responds that she can’t eat when she’s about to be called to the witness stand. Abe knows she’s nervous about Johnny’s trial. Paulina complains about the thought of sending an innocent man to prison for attempted murder. Abe questions her believing now that Johnny is innocent now. Paulina confirms that she had her doubts, but not anymore after seeing him at the police station, hearing his voice, and looking in his eyes, she’s sure that he didn’t do it. Paulina worries about Chanel being a suspect too because of the memory card that just happened to land in Belle’s lap right before the trial. Paulina reminds Abe that she saw the video of Chanel in EJ’s face, saying he wouldn’t live long enough to hurt anyone else that she loves. Abe points out that Chanel said she didn’t recall that. Paulina assures that Chanel certainly didn’t go back to shoot EJ. Paulina knows she will be questioned about the video in court while Belle will ask her about the evidence to make Johnny look guilty. Abe argues that circumstantial evidence proves nothing. Paulina calls the whole situation horrible for Johnny and Chanel, so she would never forgive herself if she made it worse. Abe reminds Paulina that it’s her duty to tell the truth. Abe encourages her that whatever happens, they are in this together. Paulina thanks Abe for always being the voice of reason. Abe encourages her to eat. Paulina decides maybe changing the subject will help and asks him how Theo is. Abe responds that he’s not good.

Gwen goes to the DiMera Mansion with her bags packed, questioning where the staff is to help her with her luggage.

EJ goes to see Belle and Marlena. EJ declares that the sooner Marlena hypnotizes him, the sooner he can remember who shot him. EJ thanks Marlena for doing this for him. Marlena is quick to remind him that she’s not really doing it for him.

Chanel helps Johnny with his tie as they prepare for his first day of trial. Chanel worries about Johnny not getting any sleep. Johnny assures that he’ll be fine and have coffee on the way. Chanel points out that it’s a big day and asks how he’s feeling. Johnny admits he’s scared.

Paulina asks Abe what’s wrong with Theo. Abe responds that he’s fine but reveals that he and Claire broke up. Paulina asks what happened. Abe says he’s not sure as Theo didn’t want to get in to it. Paulina says that’s too bad as she thought they were in it for the long haul. Paulina says break ups are awful but encourages that you heal in time and if you’re lucky, you find love.

Brady and Rachel run in to Gwen at the DiMera Mansion. Gwen says it’s lovely to see them. Rachel questions what she’s doing there. Gwen reveals that she’s moving in and asks if Kristen hadn’t told her. Rachel says no because she hasn’t been there as she’s been at Brady’s house. Brady sends Rachel upstairs to get her goggles. Gwen asks Brady about Kristen letting Rachel stay with him.

Chanel understands Johnny is scared but she promises him everything will be okay. Johnny question how she can say that. Johnny worries that once the jury sees the evidence against him, they will definitely vote guilty. Johnny goes over how he took Roman’s gun, multiple witnesses can place him at the scene of the crime and he pointed the gun at EJ, saying he wanted him dead. Chanel argues that may have been his intention but he didn’t go through with it. Johnny argues that there was a bullet missing from the gun. Chanel says it’s not because he used it or pulled the trigger. Johnny complains that he practically shouted from the rooftops that he wanted EJ dead. Chanel argues that half of Salem wanted that too. Johnny talks about how people warned him not to be talking about wanting EJ dead but he did it like an idiot. Chanel understands he was enraged after finding out what EJ did to Sami. Johnny admits he didn’t have to go so far as to get a gun. Chanel points out that he stopped himself and that’s what matters. Johnny questions if it is or when Belle lays out the evidence, it will look like he shot his dad. Chanel argues that what it looks like doesn’t make him guilty and he’s innocent. Johnny complains that it’s the middle of summer so the jury aren’t going to want to sit through a long trial, they’ll want to get it done quick. Chanel thinks he should give them more credit. Johnny questions what if he still gets convicted.

Marlena reminds EJ that she’s doing this for Johnny because if EJ remembers who shot him, they can clear Johnny’s name. EJ says they have the same goal then. EJ wishes he did this sooner. Belle asks why he didn’t. EJ admits he was scared that he would remember it was Johnny that shot him. Marlena asks if he doesn’t think that now. EJ states that Johnny said he didn’t shoot him and he believes him. Belle brings up that whatever he remembers under hypnosis may not be admissible in court. EJ is confident that he will remember and says they will work backwards from there to find evidence they can use. Marlena goes to get her notebook. Belle notes that EJ seems optimistic and asks if he really thinks hypnosis will work. They acknowledge that if it doesn’t, that means they will be going to war with each other in court.

Abe tells Paulina that they better get going to court. Paulina stops to ask Abe what he thinks Johnny’s chances are. Abe responds that all the evidence against him is circumstantial, but admits he has seen cases where people have been convicted for a lot less. Abe adds that he’s also seen cases he thought were a slam dunk but the jury voted to acquit. Abe says they can be sure that EJ will be fighting for his son’s future. Paulina declares that EJ will put on the fiercest defense of his life.

Belle reminds EJ that they need to put distance between themselves in public with the trial starting. Belle declares that it’s for Johnny and until this is over, they cannot be seen together. EJ argues that there’s nothing wrong with opposing attorneys being romantic partners. Belle feels it’s not a good look for them. EJ suggests secret meetings but Belle talks about how much scrutiny they will be under with EJ defending his son and her prosecuting her nephew. EJ reminds Belle that the judge insisted on having her on this case and ruled that Johnny could choose him to defend him. Belle questions the victim being the defense which EJ calls innovative while Belle feels it’s suspicious. Belle worries about if it got out that they were together, it would just add fuel to the fire. EJ questions being forbidden from sneaking her in to his house. EJ guesses they’ll just have to take advantage of every moment that they can. EJ then kisses Belle until Marlena returns to the room to ask EJ if he’s ready. EJ confirms that he is so Marlena asks Belle to excuse them. Belle wishes EJ luck and exits. Marlena sits with EJ to begin his hypnosis.

