Happy 59th Anniversary, Days Of Our Lives! Check Out Its Storyline Timeline

From love triangles and returns from the dead to evil twins and multiple possessions by the devil, Salem has seen it all since its debut on November 8, 1965. As the show marks its 59th anniversary, Soap Opera Digest takes a look back at some of the key story developments for each of its years on the air. So, buckle up, readers — it’s definitely a wild ride!

 

1965: The show debuts on November 8, centering around the Horton family in the town of Salem: Dr. Tom and his wife, Alice, and their children: Addie, who was married to Ben, were parents to Steve and Julie; Mickey, a lawyer; Bill, a doctor; and Marie, who was engaged to Tony. Son Tommy, Jr. had been presumed dead 10 years earlier in Korea, leaving behind wife Kitty and daughter Sandy. Teen Julie was arrested for shoplifting. An ailing Tony dumped Marie the night before their nups and she attempted suicide.

1966: An emotionally fragile Marie married Tony’s father, Craig. She miscarried their baby. Tony’s health improved. Craig divorced Marie and left town. Addie and Ben moved to Europe with Steve. Julie got engaged to David, but he had a one-night stand with her bestie, Susan, who got pregnant. They wed for the sake of the baby. Bill began dating Laura, a psychiatrist.

1967: Susan and David welcomed a boy, Dickie, who died in a tragic accident after a day in the park with David. A distraught Susan shot and killed David; she got off on a temporary insanity plea. David’s mother then shot Susan, who was injured but survived. Julie revealed she was pregnant with David’s baby, who she gave up at birth. Bill left town — and fiancée Laura — abruptly after discovering he had bone tuberculosis. She dated Mickey. Bill returned, and Laura wed Mickey. Dr. Mark Brooks came to town and began working at the hospital with Marie. They fell in love.

1968: A jealous Bill raped Laura, who became pregnant, but didn’t know Mickey was sterile. She gave birth to Michael. Tom sensed something familiar about Mark. He turned out to be presumed-dead Tommy. Marie was horrified to have fallen for her brother and joined a nunnery. Scott and his terminally ill wife, Janet, adopted Julie’s baby and named him Bradley. Susan became the nanny.

 

1969: Tommy and Kitty divorced. She discovered the truth about Michael’s paternity and blackmailed Bill, then died after a confrontation with him. Bill was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter. Janet died; Julie found out that Brad was her son, and married Scott, Susan’s new beau.

1970: In prison, Bill became friends with his cellmate, con artist Doug. Bill mentioned that Susan had money. When Doug was released, he beelined for her. She paid him to romance Julie. Doug and Julie fell in love.

1971: Susan was raped in the park and became pregnant. She began a relationship with Greg, a doctor. Julie and Doug had an affair. Addie returned to town.

1972: Laura planned to divorce Mickey for Bill. Susan met Greg’s family and realized his brother, Eric, was her rapist. She kept mum. She gave birth to a daughter, Annie, then was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Julie and Doug planned to elope to Portofino after her divorce was final. They had a big argument and Doug married Addie instead.

1973: Eric published a novel from which Greg figured out that his brother raped Susan. Mickey. Susan and Greg wed. Julie was widowed when Scott died. Addie became pregnant and was diagnosed with leukemia. Mickey had a heart attack and suffered a stroke that left him an amnesiac. He wound up on a farm where he met crippled Maggie Simmons. He introduced himself as Marty Hansen.

1974: Marty and Maggie wed. The Hortons tracked him down. Mickey and Laura divorced. Laura married Bill. Addie went into remission and gave birth to Hope. Julie married Bob Anderson. Addie was struck by a car and killed after pushing Hope’s stroller out of the way.

 

1975: Maggie had surgery and learned to walk again. Julie became pregnant by Bob, but wanted Doug back. Laura became pregnant. Julie’s son, David, romanced Valerie, who was black. Julie miscarried.

