A Who’s Who of Who’s Left/Is Leaving Days of our Lives

Rafe survived being stabbed in the back by Connie but has ever since been MIA. If the show was trying to prove that absence makes the heart grow fonder, mission accomplished!

After four years and two roles (Gwen and then Theresa), the Young & Restless vet bid Salem adieu… at least for now. “I was in tears, and I faced everybody on stage and looked at the cameras,” she said of leaving. “Then I just told everyone how incredibly lucky I am.

Less than a year after Nick’s former portrayer was given not one but two new characters to play — Everett and alter ego Bobby — he and/or they all became collateral damage in Connie’s homicidal rampage.

Though Nicole and Eric got their happy ending with baby Jude in July, leaving the show was hardly a joyful occasion for either of their portrayers. (Read her story here and his story here.)

Nobody can say that Konstantin didn’t go out with a bang when he made a hostage of Theresa before meeting his maker in June 2024.

Tate’s harebrained scheme to send pal Aaron to lacrosse camp in his place meant that the scene-stealing teen’s portrayer would be off the canvas for a while, dang it.

“I’m leaving the soap world,” the Days of Our Lives MVP told Soap Opera News in May 2024. “There are changes happening that I can’t discuss right now. It feels like it’s coming from somewhere else, maybe with a different writer. When people start taking you for granted, you change.” Later, the actor, who touched down in Salem as Tony all the way back in 1981, tweeted that “nothing is final.” So was he done-done or just done? Tune in tomorrow. Or, to be on the safe side, the next day?

Wendy and Tripp finally made good on their plans to relocate to Hong Kong on April 29 — though it was unclear at first just how permanent their move would be!

Yes, we’re sad about this talented young man exiting, too! But we can’t blame Mann, who decided to go back to college full time. He last aired the first week of April, with newcomer Leo Howard taking over his part the following Friday.

Kiss her goodbye, Eric. ’Cause the week of March 4, Sloan’s portrayer was going to be MIA, temporarily recast with primetime fixture Natasha Hall.

In February of 2024, TMZ reported that the vet had, in effect, been dismissed as Nicole months after she spoke out about allegations of misconduct on the part of since-axed EP Albert Alarr. In response to her ouster, Zucker filed a lawsuit against Days of Our Lives for sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, negligent hiring and supervision, and wrongful termination.

Harris Michaels has had one wild ride since his return from the ’80s, going from brainwashed former Navy SEAL to respected member of the Salem PD. But with the news that Steve Burton wrapped filming just before the holidays, his time in Salem is just about up!

We’ll believe that he’s really gone-gone when we don’t see it. But as of the December 12 episode, Dimitri is supposedly doing time in a supermax prison off screen.

As the holidays rolled around, the news broke that Thomas’ portrayer would be taking a couple of days off — and being temporarily replaced by Henry Witcher.

Leo wouldn’t have to stretch quite this far to get ahold of Mommie Dearest Diana for long. In December 2023, the Young & Restless vet that plays Greg Rikaart’s mom on both shows revealed that she’d been back taping at the Peacock soap.

Days of Our Lives kicked off November sweeps with Li’s death, which we might have been likelier to believe marked the end of his portrayer’s stay in Salem if the show hadn’t already found a zillion ways to resurrect every other character it had ever killed off!

Guess Shawn didn’t know the lyrics to Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab,” ’cause when they tried to make him go, he said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Hey, at least when Chloe left Salem in October 2023 after her latest stay in town, she did so with a happy-ish ending — and an old flame in tow. Which one?

Yup, Philip rode off into the sunset with lost love Chloe. Who can blame him for not wanting to stick around after that knockout of a welcome he received?

Talia, we hardly knew ye! The Salem newcomer came and went so quickly, her forwarded mail didn’t even have a chance to catch up with her.

“Shelle” no more. On the 19th anniversary of her Days of Our Lives debut in August, Belle’s portrayer revealed that she was leaving — well, that she had already left. “It was a wild ride,” she said.

We’ll drink to the showbiz legend’s short but sweet Days of Our Lives stint. Not only was the near-EGOT winner terrific, his arc as Timothy Robicheaux gave John’s origin story a welcome rewrite.

When a bout with COVID sidelined the Emmy winner, his former General Hospital castmate Jason Gerhardt (ex-Cooper) was called in to pinch-hit for a few episodes.

Megan came all the way back from the dead for this? Apparently so. Stefano’s daughter would last air on July 6, 2023, her portrayer revealed. Not that that meant that she’d be gone for good!