Brady informs Gwen that he and Kristen agreed that it would be best if Rachel stayed with him during the trial since there’s a lot going on at the DiMera Mansion. Gwen recalls Kristen saying it was like a powder keg ready to explode. Gwen remarks that Johnny shot his father and now EJ is defending him. Gwen says with all the drama she’s been involved in, she’s so glad to not be involved in this mess as it doesn’t seem like it would end well for anyone.

Belle walks through the town square on the phone with Claire, telling her that she’s so sorry about her and Theo not working out. Belle says she wishes she could come visit with Shawn but she can’t get away. Belle tells Claire to call anytime she needs to talk and she loves her as they hang up.

Chanel tells Johnny that she’s no lawyer but she’s had enough brushes with the law to know that all the evidence against him is circumstantial. Johnny says it doesn’t make a difference. Johnny reminds her of a documentary they watched and they were helping people wrongly convicted but they are still sitting in prison. Chanel encourages that Johnny has something they didn’t and that’s EJ DiMera as his lawyer. Johnny hopes it’s enough. Johnny worries that if he’s convicted, he’s looking at a maximum sentence of 80 years. Chanel insists that EJ will do whatever it takes to clear his name, including pointing the finger at her. Johnny says no way. Chanel says they went over this, reminding him that the police have a video of threatening EJ on the night he was shot. Johnny points out that she doesn’t even remember that. Chanel complains that it wouldn’t stop EJ from using it in court. Johnny argues that he knows Chanel loves him and there’s no way she would let him take the fall for a crime she committed because it doesn’t make sense. Chanel brings up that Jada told her not to leave town and Paulina is hiring Justin to represent her. Johnny states that she did nothing wrong. Chanel says they know that, but when EJ gets him acquitted, Belle is coming after her next. Johnny declares there is no way in Hell that he will let her get railroaded. Johnny wishes that EJ could just remember who shot him so this would all go away. Chanel says they can’t wait around for a miracle and they have to figure it out themselves. Johnny agrees that it’s up to them to find a way to prove they are both innocent. Chanel notes that her mom always says the truth will come out, but in this case they are going to have to make it come out.

Rachel comes back downstairs with a backpack full of other things that she remembered she wanted to take. Gwen asks if she has any messages for Kristen. Rachel questions why. Gwen reminds her that she’s a good friend of Kristen’s. Rachel says she remembers and that Gwen beat her at chess, but she’s better now. Gwen says they will have to rematch. Brady comments that with everything going on, he’s surprised EJ let Gwen move in. Gwen questions why since there’s plenty of room and she is a DiMera. Brady assumes EJ just welcomed her with open arms then. Gwen remarks that she honestly doubts EJ even notices she’s there and he’s probably got a lot more important things on his mind.

Under hypnosis, EJ says “you don’t want to do this” but tells Marlena that he doesn’t know who he is talking to and he can’t tell who it is, despite looking straight at them. EJ gets frustrated but Marlena encourages that he’s doing great. Marlena decides to bring him out of the hypnosis. Marlena then asks what he saw. EJ says he was looking at someone but he couldn’t see who they were. Marlena questions him not knowing even now. EJ confirms that he doesn’t and questions why he couldn’t tell who it was. EJ asks if it was because it was Johnny.

Paulina and Abe approach Belle in the town square. Paulina assumes they are all on their way to court. Belle confirms so and mentions that she just talked to Claire. Abe says he’s so sorry to hear about Claire and Theo breaking up. Belle says Claire was too upset to share the details and she wishes she could make their pain go away. Belle adds that all they can do is be there for their children. Paulina says just like they have to be there for Johnny and Chanel. Paulina hates that they have to go through this.

Chanel knows she said they should leave the investigating to the police, but now that they have the video, it seems like they are done and if it’s not Johnny, it’s her. Johnny declares that there is no way he will let her go down for it and repeats that he would confess to shooting EJ before letting her go down for it. Chanel notes that Paulina told her that he told her the same thing. Johnny says that he and Paulina both love Chanel. Chanel declares that neither of them shot EJ so neither of them are going down for it. Johnny responds that someone has to go down and the cops aren’t looking for anyone else while EJ may never remember who shot him. Chanel decides they need to find someone who will remember for him.

Gwen says she’s going back to the Salem Inn for the rest of her things to move on and tells Rachel that they can rematch in chess soon. Gwen then exits the mansion. Rachel asks Brady if they can go now too. Brady reminds her that Harold made her cookies but Rachel complains that she doesn’t want cookies and just wants to go.

Johnny and Chanel meet Abe and Paulina outside of the courthouse. Johnny thanks them for coming and says it means a lot. Paulina wishes she and Chanel could go in with him but witnesses aren’t allowed in until called to testify. Johnny says he feels a lot better just knowing they are there. Abe says he’ll be inside and will bring support from all three of them.

Belle sits inside the courthouse and checks her phone, looking over at EJ not being there yet. Belle calls EJ and leaves a message that the trial’s about to start and he’s not here. Belle asks what happened with Marlena and if he remembered something.

EJ is frustrated asking why he couldn’t remember who he was talking to when he was shot. Marlena notes that he’s obviously very disturbed by these memories. EJ complains that he thought the point of this was to access those memories. Marlena reminds him that there are no guarantees. EJ asks if she’s saying they failed and this was a total waste of time. Marlena says not at all and that they just had a goal. EJ asks what it means that they couldn’t do it. Marlena says it just means his memories are still blocked. EJ guesses he must be still worried that his memories could harm him and wonders how else his memories could harm him. Marlena advises him not to jump to conclusions on this. Marlena reminds him that she asked Johnny and he said he didn’t shoot him and they both believe him. EJ questions why he can’t see who it was then. Marlena thinks the memories are blocked from him as maybe his mind is still protecting him. EJ hoped it would work so he could exonerate Johnny. Marlena encourages that maybe he still can. Marlena adds that she’s willing to do this again if he is. EJ questions if she thinks that could work. Marlena says she wouldn’t offer if she didn’t believe that. EJ says he’s due in court, but he wishes he wasn’t. Marlena tells him not to be discouraged and that hypnosis can take some time. Marlena says whatever trauma he suffered is buried deep in his subconscious and they just have to find a way to unlock that and release those memories.