1976: After an accident, Mike needed a blood transfusion, and the truth of his paternity came out. An enraged Mickey shot Bill, then was admitted to a sanitarium. Dr. Marlena Evans was assigned to his case. When Mickey was released, he and Maggie adopted a daughter, Janice. Laura went into labor during a snowstorm and gave birth to Jennifer. Julie and Bob divorced; she and Doug finally wed. David and Valerie got engaged.

1977: Mike dated Trish. Valerie and David split; she went to med school. David grew close to Trish, who was pregnant with his baby after a one-night stand. She gave birth to a son, Scotty. Tom had a heart attack, but survived. Marlena’s twin sister, Samantha, an actress with mental problems, came to Salem and took over Marlena’s life. Don figured out Samantha’s ruse.

1978: Don’s ex, Lorraine, came to town with Donna, a daughter he knew nothing about. Julie was raped by an artist named Larry. When he was found dead, she was arrested, but ultimately cleared. Steve returned from Paris. Maggie began drinking when she temporarily lost custody of Janice. Mike fell in love with Margo, and they wed, though she had leukemia.

1979: Marlena and Don married; she became pregnant. Laura’s mother, Carrie, committed suicide, which sent Laura over the edge. After her own suicide attempt, Laura was committed. When Julie’s face was scarred in a kitchen accident, she divorced Doug. Doug’s long-lost half brother, Byron, died and left him a fortune. Byron’s friend, Lee, targeted Doug. They wed. Amanda became involved with Chris.

1980: Marlena and Don welcomed a son, DJ, who died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The Craigs’ marriage didn’t survive. Don had a fling with Liz. Margo died. Marie tracked down Jessica, the daughter she gave up at birth. Liz dated Neil.

1981: Doug and Julie remarried. Alex adopted Jessica, then Marie revealed that Jessica was his bio daughter. Alex told Jessica the truth. She developed a multiple personality disorder. Maggie became pregnant via artificial insemination and delivered a girl named Sarah. Evan was the sperm donor. Kellam raped Marlena, then was killed by his son, Tod. The Salem Strangler, a.k.a. Jake Kositchek, began terrorizing Salem. Tony, son of crime boss Stefano, came to town.

Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes) and Doug (Bill Hayes)

1982: Stefano arrived in town. Jake killed Samantha, thinking she was Marlena, then killed himself. Jake’s brother, Chris, began dating Roman’s sister, Kayla. Liz became pregnant by Neil. Roman and Marlena dated. His MIA wife, Anna, arrived in town with their daughter, Carrie. Marie and Neil got involved.

1983: Stefano was presumed dead of a coronary. Liz gave birth to a daughter, Noelle. Liz shot Marie, thinking she was an intruder. She was convicted of attempted murder and jailed. Roman and Marlena wed. Hope dated Roman’s brother, Bo. Doug caught them about to make love and had a heart attack. Mickey and Maggie divorced.

1984: Tony’s identical cousin, Andre, was responsible for the new wave of murders in town. Hope was forced to marry shady DA Larry. It was ultimately declared invalid. Stefano sought a valuable prism, which brought Bo and Hope to New Orleans, where they made love for the first time. Liz and Neil wed. After a plane crash, Andre and Roman were presumed dead. Kimberly Brady came to town for her brother’s service. Hope became a cop. Bo’s ex, Megan, was revealed to be Stefano’s daughter. Roman and Marlena welcomed twins Sami and Eric.

Bo (Peter Reckell) and Hope (Kristian Alfonso)

1985: When Megan was found dead, Stefano blamed the Bradys and sought revenge. Bo and Hope, with the help of ISA agent Shane, brought down The Dragon, a British anti-monarchist, and were treated to a royal wedding. Shane and Kimberly began dating. Kim developed hysterical blindness, recovered and slept with Victor to save Shane’s life. A mysterious, bandaged man nicknamed The Pawn was being held by Bo’s old Merchant Marine buddy, Steve “Patch” Johnson. Melissa dated Pete. Calliope and Eugene wed. Anna and Tony got hitched and left town. Shane and Kim got engaged. She discovered she was pregnant.