That’s right, buddy: Gabi is outta there. Her portrayer told The Wrap that when the soap moved to Peacock, “I kind of just saw that as a sign for me to start the next chapter in my life.”

We were just as shocked to learn that Linsey Godfrey was truly exiting as Sarah was to learn she was expecting Xander’s baby. But pregnancy or not, she still left for Chicago without a word to her soon-to-be-babydaddy!

Here, the actors wear pretty much the same expression that we did upon learning that Jack and Jennifer’s loss of The Spectator meant that we’d be losing them. D’oh!

Here, Chanel wears the same expression that we did when Soap Opera Digest reported that Allie’s portrayer had finished taping as of February 2023. Needless to say, Chanel wears it better than we did.

Why so glum? Maybe because “WilSon” was headed out of Salem again, Soap Opera Digest revealed right before Valentine’s Day. At least Tinker had a new role on Fire Country with which he could keep heating up the screen.

Only on a soap can a character leave this earth and their portrayer not actually leave the show. But such was the case shortly after New Year when Kayla kicked the bucket.

Why is Rex checking for his own pulse? It should have been Kate that he was worried about, as she, too, left… at least this plane of existence.

They say that bad things happen in threes, so we suppose we shouldn’t have been surprised when Marlena followed Kayla and Kate into the afterlife. On the plus side, all her portrayer really left was any and all wardrobe that wasn’t white.

Thankfully, Kristen was still alive and kicking. But in early 2023, it appeared that her portrayer’s other character, kooky Susan, had met her maker. Operative word: appeared.

It was going to be a blue Christmas for fans of the Emmy winner, who revealed only days before Santa loaded up his sleigh that her second stint as Ava was coming to an end. “Thanks,” she Instagrammed to her followers, “for all the love and support you continue to show me.”

If only it had just been a slap. As Sami left Salem once more after learning — on her and Lucas’ wedding day, no less! — that she’d been kidnapped by her fiancé, she seemed to indicate that hell would freeze over before she returned. Her portrayer, of course, was more open to the idea of a short-term comeback.

The doctor is out. Recurring as the DiMeras’ go-to mad scientist Rolf since 1997, the veteran actor was replaced in the summer of 2022 by Richard Wharton.

Ciara later! Days of Our Lives wanted to sign the fan favorite to a contract; she wanted to spread her wings. So at least for a while, she’ll be MIA from Salem’s lot.

Though the leading man passed through Days of Our Lives’ revolving door as Ben in the summer of 2022, headwriter Ron Carlivati teased that we hadn’t seen the last of the actor in Salem.

After six years as Lani, the actress took her leave of Salem in the summer of 2022. And making her exit an even bigger blow to fans was the fact that just as she was exiting, so was…

With the July departure of the Young & Restless vet, Days of Our Lives viewers didn’t just lose Eli and Lani, they also lost — sniffle — “Elani.”

In June, the love story of Abigail and Chad was put to bed, so to speak, when her portrayer’s unavailability made her the unfortunate star of a murder mystery. (Here’s why the show didn’t bring back Kate Mansi.)

Color us… perplexed. Days of Our Lives let Tripp cheat death, only to reveal a few weeks later that it was shipping him out of Salem. (Get all the deets here.)

Ushered into Salem via a dead-end street, the All My Children vet was shown the way out as Lani’s biodad TR… well, pretty much the only way the villainous character could have been.

The doctor is out. After Craig’s eyes were pried open about conniving fiancé Leo, Nancy’s heartbroken ex made tracks out of Salem, Soap Opera Digest reported in April 2022.

Although Sami’s kidnapping in August 2021 marked the end of the Days of Our Lives vet’s latest return engagement, her next one was already beginning. As she told Soap Opera Digest at the time, “I have other scenes that I’m doing right now” — our favorite way of turning “goodbye” into “See ya soon!”

Fans were excited to learn that Nicole’s husband would be coming home for their anniversary. Unfortunately, even as Greg Vaughan and his handsome alter ego appeared on screen in mid-July of 2021 came news that Eric was only in town long enough for his marriage to be blown out of the water.

Just when we were getting used to the daytime newbie, Days of Our Lives went and, so to speak, changed the Chanel. In June of 2021, it was revealed that Raven Bowens would be assuming the role of Paulina Price’s daughter from the up-and-comer who’d been cast in MC Lyte’s new sitcom.

So much for a happy ending for “Xarah.” On March 16, Sarah Horton’s portrayer confirmed via Twitter that she was leaving behind her character — “and all 86 of her hairstyles.” Glad we saved the receipt on that toaster we’d gotten the couple.