Brady asks Rachel what is going on and why she’s so upset. Rachel cries about being where she saw Johnny standing with the gun. Brady is sorry she had to see that but says it was very brave of her to tell Jada and Belle. Rachel cries that Belle said she had to tell it all again in court and brings up that Johnny’s trial is today. Brady says that trials can last days so he doesn’t know when her turn will come. Rachel cries that she doesn’t want to send Johnny to jail. Brady hugs her and says he’s so sorry that she has to go through this. Rachel hopes that Belle finds out who really did it.

EJ arrives in court. Belle asks if he had any luck. EJ responds that he didn’t remember a damn thing. Belle says she’s so sorry. EJ explains that Marlena said he’s blocking something out that’s too traumatic to remember. Belle thinks being shot in his own home could be enough. EJ says he’s been shot before but this just feels different since so much time has passed and he still can’t remember. EJ admits that while he was under, he recalled asking someone to hand him the gun but he couldn’t make out who it was and that apparently suggests that simply being shot wasn’t the most traumatic part of what happened that night. EJ wonders what could be worse, so he asked Marlena if it was possible that the shooter really was Johnny but she urged him not to jump to conclusions and said it’s entirely possible to be another reason. Belle believes Marlena. EJ states that he just wants answers to help his son. Belle says he can’t just skip past experiencing something so traumatic and some things can’t be rushed, pointing out that he almost died. Belle asks where they left it. EJ responds that Marlena wants to try again so they scheduld another session and God willing, she helps him recall what really happened that night.

Marlena goes to the courthouse and hugs Johnny, asking how he’s holding up. Johnny guesses he’s doing as well as could be expected. Marlena encourages that they are there for him, they believe in him and love him so much. EJ comes out from the court room to tell Johnny that it’s time, so he heads inside. The judge orders the jury to be called in, so Marlena and Abe enter but Marlena staggers and then passes out in Abe’s arms.

Brady brings Rachel home and tells her to get her bag so they can get her to camp. Rachel wants Marlena to read to her first but Brady says that’s not going to happen because Marlena is at Johnny’s trial. Brady suggests changing plans and going to see a movie instead. Rachel asks what about camp. Brady decides she can skip a day to hang out with her dad which Rachel excitedly agrees to. Brady sends her to go put her bag away in her room. Brady then gets a call from Belle, who informs him that Marlena just collapsed in court.

Gwen packs the rest of her bags at the Salem Inn and says that should be everything. Gwen then looks at the safe in her room and thinks back to placing the necklace in there. Gwen then opens the safe and discovers it’s now empty.

Belle tries to wake Marlena up as EJ, Johnny, and Abe look on.

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Days Short Recap Monday, July 28, 2025

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Recap written by Michele and Cheryl

Gabi went to the DiMera mansion to meet with Tony. He wanted to know if she had a plan to get the company back. Gabi said she didn’t have one. Tony said he had a plan. He said to cause fighting within the Kiriakis family. Gabi said she noticed that there was tension between Xander and Philip, but she didn’t know why they were fighting. Tony said someone might know why. She said she liked the plan. He said he was glad she was willing to go along with the plan since she didn’t want to turn on Xander at first. Gabi said business was business and walked out. Kayla went to see Steve at Black Patch. She said she was distracted thinking about John. He said he knew what she meant. Steve told her that Julie got her necklace back. He told her how Julie got the necklace back. Kayla said she didn’t like the idea of Doug stealing, but he did the right thing. While they were talking, Kayla told Steve about Marlena fainting in court. After Kayla left, Gabi showed up to hire Steve to investigate Xander and Philip. Steve refused to take the case. He believed they were shady, but he stayed away from personal cases. Gabi didn’t believe him. Steve said his brother-in-law and nephews were Kiriakises and Stephanie was dating Alex and had a past with Philip. He asked what was in it for Gabi. She said Xander and Philip wouldn’t let her take Gabi Chic so she had to play hardball. After some convincing, Steve changed his mind and said he would take the case.

Marlena went to work. Kayla was surprised to see her. Marlena said she didn’t have any symptoms and was there to consult with Dr. Fuller on a patient. Kayla asked her to wait a few days, but Marlena said she was that patient. Marlena said what was wrong with her wasn’t physical. She thought it had to do with her soul. Kayla asked if she was possessed again. Marlena said she wasn’t. She said there was a time when Stefano used to invade her dreams and would refer to her as his Queen of the Night. Marlena said that left her vulnerable for possession. Kayla said that was a long time ago. Marlena said she hadn’t forgotten how that felt and let her know she had a dream about being the Queen of the Night. She said Susan’s premonition had her worried too. Kayla said Stefano was dead. Marlena knew he was gone. She told her what happened when she read Rachel a story from Arabian Nights and the dream was similar. Kayla said that the story and stress was why she had the dream. Marlena said it could explain the dream. She left for her appointment and would let Kayla know what happened. While Gwen was moving her things, Julie showed up to show off the necklace. Gwen accused her of stealing the necklace. Julie said she couldn’t steal something that was hers. She told Gwen to call the police and file a report. Gwen told her to enjoy the necklace for now. Julie told her that she better not be threatening her. She warned Gwen that she would get what was coming to her if she ever showed up at the house. While they were arguing a man showed up and yelled at Gwen. When Gwen left, Julie thanked Foster. He said he missed her and she said the same thing. They talked about the necklace and his bookstore. Foster told her he was selling the bookstore to be with his family in California. He said he would miss the store, but he missed his family more. Marlena told Kayla about the appointment. She said she had more questions than answers. Marlena said she couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling. She said she didn’t know if she wanted the answers.

