SOAP opera fans are familiar with the drama, conflict, and betrayal that takes place on Days of Our Lives.
After 50-plus years on television, cast shake-ups are nothing new to viewers of the long-running DAYS.
During DAYS’ 57th cycle, fans questioned the fates of Ciara Brady, Xander Kiriakis, and Chandel Dupree
Who’s leaving Days of Our Lives?
TR Coates
In January 2022, TR Coates, played by William Christian, debuted on the show.
He is the biological father of Lani Price, played by Sal Stowers, and the ex-boyfriend of Paulina Price, portrayed by Jackée Harry.
His filmmaking career resulted in him making his way to Salem, where he works on a project based on the possession of series regular Marlena Evans, portrayed by Deidre Hall.
TR meets his demise at the hands of his own daughter, which means he will not be returning for another season of Days of Our Lives.
Dr Craig Wesley
Salem’s resident doctor, Craig Wesley, is also exiting Days in 2022.
His character, brought to audiences by Kevin Spirtas, was first introduced to the show in 1997.
After a decade of absence from the program, Dr Craig returned in November 2019.
Although he and his wife Nancy are leaving Salem, their daughter Chloe is staying in town for another season of DAYS.
Abigail Deveraux
Online whispers speculated that the fate of Abigail Deveraux was expected to take a deadly turn in the later 2022 episodes.
The rumors were later proven true after she was killed off the show, giving the season a whole murder mystery storyline.
Portrayed by Marci Miller, Abby was first welcomed onto the show in late 1992 by parents Jack and Jennifer Deveraux.
Ben Weston & Ciara Brady
Reports of Ben Weston and Ciara Brady’s departure from Days of Our Lives made headlines in April 2022.
Marlena Evans, Allie Horton, and Chad DiMera are all moving forward with the next season of Days of Our Lives
Their storyline during season 57 of the show is full of twists and turns.
Ben, portrayed by Robert Scott Wilson, welcomed a child with his on-screen love interest Ciara Brady, played by Victoria Konefal.
However, the Devil appeared as a foil for the couple as the entity possesses different characters to get closer to achieving its goal of possessing Ben and Ciara’s baby.
While the Devil did not succeed in its plot, Ciara and Ben ultimately decided to take their newborn and leave Salem.
On Monday, July 11, audiences saw the family of three for the last time as they began a new life in Montreal, Canada.
Tripp Dalton
As the story of season 57 continued to unfold, DAYS fans speculated that Tripp Dalton could be exiting the series again, but this time – for good.
On March 23, 2017, Tripp was introduced to the denizens of Salem, Illinois.
The son of characters Steve Johnson and Ava Vitali, he is also a doctor on the show.
In an effort to thwart the Devil’s plot to possess Ciara Brady and Ben Weston’s newborn baby, Tripp ends up in the middle of the tangled web.
The Devil moved on from the aforementioned couple’s newborn and onto Tripp’s ex-girlfriend, Allie Horton, and then proceeded to possess Tripp himself.
In an effort to put the spirit’s evil deeds to rest and not allow it to possess another Salem citizen, Tripp sacrifices himself.
In order to kill himself, he ends up flinging his body off of a tower, effectively concluding his time in season 57.
Eli Grant & Lani Price
Lamon Archey, who stars as Eli, and Sal Stowers, who stars as Lani, also left Salem.
Lani was written off the show with a jail sentence after she confessed to killing her biological father, TR.
Lani’s time behind bars is being served at a prison in Maryland, where Eli moved their kids as the family waits for the former’s sentence to conclude.
Viewers saw them for the last time on Monday, July 4’s episode.
Jake DiMera
During the episode that aired on Wednesday, July 27, Jake DiMera was killed in a shooting.
Coincidentally, Jake’s twin brother Stefan was also believed to be murdered by gunfire two seasons earlier.
Both DiMera brothers are played by General Hospital actor Brandon Barash.
Following Jake’s death, Stefan DiMera survived the shooting two years earlier and made his return during the August episodes.
Lucas Horton
Lucas Horton will not be seen in the series for quite some time.
Although he is cleared as a suspect in Abigail’s murder, he still orchestrated his wife Sami Brady’s kidnapping.
In the episode that was broadcasted Tuesday, August 16, Lucas was sentenced to three years in prison for charges related to Sami’s kidnapping.
Who is returning?
Jan Spears
For the duration of the 57th season, the father of Jan Spears’ baby was believed to be Ciara Brady’s brother, Shawn.
However, it was revealed later on that the prison-bound Evan Frears is the actual father of her son.
Despite the paternity bombshell that Shawn is not Jan’s son’s real father, she still intended on rekindling a romance with him.
Her plans proved to be complicated when his wife, Belle Black-Brady, steps in to stop her.
Things came to a head when Jan stole the keys to Ciara’s boat and lured Shawn to the river docks and proceeded to attack him.
Belle arrived at the docks just in time to witness the confrontation.
As Jan and Belle engage each other in a physical altercation, the struggle leaves the former fighting for her life after landing in the river.
Although Jan did not resurface from the water, there were no signs of her body.
On July 10, 2022, Jan’s actress Heather Lindell confirmed through Twitter that fans can no longer expect to see her on DAYS.
However, on Thursday, August 4, Jan appeared alive and well just in time to further complicate the lives of Shawn, Belle, Evan, and the other residents of Salem once again.
Stephanie Johnson
Stephanie Johnson is the daughter of DAYS power couple, Steve Johnson and Kayla Brady.
While her mother Kayla was serving jail time in 1990, Stephanie was introduced in the series.
The last actress to play her, Shelley Henning, was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in the Outstanding Younger Actress in a Daytime Drama category.
Abigail Klein is the fifth actress to play the fan-favorite character.
Abigail is bringing Stephanie back to TV after exiting the program in 2017.
Chanel Dupree
Returning for another season of Days in 2022 is Chanel Dupree.
Chanel is the daughter of Paulina Price and sister of Lani Price.
Although the character was originally brought to screens by Precious Way, Raven Bowens takes on the role of Chanel in season 57.
Throughout her time on the show, she was married to businessman Xander Kiriakis – until they got an annulment.
Xander Kiriakis
Xander is the nephew of prominent businessman Victor Kiriakis.
Due to the wealthy reputation associated with his surname, Chanel and Xander tied the knot during season 56.
By the time season 57 came around, the two were divorced.
Xander is portrayed by Paul Telfer and is coming back for another edition of the series.
Will Horton
On Friday, September 2, Sami Brady and Lucas Horton’s son Will came back to Salem.
Previously, Will left Salem for Hollywood so he could focus on the production of his screenplay.
However, on Thursday, September 1, his husband Sonny Kiriakis was the victim of a near-fatal stabbing that brought him close to the brink of death.
In order to stay close to Sonny after the stabbing, Will returned to Salem.
DAYS detectives speculated that the same assailant who made the attempt on Sonny’s life is also the same perpetrator responsible for Abigail’s homicide.