1986: Marlena deduced that The Pawn, a.k.a. John Black, was Roman. Kayla opened up a waterfront clinic and got involved with Steve. Bo discovered Victor was his father. Hope miscarried. Jennifer returned from boarding school. Pete and Melissa wed in a double ceremony with a reunited Mickey and Maggie. Liz and Neil divorced; she left Salem. Mike dated Jewish doctor Robin. Tod died. Kimberly and Shane welcomed son Andrew. Shane’s ex-wife, Emma, was killed on New Year’s Eve.

1987: Kim and Shane wed. Eve — Shane’s bio daughter — came to Salem. Marlena was presumed dead. Hope and Bo welcomed a son, Shawn-Douglas, and 1987 left Salem on the Fancy Face to sail around the world. Steve’s sister, Adrienne, came to Salem. She was raped by her father, Duke, then shot him dead. Adrienne fell in love with Victor’s nephew, Justin. They wed in Greece, where Roman and Diana became closer. Jennifer dated Frankie. Jack, son of Senator Harper Deveraux, came to town with Hodgkin’s disease. Kayla was hired as his nurse; Jack fell for her; they wed. Steve discovered that Jack was his bio brother.

1988: Steve and Kayla kept seeing each other in secret. When Jack found out, he raped Kayla. Nevertheless, Steve donated a kidney to save his brother’s life. Justin had an affair with Anjelica. The Riverfront Knifer terrorized Salem. Kayla was rendered deaf and mute following an explosion. The killer was revealed be Harper. Kayla regained her hearing and to speech during her wedding to Steve.

Steve (Stephen Nichols) and Kayla (Mary Beth Evans)

1989: Emilio and Jennifer got together after Frankie left town. Anjelica married Neil, but gave birth to Justin’s son, Alexander. Diana and Roman got engaged. Steve went undercover in a cult. Nick, Eve’s former pimp, bought Blondie’s, which he renamed Wings. Marina, Steve’s presumed-dead wife, came to town. Her sister, Isabella, was in a sanitarium. Shane was presumed dead. Kimberly slept with Cal. Scott came home.

1990: Hope was seemingly killed on the “Cruise of Deception” aboard the Loretta. Jennifer lost her virginity to Jack. Patch and Kayla had a baby, Stephanie, and remarried before he was presumed dead. Justin and Adrienne remarried. April wed Nick, who was then murdered. Cal plotted to split Shane and Kimberly.

1991: Marlena and the real Roman returned from the dead and John searched for his true identity. Eve and Frankie moved to Africa, while Justin and Adrienne left Salem with their three sons. Jennifer pressed charges against her rapist, Lawrence, and wed Jack. Bo and Carly declared their love. Stefano “died” again.

1992: Vivian arrived with Lawrence and Carly’s son, Nicky. Carrie fell for Austin. Jack and Jen welcomed daughter Abigail. John and Isabella wed and had a son, Brady, before pancreatic cancer claimed her life. John rescued Marlena from psycho Stella.

1993: Sami spied Marlena in John’s arms (resulting in Belle, whose paternity results Sami tampered with). Sami and Lucas schemed to keep Austin and Carrie apart. Bo fell for Billie. Stefano returned, as did Tony (with fiancée Kristen, who had a fling with John). Vivian buried Carly alive. Jack and Jen divorced.

1994: Tom passed away. Kate revealed that Bill is Lucas’s dad. Roman reeled when John proved to be Belle’s father. Kristen wed Tony. Alan raped Sami. Stefano imprisoned John and Marlena at Maison Blanche. Hope look-alike Gina arrived. John learned that he was a priest. Peter schemed to land Jen. Marlena was possessed by the devil.