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Days Short Recap Friday, July 25, 2025

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Recap written by Michele and Cheryl

Gabi found Doug and gave him a piece of her mind. He tried to stop her by apologizing for what happened. Gabi refused to let him off the hook. She called him out for betraying Arianna and Roman. Doug knew what he did. He wrote a letter for Roman and asked Gabi to give it to him. When he pulled it out the necklace came out with it. Chanel wondered if Johnny heard anything about Marlena. He didn’t hear anything yet. Susan arrived at their place. She hugged Johnny and let him know that she was there to make sure that he didn’t go to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Chanel admitted that she called Susan to help them find out who shot EJ. Johnny wasn’t sure if it was a good idea because everyone didn’t believe in psychic powers, and it’s useless in court. Chanel felt like it was a start. Susan thought they would figure it out. She knew Johnny was innocent from the beginning. Susan began to work her magic leaving Chanel and Johnny confused. Johnny thought they could hire a private investigator and not rely on his grandmother’s psychic powers. Chanel told him they were desperate, and they were out of time. Johnny finally gave in and allowed Susan to figure it out. Gwen was shocked to find out that the necklace was gone. She tried to leave when Julie showed up. Julie served her with legal papers. She let Gwen know that she was being sued. Gwen told her that she couldn’t have the necklace because it’s gone. Julie wanted to know what she meant by that. Gwen accused her of stealing the necklace and used it to cover her tracks. Julie told her that she didn’t have it and wondered who did. She stormed out of the place, and they both threatened to call the police. Gwen left her room and ran into Doug. She put it together and realized that he was the one who took the necklace. Gwen ran into Gabi at the town square. They started arguing about Gabi stealing Jake from her, and Stefan cheating on Gabi. Gabi reminded her about Dimitri cheating on her. Gwen was thankful that she got Dimitri’s money. Gabi wondered if Gwen killed Dimitri. Susan showed up while they argued. She asked Gabi if she shot her son. Susan remembered seeing that Gabi was at EJ’s place the night he was shot, and she confessed to being there. Gwen enjoyed watching them talk. Susan warned Gabi that if she was responsible for EJ’s shooting, then she would be in trouble. She stormed off. Gwen thought it was funny that Gabi was accused of the shooting when she asked her if her if she killed Dimitri.

Julie was upset when Doug arrived. She demanded to know what he wanted. He told her that he was leaving Salem, but Julie didn’t care about it. Doug pulled out the necklace, and she changed her tune. She wanted to know where he got it. He said he stole it. It belonged to Julie and not Gwen. Julie knew Gwen would go ballistic once she found out the necklace was gone. She wasn’t going to tell Gwen that Doug stole it. He apologized to her again. Doug would regret throwing the love that she gave him in her face. He was about to walk away when she asked him to put the necklace on her. Doug put the necklace on her and let her look at it. Wearing it made Julie feel closer to her mother and grandmother. Julie wanted to give him Doug’s pocket watch. He thanked her for the gift. Julie offered to wire him the rest of the money he owed the loan shark once he got settled. His grandfather would want her to help him. Doug promised to pay her back. Julie just wanted him to stay out of trouble. He promised to stay out of trouble and start a new life. Sarah checked on Marlena. She told her that her blood pressure was high. Sarah wanted to run more tests. Marlena told her that she was stressed and tired. Marlena assured Belle that she was feeling okay and that they ran more tests. Sarah would tell her the results when they were done so they headed home. Rachel and Brady were at the hospital to find out about Marlena. They missed her because she left. Rachel showed Sarah the stuffed animal she got. They told Sarah that Sophia had the baby. Brady told her that they baby was fine, but she was gone. Sarah was surprised to find out that Sophia had a girl and had her out of town. Belle and Marlena arrived at the townhouse and talked about EJ’s session. She wondered if EJ was experiencing trauma or if the identity of the shooter was why he blocked it out. Marlena couldn’t say either way. She wasn’t comfortable talking about it with her. Belle didn’t want to press the issue. They talked about their loss of John. Susan arrived at the townhouse to see Marlena. She offered her condolences to Marlena. They hugged each other, but Susan felt uneasy after she did it. She told Marlena that she got a weird vibe from her. Susan said that there was trouble in the body, mind and soul. Marlena wondered what trouble she meant. Belle said it was time for her to go. After Brady left, Sarah decided to check Sophia’s chart. She knew she was right. Sophia was pregnant with a boy. Belle came back inside and saw her mother asleep on the couch. She was relieved. Marlena was dreaming about being the Queen of the Night.

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Days Update Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Days of Our Lives Update

 

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Update written by Joseph

Xander plays with Victoria in his office until Sarah arrives, watching from the doorway with a smile.

Arianna is home and comments on how much she missed Tesoro while she was gone. Gabi says not as much as she missed her as they hug. Gabi says she has no idea how relieved she is to have her home safe, though she still thinks the hospital should’ve kept her overnight. Arianna assures that she’s fine, but also angry not just at Doug III but at herself. Arianna remarks that she never should’ve got involved with that loser or lied to Gabi about it. Arianna tells Gabi to go ahead and say she told her so. Gabi says all she wants to say to her is that she loves her as they hug.

Holly goes to the Brady Pub where Doug III rushes up to hug her. He says he wanted to come see her as soon as he heard she was rescued, but he wasn’t sure she’d want to see him. Holly asks if he means because her kidnapping was his fault.

Tate asks Sophia where the baby is. Sophia responds that she’s gone. Tate asks what she means and if she didn’t make it. Sophia clarifies that the baby is alive and she shouldn’t have said it like that. Brady comes in and asks how Sophia is feeling. Sophia says she’s good overall. Brady asks if the baby is with her parents right now. Sophia responds that she was just about to explain to Tate that the adoptive parents were with her when she gave birth and they wanted to take her home right away, so she let them, leaving Brady and Tate shocked.

Sarah tells Xander that she knows she didn’t tell him she was coming and she’s not there to take Victoria from him, she just really needed to see her. Xander understands and says she doesn’t need to explain as he hands Victoria to her.

Arianna puts Tesoro to sleep. Gabi then asks what she wants for dinner and offers to make whatever she wants. Arianna asks if they can eat later because there’s something she needs to do first. Gabi guesses she wants to give Doug Williams a piece of her mind. Arianna asks how she knew. Gabi responds that they are a lot more alike than she thinks. Arianna asks if it’s okay that she sees him. Gabi says absolutely, but she’s coming with her because she has a few things to say to him too.