Hey, at least maybe we’ll get flashbacks for a few weeks until we find out whodunit. But for all practical purposes, Charlie Dale’s shooting on February 25 brought to an end his well-received portrayer’s run in the role of Ava’s son (bad) and Allie’s rapist (so… much… worse).

Mirror, mirror, in her hand, sorry, we don’t understand… But in February of 2021, the news broke that the Daytime Emmy-winning soap-hopper had reached the end of her stint as Jennifer Horton. Maybe she’ll find her way back to a former show of hers that’s being rebooted…

What a way to go. No sooner had Laura Horton returned to Salem in February 2021 with a suitcase full of revelations to unpack than she was sent on a one-way trip to the hereafter. Ah well, we’ll always have The Meadows.

If all good things must come to an end, we suppose so must all bat-guano-crazy bad ones. In November 2020, Soap Opera Digest reported that Heather Lindell had wrapped her return engagement as off-kilter Jan Spears.

Jaws dropped in mid-September when Soap Opera Digest reported that the veteran cast member was leaving her long-running role of Jennifer Horton — temporarily, it’s said — and being replaced by daytime MVP Cady McClain (most recently Kelly on The Young and the Restless).

Few things say “Yeah, I won’t be around for all that long” like a character going so far around the bend that she kidnaps a beloved former serial killer and tries to mess with his mind to the point that he’d even consider making himself a widower. Better luck next time, Eve Donovan?

“Oh!” we exclaimed upon hearing that the iconic Santa Barbara alum would be reprising his role of Eduardo Hernandez on Days of Our Lives. But that enthusiastic “Oh!” quickly got downgraded to a bummed-out “Oh” when we realized that the character was only being brought on for long enough to usher off the canvas his children.

In late July, Days of our Lives fans were dealt yet another blow when it came out that Gabi’s portrayer was exiting stage right after a decade of pot-stirring. Thankfully, it was announced before she’d even left that she would be returning so fast, we’d hardly know she’d been gone.

Seemingly seconds after Konefal confirmed her exit, this Emmy winner admitted that he, too, was done at Days of our Lives. “It’s with love, laughter and tears of joy I leave you,” wrote the actor, who’d played Eric Brady since 2012.

In late July, Ciara Brady’s portrayer revealed that, although “I would love the opportunity to continue working with my castmates in the future… I will not be returning as a full-time cast member.” Insert shocked gasps here.

In July, after confirming that her 37th year as Hope Williams Brady would be her last, the Days of our Lives legend explained that a request to take four or five months off prompted her to walk. “It was,” she told Entertainment Tonight, “the perfect moment to make that decision.”

Yeah, that was pretty much the same expression we wore when we learned this summer just how brief the fan favorites’ returns as Ivan Marais and his madam, Vivian Alamain, were going to be. At least the villainess’ death was as legit as every other one on Days of Our Lives — in other words, not at all — so we can anticipate a comeback at some point.

It wasn’t just actors’ heads that were rolling; execs’ were being cut off, too. Just before Independence Day, we heard that Meng — a part of the Corday Productions family since 1989! — had been canned. Was it his refusal to use blowup dolls?

In June, just weeks before she became a Daytime Emmy winner, Keegan told Soap Opera Digest that her return as Claire Brady comprised “about two and a half months of shows.” She had a good time — “It was a blast” — but that good time wasn’t meant to last.

After replacing her replacement, Marci Miller, as Abigail DiMera, Mansi left the show again in May. And if that didn’t make you dizzy in and of itself, get this: The show then tapped Miller to step back in as Abigail. No wonder the character has multiple personalities!

Days of our Lives’ Rafe Hernandez since 2008, Gering taped his last episode in February. Only it didn’t turn out to be his last episode at all; he quickly reached a new agreement with the show and went right back to work.

In another exclusive interview with Soaps.com, Massey’s leading man said that he didn’t like to think that he couldn’t come back someday as Sonny Kiriakis with Will in tow. Rather, “I like to look at it as they’re resting our characters.”

After we found out that the Daytime Emmy winner — who’d previously been recast and “killed off” — had been axed as Will Horton, he told Soaps.com in an exclusive interview that he was entertaining the idea of going back to school.

Following a seven-year run as JJ Deveraux, the son of supercouple Jack and Jennifer, Moss called it a days — er, day — and left right after leading lady Megia. But at least he got a lovely parting gift: his real-life romance with castmate True O’Brien (ex-Paige).

When Days of our Lives flashed forward by a year during November sweeps, Haley Chen didn’t flash-forward with it. We learned shortly after the time jump that Megia’s character — sadly, never exactly a hit with the audience — had been killed off.