 

1995: John helped Marlena exorcise the devil. Via a stolen Kate/Victor embryo, Vivian gave birth to Philip. Gina proved to be Hope. Bo wed Billie. Jen married Peter. Jack and Laura slept together. Sami gave birth to Lucas’s son, Will, but convinced Austin that he was the daddy. Tony framed John for his murder and he was nearly executed.

1996: Stefano held Marlena hostage in the Paris underground. John was nearly put to death by guillotine. Kristen plotted to thwart a John/Marlena reunion with the help of her pregnant look-alike, Susan. Lexie learned that she is Celeste and Stefano’s daughter. Sami and Austin married. Peter’s death was faked and Stefano zapped Laura’s memory to keep the secret safe.

1997: Carrie exposed Sami’s trickery and married Austin. Kristen passed off Susan’s newborn son (later known as EJ, whose father is Stefano) as hers with John. After Marlena busted Kristen, John and Marlena reconciled, but Kristen produced presumed-dead Roman in time to stop their wedding.

1998: Billie miscarried Bo’s baby and made it look like Hope was to blame. Stefano implanted a mood-control device in Vivian’s brain, married her, and plotted to turn Hope into Gina. Eric wooed Nicole. Kristen was seemingly murdered, but the victim turned out to be Susan’s sibling Penelope. Celeste and Peter developed jungle madness. Lucas shot Franco dead the day Franco was to marry Sami.

1999: Sami, convicted of Franco’s murder and sentenced to death, was spared at the last minute. John and Marlena finally wed, but Hope (brainwashed into believing she was Gina) caused trouble. The real Princess Gina was revealed to be alive. Austin caught Carrie in bed with Mike. Kate paid Nicole 5 million bucks to marry Lucas.

Marlena and John (Drake Hogestyn)

2000: The real Gina was killed. Bo and Hope remarried and she birthed J.T., but thanks to a Stefano-orchestrated baby switch, Abe and Lexie adopted the boy, naming him Isaac. The Belle/Shawn and Chloe/Philip romances began. Nicole got Lucas on tape confessing to Franco’s murder. On her road to coronation, Greta (Princess Gina’s daughter wound up in a virtual Eden with Austin. Rolf and Stefano recruited Marlena look-alike Hattie to take over her life.

2001: Austin and Sami got engaged. Lexie realized that Isaac was Hope’s bio son. Rolf turned Gina back into Hope to keep the baby secret under wraps. Hope spilled to Bo that John sired her baby. The teens treasure-hunted in Puerto Rico. Chloe was torn between Brady and Philip. Jack tried to win back Jen.

2002: Austin dumped Sami. Lexie cheated on Abe with his son, Brandon. Nicole wed Victor. John and Marlena renewed their vows. Bo proved to be the bio dad of Hope’s youngest son (renamed Zack). Stefano was presumed dead again. Larry returned and kidnapped Hope. Twins Rex and Cassie appeared during a meteor shower.

2003: Jack and Jennifer remarried. Rex and Cassie were revealed to be Roman and Kate’s bio kids. Roman wed Kate, then was killed by the Salem Stalker, who also bumped off Abe, Jack, Maggie, Caroline and Cassie. Theo was born to Abe and Lexie.

Abe (James Reynolds) and Lexie (Renee Jones)

2004: Mickey married Bonnie. Jen birthed Jack, Jr. (JJ) in the jungle. The Salem Stalker, revealed to be Marlena, killed Doug and Alice. Marlena and all of her apparent victims were then revealed to be alive on a secret island called Melaswen, where Andre (posing as Tony) was unveiled as the true murderous mastermind. He faked his death and the Salemites escaped. Mimi (pregnant by Rex) had an abortion. Jan held Shawn hostage in a cage. Though engaged to Philip, Belle slept with Shawn.

2005: Lucas dumped Sami when Kate exposed that she’d masqueraded as Stan, Tony’s right-hand “man”; Belle and Philip (who lost part of his leg in battle) married, as did Brady and Chloe. Belle birthed Shawn’s daughter, Claire. Jack was presumed dead. Bo and Billie reunited with their daughter, Chelsea.