Holly argues that Doug III should’ve told them that the loan sharks were after him again because if they knew they were following them, they could’ve had their guard up. Doug III agrees that he was stupid and thought maybe he could push them away. Holly says it was too little, too late and adds that they don’t appreciate that Doug III tried keeping she and Arianna a secret from each other. Holly asks Doug III to tell the truth for once. Doug III informs Holly that he really likes Arianna but admits that he was only with her because he couldn’t be with Holly.

Tate gets furious as he questions Sophia giving their baby away without telling him, complaining that he didn’t even get to meet the lawyer or the parents. Brady asks Sophia what happened so they can better understand. Sophia claims she went in to labor while meeting the parents and they all just thought it was a sign of how it was meant to be. Sophia says she didn’t even get to hold the baby and she couldn’t. Tate cries that he didn’t even get that chance because she took that from him. Sophia says she’s sorry and didn’t know it meant that much to him. Brady points out that nothing is set in stone as there is paperwork for Tate to sign. Sophia says she brought it with her and her lawyer said it’s all standard. Sophia asks if he wants to look it over but Tate refuses, declaring he’s not signing anything.

Xander and Sarah put Victoria down for a nap. Sarah is glad she got to see her at least. Xander admits that Victoria misses her. Sarah says she is her mother. Xander argues that she didn’t seem to care when she missed him. Sarah doesn’t want to argue. Xander complains that he felt like a stranger to Victoria and they were just getting back to normal. Sarah is sure they will face the same adjustment when it’s her turn again which they need to talk about. Xander agrees, but notes that before he got this time with Victoria, he was ready to go to war with her but now he realizes they aren’t just hurting each other, but hurting their daughter and he doesn’t want that for her. Xander suggests they stop all the fighting and fix the custody situation.

Arianna tells Gabi that she cannot go with her. Gabi argues that she’s not going by herself when Doug III nearly got her killed. Arianna pleads with her that she needs to do this alone and asks her to trust her, promising to give Doug III hell for the both of them. Gabi reluctantly agrees but reminds her that she has eyes and ears at the Brady Pub. Gabi asks Arianna to promise to be safe and adds that after tonight, she doesn’t want her going near Doug III again. Arianna assures that she doesn’t plan on it.

Doug III guesses he was delusional to think Holly might have feelings for him too. Holly admits he wasn’t and that when she and Tate broke up, she thought something might happen between them. Doug III admits he wanted to make a move then, but she didn’t seem ready so he didn’t want to screw things up. Holly remarks that instead he screwed Arianna and kept her in the dark. Doug III says he should’ve been more upfront and repeats that he’s really sorry. Holly tells him that it’s Arianna who deserves an apology. Doug III responds that he’s going to talk to her before he leaves town. Holly questions him leaving town.

Sophia argues that Tate has to sign the papers as it’s what they agreed to do. Brady thinks Tate needs a moment to process everything, adding that they both have legitimate concerns about how things went down. Brady says she was supposed to bring the baby back with her. Sophia says she’s sorry she wasn’t clearer on the phone. Tate argues that they were doing all of this together and questions her going without him. Sophia argues that he was at the lake with Holly. Tate points out that he told her he would only be gone a day and questions that she couldn’t wait until he got back. Sophia says she couldn’t because they were running out of time and she tried to call him, but he didn’t pick up the phone. Tate argues that she knew he wanted to be there but he couldn’t because he was saving Holly’s life. Tate informs her that Holly and Arianna were kidnapped which Sophia questions. Tate calls it a long story and says it’s over now and they are home safe. Sophia says she’s sorry that happened, but all she knew was that he wasn’t answering the phone and she had to give birth in a strange city surrounded by people she didn’t know. Brady says she’s obviously had a very hard day and they can’t imagine how painful and frustrating it’s been. Brady thinks she deserves a bit of empathy and understanding right now. Tate agrees and apologizes, saying he can’t imagine what she just went through. Brady adds that he’s sorry her parents weren’t there but notes they are there for her too. Sophia says she appreciates that. Tate goes over Sophia being wiped out from giving birth, her parents not being there, and he wasn’t picking up the phone so she made a snap decision. Tate brings up that nothing is set in stone so it’s not too late for him to meet his daughter. Tate asks her for the address of the adoptive parents so he can go there, meet the baby, and make sure everything feels good to him before he signs anything.

Sarah tells Xander that she’s totally open to working out a custody agreement with him, but last time they tried, it didn’t go so well. Xander says that was because she tried to entrap him. Sarah says she’s not rehashing that again. Sarah says they need to talk about his anger. Xander questions this again. Sarah says she knows he would never lay a hand on Victoria, but the idea of leaving her alone with a man that could pop off any moment in a blind rage and not acknowledge what he has done, scares the hell out of her. Sarah declares that as far as she’s concerned, that’s the only thing standing in the way of making an agreement with him. Xander swears to her that he will never lay a hand on Philip. Sarah asks about anyone else since before Philip there was Brady and Eric. Sarah questions how she’s supposed to believe that he won’t be violent again. Xander doesn’t know what she wants him to do and says at the end of the day, she’s just going to have to trust him but obviously she’s incapable of doing that. Xander states that they are at a stand still. Sarah says maybe not as she has an idea, but she doesn’t think he will like it.

Gabi goes to the DiMera Mansion where Tony tells her that he heard about Arianna’s kidnapping and he’s so relieved she is okay. Gabi thanks him and says she is her whole world. Tony says family is everything and he appreciates that she came by to see him. Gabi says she was intrigued by his message, saying he had a business proposition for her. Tony informs her that his associate Rita has been keeping him up on Titan-DiMera and identified Gabi as a disgruntled employee. Gabi laughs and says she knew Rita was up to something. Gabi admits she’s very disgruntled and asks for his pitch. Tony responds that he wants to take back his family’s company and in order to do that, he needs information. Tony asks if Gabi could help him dig up dirt on Xander and Philip. Gabi responds that she’s sorry but she can’t do that.

