DAYS Exclusive: Brandon Beemer on Shawn And Belle’s End, Moving on with Jada

“Shelle” Games: Brandon Beemer (Shawn) with longtime — but not current — DAYS leading lady, Martha Madison (Belle).

Moments after overhearing his ex, Belle, declare her love to EJ, Shawn learned that Jada had broken up with Rafe on Days of Our Lives. With each member of the twosome now unattached and having already shared a passionate night together, could their simultaneous endings of their respective relationships lead to the start of a new one for Shawn and Jada? “It definitely opens up the door,” teases Shawn’s portrayer, Brandon Beemer, who dished about Shawn’s romantic prospects with Soap Opera Digest.

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According to Beemer, hearing Jada’s news about her split from Rafe comes as a “shocker” to Shawn. Points out the actor, “Once Shawn finds out that Jada and Rafe are done, it’s kind of like they’re both in familiar territory and they both understand what each other is going through. They find comfort in that and spending time together and being able to talk about things. There are no secrets with Jada. She knows what Shawn is going through, and she understands it.”

In Shawn’s case, it’s the heartbreak of divorce, and Shawn’s heartache is only made worse by the fact that Belle has now gotten involved with EJ. “EJ is bad news,” insists Beemer. “It’s like what Shawn said to Belle recently: ‘Anything bad that happens in Salem, EJ is tied to in some way or another.’ Shawn was convinced that Belle was going to move on [from her fling with EJ], that this was just a rebound.”

So hearing Belle admit that she loved the scoundrel has left Shawn “disappointed and also worried,” says Beemer. “He’s worried that Belle’s going to get dragged into something bad, because EJ always has his hand in something bad. He’s worried that EJ is going to hurt her, because he’s not a good person. It just doesn’t make sense to Shawn that Belle doesn’t see that, because she’s super-smart.”

Despite his concerns, Shawn has no choice but to accept things for what they are. “At the end of the day, they’ll always love each other,” declares Beemer. “But as things go on, it’s becoming more apparent that Shawn and Belle are moving on. Shawn has to try to figure out how to put [their relationship] behind him and get on with his life.” Of course, that may be easier said than done. “It’s hard when you have this woman that’s the love of your life, and you’ve got to move on,” the actor concedes, “especially in a small town like Salem.”

In the interim, a potential pairing between Shawn and Jada intrigues Beemer. “It’s definitely something fun to explore,” he says. “They’re both good people. They both always try to do the right thing. They’ve got their work in common.”

Despite the duo’s obvious compatibility, Beemer admits that he was completely caught off guard when he saw Shawn and Jada’s initial hookup in the scripts. “It was a shocker,” he acknowledges. “I didn’t expect it, because Shawn slept with her sister [Talia]. So it was kind of like, ‘Oh boy, come on, buddy.’ I thought he was going to flirt with her a little bit and then she was going to say, ‘Dude, you slept with my sister. Back off. We work together. Just chill.’ And then, nope, it kept going! And I was like, ‘Uh-oh — trouble!’ ”

Beemer’s assessment that the tryst was trouble was compounded by the fact that Shawn has been a longtime friend of Jada’s now ex, Rafe. “It’s tough. I mean, I don’t think anybody could understand the situation that they were in, where somebody was swapped out with a doppelganger,” reflects Beemer, referencing Arnold impersonating Rafe and behaving abominably towards Jada. “The way that ‘Rafe’ was acting towards Jada just pushed Shawn closer to her and farther away from Rafe. He couldn’t respect someone who treated somebody he cares for the way that ‘Rafe’ was treating Jada.”

But in the aftermath of the truth about Arnold’s deception coming to life, Beemer contends that Shawn is feeling “a sense of guilt, because he hurt the wrong guy; he turned on the wrong guy,” says Beemer. “If it were really Rafe, I don’t think Shawn would have done that. It’s been tough on Shawn since he found out that [the man who hurt Jada] wasn’t Rafe. Rafe is a good man, and he is a good friend.”

As for working more closely with Elia Cantu (Jada) and exploring a possible Jada/Shawn coupling, Beemer says their connection has been effortless. “She’s a social person and has a big personality. We’re friends outside of the show and have hung out,” he notes. “Elia’s definitely easy to work with. She’s funny and flirty and has a good personality.”

Beemer and Cantu share a similar work style, too. “We both take it seriously and work hard,” explains Beemer. “We talk about what we want from the scene. Elia’s good at brainstorming. She’ll come to me and be like, ‘I really want this kind of vibe with this scene.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I get that. Let’s do it.’ We both want to do a great job.”

As the two actors put their all into bringing the relationship of Shawn and Jada to life, Shawn’s past with Belle will likely always be hovering over their burgeoning connection. Beemer, in fact, doesn’t necessarily believe the Shawn/Belle coupling is completely over and out. “I don’t know if it’s really run its course,” says the actor. “There’s chapters in their relationship, and this is their chapter right now. But I do believe that with Shawn and Belle, there’s always going to be that love for each other. Once they go out and experience the world, who knows? Maybe they’ll find their way back to each other.”

Point Of No Return: Beemer was shocked when Shawn first hooked up with Jada (Elia Cantu).