2006: Back-from-the-dead Steve reunited with Kayla. Jack’s return from the dead invalidated Frankie and Jen’s nups. Mimi and Shawn wed. Carrie married Lucas, then Austin. Bo and Hope welcomed daughter Ciara. Chelsea accidentally killed Zack in a hit-and-run. The death of baddie Alex paved the way for a John/Marlena remarriage. EJ shot John in the head and forced Sami to have sex with him.

2007: Lucas and Sami wed, but she was later forced to marry EJ to end the Brady/DiMera feud. Shawn and Belle married. Sami had twins, Allie (sired by Lucas) and Johnny (sired by EJ). John was killed, and Andre killed himself.

2008: Tony and Anna remarried. Back-from-the-dead John learned that he is biologically half-Brady, half-DiMera. Kayla and Steve welcomed baby Joey. Grandpa Shawn died. Lucas went to jail for shooting EJ. Nicole miscarried EJ’s baby, but kept mum, while Sami concealed her own pregnancy. Chelsea donated part of her pancreas to save Bo; Daniel performed the surgery.

2009: John and Marlena remarried, then left town to fight his paralysis. Bo and Hope hit the skids; he reunited with Carly, who killed Lawrence. Tony was seemingly killed while scuffling with Philip. Kate married Stefano. Steve left town. Chloe was torn between Lucas and Daniel. Adrienne served Justin with divorce papers. Nicole passed off Sami and EJ’s baby girl, Sydney, as her own with EJ, while Sami went home with baby girl Grace, who died. Nicole was eventually busted.

2010: Alice and Mickey passed away. Melanie was revealed to be Carly and Daniel’s daughter, and Chad turned out to be Stefano’s son. Under the influence of sleeping pills, Hope (“Nighttime Hope”) went on a crime spree. Chloe bore Parker. Brady developed a drinking problem. Vivian entombed Maggie in a sarcophagus. Kim and Shane reunited. Sami dumped EJ, shot him in the head and married Rafe.

2011: Victor and Maggie wed and she learned that she is Daniel’s mom. Drug addict Carly went to rehab. EJ married Nicole, then bedded her sister, Taylor. Stefano tapped a look-alike to take over Rafe’s life. Bo dumped Carly and reconciled with Hope. Jack returned, foiling the Jen/Daniel romance. Chloe attempted suicide after losing Daniel. Chad courted Abigail. Adrienne remarried Justin.

2012: Lexie succumbed to a brain tumor. Rafe and Sami renewed their vows. Abigail schemed to split Carrie and Austin. Kristen seduced Brady. Eric came home a priest. Stefano survived another presumed death. Nicole made Jen appear responsible for the death of her fetus. Will came out as gay. Jack was killed in an elevator crash. Bo left town on an undercover mission.

2013: Kristen and Brady’s nups flopped when Marlena exposed that Kristen had drugged and raped Eric. Gabi gave birth to Arianna (via her one-night stand with Will). Chloe revealed to Daniel that he sired Parker. Rafe hooked up with Kate. Sami reunited with EJ. Sami and Kate helped Gabi cover up Nick’s murder.

2014: Will and Sonny married. Sami wed EJ, but conspired with Kate to get revenge on him for cheating with Abigail. EJ and Sami reconciled, but he was shot dead and she left Salem. Hope filed for divorce and took up with Aiden. Gabi went to jail for killing Nick. Eric formally left the priesthood. Kristen returned, then skipped town again after being implanted with a Theresa/Brady embryo.

Will (Freddie Smith, l.) and Sonny (Guy Wilson)

2015: JJ carried on with Eve, mother of his girlfriend, Paige. Sonny cheated on Will with Paul, who turned out to be John’s son. Gabi was released from prison. Will (along with Serena and Paige) was murdered by a serial killer, The Necktie Killer, who turned out to be Ben. Ben went to jail after kidnapping Abigail, who gave birth to Thomas, her son with Chad. Bo, who had been held captive, escaped and saved Hope from a murderous Aiden look-alike. He and Hope reunited before Bo succumbed to a fatal brain tumor. Victor’s shady nephew, Xander, arrived, as did Abe’s surprise adult daughter, Lani. Kristen gave birth to Tate, then known as Christopher, after stealing a Theresa/Brady embryo.