Sophia tells Tate that he can’t see the baby because she needs to bond with the adoptive parents and she promised they wouldn’t interfere. Tate argues that she had no right to promise that and they agreed to an open adoption. Sophia says they did agree to send pictures and it’s all in the contract. Brady reminds Tate that he hasn’t signed anything yet. Sophia worries that they could still back out. Sophia then shows Tate a photo of parents with a baby, claiming that they sent it right when they got home. Sophia says they’ve had so many things go wrong and asks if he really wants to screw it up now.

Doug III tells Holly that it’s better if he skips town so he doesn’t put anyone else in danger and once he’s gone, he doubts the loan sharks will come after them again especially now that they know Arianna’s uncle is in the FBI. Holly sees his point and hopes that he’s right. Doug III says he’s sure that he is. Holly asks if he will tell Julie that he’s leaving town. Doug III says no but that Holly can tell her as he’s sure Julie will be relieved since he betrayed her and broke her heart. Holly thinks Julie will still want closure. Doug III asks if she means giving him hell one more time. Doug III decides that he deserves to let everyone get their licks in one last time. Arianna arrives and asks if that includes her. Arianna guesses Holly had the same idea and asks if she told him that they figured out he was pining after Holly the whole time he was sleeping with her. Doug III confirms that she did and tells Arianna how sorry he is for hurting her and putting her in danger. Arianna responds by slapping Doug III across the face. Doug III admits he deserved that. Holly decides she will leave them to talk as she’s sure Arianna has more to say. Holly says goodbye to Doug III and wishes him the best of luck where ever he ends up. Doug III wishes her the same and says he hopes things work out for her and Tate. Holly doesn’t think he really means that but thanks him anyways as she exits the Pub. Arianna notes that sounding final and asks if he’s leaving Salem. Doug III confirms that he is. Arianna guesses she caught him just in time, because she can’t let him leave without telling her how she really feels.

Tate says he doesn’t want to screw up the adoption. Sophia swears that the baby is in a wonderful home. Brady asks Sophia to tell them about the parents to put their minds at ease. Sophia claims they are both doctors and Christian like her mom wanted, they are very active in the church and volunteer a lot to give back to the community. Brady notes they sound like good people. Sophia says they definitely are. Sophia realizes it didn’t happen exactly how they expected, but she feels the end result is even better than they could’ve hoped because now she and Tate can move on with their lives. Sophia tells Tate that all he has to do is sign the papers. Tate reluctantly agrees, saying that Sophia found a good home for their baby and that’s all that matters. Tate then officially signs the adoption papers.

Xander asks Sarah what her idea is. Sarah informs him that she wants him to do anger management counseling. Xander guesses she’s teaming up with Philip to try and make him look weak and says that’s not happening. Sarah asks what if he saw Marlena, noting that it would be private and confidential. Xander asks if she’s saying that if he did therapy with Marlena, she would agree to a joint custody arrangement. Sarah responds that if he follows through with it and puts in an honest effort, then yes.

Tony questions Gabi not being interested and asks if she doesn’t want to own the rights to Gabi Chic. Gabi says she’s more than interested in that. Tony says that’s what he’s offering her and if they succeed, she’ll own the rights to her company. Gabi argues that it’s only if she agrees to play dirty. Tony argues that Xander and Philip aren’t above that. Tony says he’s heard they are making Gabi’s life Hell and feels she surely can’t be interesting in making them win. Gabi tells Tony if he approached her a few days ago, she would’ve jumped at the chance to stick it to Xander and Philip, but when Arianna went missing, Xander was very kind to her and compassionate, so she wouldn’t feel right turning around and stabbing him in the back. Tony says he’s surprised because Gabi’s never been loyal to anyone but herself. Tony adds that he’s always admired her survival instincts. Gabi says when Tony texted her about a business proposal, she thought he had something more interesting and asks why he doesn’t just get Rita to do his dirty work. Tony explains that Rita doesn’t work for Titan-DiMera as she now works for EJ at the hospital. Gabi suggests he find someone else to be his mole. Tony asks if she would come on board if he sweetens the pot. Gabi questions in what way as they sit down. Tony asks Gabi how she would like to become the next CEO of DiMera Enterprises.

Sophia thanks Tate for being so understanding as she knows it’s all really stressful. Sophia states that she’s made peace with her decision and thinks they can all agree that this is what’s best for the baby. Sophia decides she should get going. Brady offers to drive her but Sophia says her mom is waiting outside. Brady is glad she’s taking care of her. Sophia assures that she’s fine and that it was an easy labor that went by really fast. Brady is glad they are okay. Tate asks Sophia to text him the photo of the baby and any other photos that the parents may send. Sophia agrees to do so and tells Tate that she’s really sorry about all of this. Sophia hopes he doesn’t hate her. Tate says that he doesn’t hate her. Sophia tells him that she’ll see him around as she exits.

Arianna tells Doug III that she knows they kind of jumped in to bed together sort of fast, but she really did care about him. Doug III responds that he cares about her too. Arianna says she did in the past but argues that Doug III never cared about her and was only using her, but then he almost got her killed. Doug III wishes he could make it up to her. Arianna tells him that he can start by never contacting her again, losing her number and her socials. Arianna wishes she could forget ever meeting him and calls him that forgettable as she walks out of the Pub.

Brady asks Tate if he’s alright. Tate says he just thought he’d to get to meet his baby and hold her at least once. Tate feels like something was taken from him. Brady asks if he’s having second thoughts about the adoption. Tate assures that he’s not and that he’s just sad. Brady asks Tate if he needs anything from him. Tate thinks he just needs space. Brady says he’s got it and he’s here if he needs him. Tate reminds Brady that Theresa has no idea that her granddaughter was just born and he doesn’t want to rehash it. Brady agrees to tell her and the other family members as well. Brady hugs Tate as he cries and encourages that it’s alright. Brady then heads to his room. Tate sits down on the couch and gets a call from Holly. Holly tells Tate that she can’t thank him enough for saving her life. Tate is just glad she’s not hurt and that she’s home safe. Holly calls it kind of hot how he kicked the door in and invites him to come over tonight. Tate says maybe another time. Holly asks if something’s wrong.

Gabi questions why Tony would offer her the CEO job and if he doesn’t want it himself. Tony says not really as he likes his life the way it is, traveling the world with Anna. Gabi thinks he’d try to bring another DiMera back from the dead before looking outside the family. Tony brings up Gabi’s marriage to Stefan and says once a DiMera, always a DiMera. Tony talks about the family being more about being loyal than blood. Gabi brings up that he said she’s only been loyal to herself. Tony says as CEO, their interests would be the same. Gabi asks how she knows that he’s not setting her up. Tony asks why he would do that. Gabi brings up working with Anna to oust him from the CEO position. Tony laughs that off as so long ago and says they did him a favor, freeing him from that position and that all has been forgiven. Gabi admits his offer is very tempting. Tony says he knew she would come on board, but adds that he would like to retain some input like a friendly advisor, working strictly behind the curtains. Gabi supposes she could work with that. Tony asks if they have a deal then and if she’s interested in joining forces with him to bring down the Kiriakis Brothers.

Xander tells Sarah that he will look in to scheduling an appointment with Marlena. Sarah says that’s great. Xander adds that he will need something from Sarah as well. Xander states that as things stand, any agreement they make would be informal and the trust in their marriage is broken, so he believes they do need a formal agreement and the only way they can have that is for them to legally separate.

Tate tells Holly that he wasn’t going to get in to it right now. Holly asks if it’s about Sophia and the baby. Tate confirms that he found out Sophia went in to labor when Holly was at the police station. Holly asks if something went wrong. Tate says that Sophia and the baby are fine, but he found out that she gave birth in Chicago and immediately handed the baby over to the adoptive parents. Tate cries that he didn’t even get to hold her. Holly congratulates him but says she’s so sorry that he missed the birth and asks if there’s anything she can do. Tate thinks he just needs a little time to let it process. Holly says if he wants to talk, he can just let her know. Tate thanks her and says he will see her soon as they hang up.

Sophia goes to the town square and calls Melinda, telling her that she stuck to their story. Sophia adds that Tate was very upset as she expected but he eventually did sign the adoption papers. Sophia notes that Tate wasn’t suspicious but he would totally hate her if he ever found out the truth that she abandoned their baby.

Arianna takes care of Tesoro at home and admits that as much as she loved telling off Doug III, she really did like him and part of her is really going to miss him.

Doug III walks through the town square with his bags.

Gabi tells Tony that she’s not agreeing to anything until she has all of it in writing. Tony agrees to have a contract drawn up right away. Gabi says she will read it thoroughly and then he has a deal. Gabi declares that she will help dig up dirt on Xander and Phillip, and in return, she will become DiMera CEO.

Sarah questions Xander wanting to legally separate. Xander explains that they can’t get a court enforced document unless they do and the way things are now, a separation seems inevitable anyway. Sarah hesitates but admits he’s right that there’s no use putting it off any longer. Xander says he will get Melinda to draw up the arrangement which will include the terms for joint custody. Sarah says she will have Justin look at it when he sends it over. Xander points out that they finally agreed to something which he didn’t think was still possible. Sarah admits she didn’t either but they are doing the right thing for Victoria.

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Days Nitpicks & Flubs For The Week Of July 21, 2025

Nitpicks & Flubs

 

by Michele & Cheryl

Monday

-Tate’s not dating Sophia so he didn’t need her permission to go to the lake.

-Tate and Holly could be heard talking while Sophia was shown.

-Sophia was clearly pointing her diary towards the camera while she was reading her diary.

-Sarah told Xander that Maggie invited her to go to Bermuda at the last minute. She rewrote what happened. Sarah invited herself on the trip to Bermuda.

Tuesday

-It shouldn’t have been so easy for Doug to get a uniform at the Salem Inn.

-Johnny and Chanel could be heard talking while Belle was shown.

-Doug walked up after Gwen left her hotel room, but he knew she was wearing the necklace. She could have taken the necklace off since he she left her room before he saw her.

Wednesday

-Stephanie and Alex could have made out in her bedroom. Did she forget that Jada stays with her? She could have showed up any time.

-Rafe was talking while Chad was shown.

-Thomas called Julie “Aunt Julie.” He needs to look at the family tree. Julie is not his aunt. She is his cousin.

-Did Cat forget about her brother Mark? She talked to Rafe about Aaron and Felicity, but she forgot about Mark.

-Victoria cried like she was a baby and not a toddler.

Thursday

-Tate was talking while Holly and Arianna were shown.

Friday

-Tate rushed Sophia to answer her phone when it barely rang.

-When did Maggie go to Bermuda?

-How did Rafe know that Maggie considered going to Bermuda? Who told him that she was going?

-Sophia cried without any tears.

 

 

The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TVMEG.COM or its other volunteers.

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Days Opinions For The Week Of July 21, 2025

Opinion Article

 

by Michele & Cheryl

We don’t understand why Gwen was brought back to the show. The actress has been back for a little while so it’s time to talk about her return. We weren’t fans of her character by any means and that didn’t change. She didn’t need to be back on the show. All she does is brag about being rich. We get it. Dimitri’s inheritance made her rich. We don’t need to keep hearing about it. She also keeps talking about how she was abandoned by her family. Gwen already dealt with that trauma when she was on the show before. It’s time for her to move on from that part of her life because she wasn’t worried about it when she was bragging about the money she inherited from Dimitri. The writers were certain we couldn’t have Bo and Hope back permanently, but they were sure we needed Gwen back on the show. It’s safe to say they got it backwards.

Speaking of useless characters, what was the point of Doug? He was on the show for months, and we don’t know any more about him than we did when he joined the show. The writers didn’t bother to flesh out his character. All he did was steal Julie’s necklace, flirt with Holly and sleep with Arianna. At first, we thought his character would have been enough to finally give Julie a storyline. Unfortunately, that story went nowhere. Julie was upset with him and kicked him out of the Horton house. When that storyline didn’t work the writers tried to have him be the interloper in Tate and Holly’s relationship. The writers tried to make him come off like Mr. Romantic when he was the bad guy in the storyline. It didn’t work because we knew that he was a thief. Holly didn’t return his feelings for her so that was the end of that storyline. The writers tried another story by making him fall for Arianna. That storyline didn’t work either because he was finally written out of the cast. They had to find some way to write him out of the show, so Tate told him to leave town. Doug agreed to leave town, so that’s then end of his character. We can’t say that we will miss him because we won’t. It helped that we never got to know the real version of Doug. In our minds, he was a thief who betrayed a woman who just lost her husband. The writers couldn’t do anything to fix his character at that point. They would have been better off making him a villain instead of trying to convince us that he was a thief with the heart of gold.