2016: A drunk-driving Eric caused a three-car collision; Daniel was killed, and Brady got his heart. Jennifer got addicted to pain pills and hooked up with Eric. Chloe slept with Deimos, Victor’s shady surprise younger brother, and got pregnant, but she was actually carrying Nicole and Daniel’s fertilized embryo. After marrying Chad, Abigail tried to kill Ben, who had escaped from prison. Andre helped her fake her death to avoid going back to a mental hospital. “Widower” Chad moved on with Gabi. Abigail returned. Joey killed Ava, who had been targeting Kayla. Chase (Aiden’s son) raped Ciara. Shawn and Belle split and rebounded with Gabi and Philip, respectively; they then reunited. Adrienne was torn between Justin and Lucas. Hope fatally shot Stefano, who she blamed for Bo’s death. Rafe helped her conceal her actions; they fell in love. Theresa and Brady nearly wed. Orpheus, Clyde and Xander wreaked havoc.

2017: Shane helped Hope avoid going down for Stefano’s murder; Shane and Steve had reason to believe that Stefano was, indeed, alive. Jennifer and Eric’s romance fizzled. Steve and Kayla remarried. Steve met his surprise son by Ava, Tripp. Chloe gave birth to Holly, Nicole’s biological daughter. Nic kidnapped Holly and left town; Brady followed and they rekindled their relationship. Julie’s grandson Eli came to town and took up with Gabi. Deimos was killed. Brady found out Nicole was responsible and blackmailed her into dumping Eric and leaving town. Adrienne underwent treatment for breast cancer. At Anjelica’s behest, Hattie impersonated Marlena and Bonnie impersonated Adrienne. Lucas fell off the wagon. Kate wed Andre to get control of DiMera. JJ accidentally shot Theo, then nearly took his own life. Ben interrupted the double wedding of Chad/Abigail and Paul/Sonny to reveal that Will was alive. Sami reunited with her amnesiac son and slept with Rafe (who was engaged to Hope) before leaving town again.

2018: Lani was pregnant by Eli; baby David was premature and didn’t survive. The tragedy brought Lani and Eli closer. Ben was released from a mental institution and got close to Ciara. After marrying Rafe, Hope learned he had strayed with Sami. Brady fell for Eve. Xander, Paul and John saved Theresa and Chloe from a drug lord. Will divorced Sonny and took up with Paul, while Sonny hooked up with Leo. Will and Sonny’s reunion upon the return of Will’s memory was threatened when Leo blackmailed Sonny into marriage. Jennifer and Eric got engaged but split. A drugged Sami crashed John and Marlena’s wedding, where Kristen was revealed to be alive. Sami discovered EJ was alive, too. Nicole was presumed dead. Steve’s eyesight was at risk, pushing Kayla to seek help from Stefan, Vivian’s secret son by Stefano. Gabi was accused of Andre’s murder, the true culprit was an alternate identity of DID-suffering Abigail. One of her alters, “Gabby,” slept with Stefan and Abby married him, then gave birth to Charlotte, who proved to be Chad’s. Eve returned on New Year’s Eve — with a presumed-dead, amnesiac Jack!