There is one more useless character that we must talk about. Cat has been on the show for a while, and she hasn’t done anything worth watching. The writers have tried to do things to make this character more likable and interesting, but the attempts have failed. She is hard to watch because she is very annoying. Cat does nothing but flirt with Chad. We couldn’t care less about seeing them bond after the way she schemed against him. The writers wasted their time expecting everyone to forgive and forget her actions. They tried to give her character more life by tying her to the ISA. Suddenly Cat is some great expert in investigating things. No offense, but she doesn’t seem especially brilliant so it’s hard to believe that she’s such a genius that she could work with the ISA undercover. Is this storyline a way to create needless tension between Chad and Cat? Are they starting a triangle with Rafe? She’s definitely beyond boring with Chad. Hopefully she will have some chemistry with Rafe because she doesn’t with Chad.

Was anyone else ready to hit the fast forward button on Stephanie and Alex? Their scenes could cure insomnia. We know the actors are trying their best to put on good performances, but their scenes were extremely boring. Are the writers struggling for ideas? The best story they could come up with was Stephanie getting her book published. We couldn’t care less about her book or whether it gets published. It’s time for the writers to cut their losses with Stephanie and Alex because they don’t have chemistry. Watching Stephanie go on about whether people would know she wrote her book was like watching paint dry.

It was strange to see Melinda helping Sophia. She’s not exactly a nurturing character, but she showed that side when she was talking to Sophia. It was nice to see her be patient with Sophia even though cried about a decision she chose to make. Melinda reminded the audience about her decision to give up her baby. We applaud the writers for including that beat into the storyline. Sophia didn’t want to have the baby, and Melinda talked to her about what she went through when she gave her baby away. The situations aren’t the same, but she found a way to relate to Sophia. It was nice to see them working together when they didn’t interact with each other before. Sophia needed someone to help her, and Melinda was the person who came through for her.

Johnny’s trial started. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a courtroom case on the show. The writers took the time to show EJ and Belle question people for jury duty. Amy and Leo were summoned for their case. The writers didn’t write jury service the way it’s supposed to be, but it was enjoyable to watch. Anyone who suffered through jury duty knows that you wouldn’t get summoned that fast. You must wait for a month to go and must sit in a jury control room in person on a Zoom call. Leo tried everything he could to get out of the case, but it didn’t work. EJ and Belle wanted to keep him on the case. We hope that we get to see the case unfold onscreen. There have been other times when the cases took place offscreen. It would be nice to see one play out on the show.

 

The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TVMEG.COM or its other volunteers.

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Days Short Recap Thursday, July 24, 2025

Daytime Soap Opera Short Recaps

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Recap written by Michele and Cheryl

Belle talked to Marlena about how Johnny’s trial was going to take a toll on her. EJ met them so he could have his hypnosis session. Marlena stressed that she wasn’t doing the hypnosis session for him. She was doing it for Johnny. EJ let her know that he thought Johnny did it too but now he believes he’s innocent. Belle explained to EJ that hypnosis wasn’t admissible in court. EJ knew it wouldn’t be, but he was glad that he started somewhere. Marlena left to prepare for the session. Belle reminded EJ that had to keep their relationship professional during everything that’s going on. EJ didn’t want to do that, but Belle reminded him about how serious their trial was. She pointed out how Johnny was related to both of them, and EJ was the victim. EJ hesitated, but he agreed with Belle. He kissed her until Marlena broke them up. Belle left and they got started. He looked at something, but he couldn’t see what it was. EJ got frustrated because he didn’t know what it was. Marlena stopped the session. He couldn’t tell who it was. Marlena wanted to know if it was because he thought Johnny did it. She let him know that he seemed troubled by his memories. His memories were still blocked. EJ thought his memories could harm him. She thought he was trying to say Johnny was the shooter. Marlena let him know that Johnny was innocent. EJ thought he was innocent too. She’s willing to keep going. They had to unlock his memories. Paulina told Abe that she was nervous about being called as a witness at Johnny’s trial. She was afraid that she would send Johnny to prison. Paulina believed he was innocent. She thought Chanel was innocent too. Abe reminded her that she had an obligation to tell the truth. He believed everything would be okay. She asked him if Johnny had a shot of winning. Abe told her that the evidence against Johnny was circumstantial. Unfortunately, he’s seen guilty verdicts with less evidence.

Johnny and Chanel were getting ready for his trial. He admitted that he was scared because he threatened his father with a gun. Johnny wanted him dead at one point. Chanel told him that he didn’t do it. She said what mattered was that he stopped himself. Johnny said he still looked guilty. Chanel reminded him that his father was defending him, and he might blame her for the crime. He knew that Chanel would never let him take the fall for what he did. Chanel thought they couldn’t wait for the truth to come out. They had to make it come out. Johnny and Chanel didn’t shoot EJ, and they weren’t going down for it. They had to find someone who could remember if EJ couldn’t do it. Everyone headed to the courthouse for the trial. Belle called EJ to find out why he wasn’t at the courthouse. She wanted to know if he remembered something. EJ arrived a few minutes later. He told her that he didn’t remember anything. Him getting shot wasn’t the most traumatic thing that happened. She wondered what could be worse. Belle knew he was dealing with trauma. It’s not something that could be rushed. EJ told her that he had another session scheduled. Marlena hugged Johnny outside of the courtroom. She assured him that she would be there for him. EJ told Johnny that it was time. Everyone took their places in the courtroom. The judge called the jury into the room. Marlena and Abe sat in the gallery. She became woozy and dropped into her chair. Marlena passed out on Abe. Belle called Brady and told him about what happened to Marlena. She begged her mother to wake up. EJ and Johnny watched them helplessly.

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