2019: Claire was busted for trying to burn Ciara alive and went to Bayview for treatment. Stefan and Gabi wed. Chad and Abigail remarried and moved to Paris. Rafe and Hope divorced. Leo granted Sonny an annulment; Sonny remarried Will. Caroline passed away. Sarah slept with Xander and was briefly married to Rex, then got together with Eric. Rolf drugged Hope to turn her back into Princess Gina. Gina shoved Jennifer off a balcony. When she woke up after a year-long coma (in the show’s innovative “time jump” storyline), it was revealed that Eve was behind bars for pushing her. Also while she was comatose, Adrienne died (and Will was in jail for her death); Justin and Kayla were dating; Haley was dead, courtesy of Kristen; Abigail and Chad were back in town; Sarah had birthed a daughter with Eric, Mickey; and Steve returned — but with Stefano’s “essence” inside him. Tony returned from the dead. Jack was briefly wed to Eve. Vivian buried Kate alive and rendered her comatose. Stefan was shot by Lani, who was trying to take out Vivian; Gabi allowed his heart to save Julie, provided Lani dump Eli. Jack’s memory had returned and before Jen’s coma, they remarried alongside Justin and Adrienne. Eric celebrated Nicole’s return from the dead, unaware that it was really Kristen in a Nicole mask! Xander faked Holly’s death. Kristen was unmasked, and the real Nicole returned with Holly. Sarah decided not to tell Eric she was pregnant when he reunited with Nicole; Xander posed as the dad-to-be. Kristen learned she was pregnant by Brady.

Jack (Matthew Ashford, l.), Jennifer (Melissa Reeves, l.), Adrienne (Judi Evans) and Justin (Wally Kurth)

2020: It appeared that Maggie, not Will, was the driver responsible for Adrienne’s death, but the actual culprit turned out to be Orpheus. Ciara saved Ben from execution (he’d been falsely accused of killing Jordan). Lani exposed Gabi’s machinations and reunited with Eli. They married and welcomed twins, Jules and Carver. Gabi took up with Stefan look-alike Jake, whose gal pal, Gwen, had a secret vendetta against the Deveraux clan. “Gina” and “Stefano” plotted to bust up John and Marlena, but in the end, Hope and Steve regained control of their identities. Kayla and Justin called things off so she could reunite with Steve. Justin began a romance with Bonnie. Sami and Lucas’s daughter, Allie, gave birth to Henry. Nicole and Eric wed. Ava returned from the dead. John had an aneurysm. Shawn and Belle remarried, despite the best efforts of a scheming Jan. Flashbacks revealed that Sarah’s baby died in the car crash with Adrienne, and at Victor’s behest, Xander had switched her child with Kristen’s newborn. The truth came out that “Mickey” was really Kristen and Brady’s daughter, Rachel. Ciara and Ben wed, but he soon went missing. Hope and Ciara saved him, but it looked like Ciara was killed. Hope left town to find her. Bill Horton passed away. Hattie and Roman’s romance fizzled.

2021: Jan Spears killed Charlie (Ava’s son and Allie’s rapist) and tried to frame Belle for it. Lani’s aunt, Paulina, and Abe fell in love. Allie opened a bakery with Chanel, Paulina’s daughter. It came out that Paulina was Lani’s mom, and Abe was not Lani’s father. Chanel wed Allie’s twin, Johnny. Scheming Gwen was revealed to be Jack’s daughter. Laura passed away after falling during an argument with Gwen. Gwen had a miscarriage and tried to frame Abigail for it. Kristen entreated Susan to pose as her to stop Xander and Sarah from marrying. When Sarah realized she was dealing with an impostor, Kristen held her hostage. Xander came to her rescue. Ben tracked down Ciara, who was amnesiac and divorced Ben, but when her memory returned, they remarried. At Vivian’s behest, Kristen worked to break up Kate and Jake’s coupledom. Gabi and Jake reunited. During a rough patch with EJ, Sami bedded Lucas. Nicole and Eric were on the rocks and she slept with Xander. Eric found out and divorced Nicole. When EJ found out about Sami’s tryst with Lucas, he dumped her. Lucas had Sami kidnapped so he could “rescue” her; she reconciled with EJ. The devil returned and possessed Doug, then Marlena. Bonnie and Justin wed. Kate and Roman got back together. Philip faked his death to frame Brady, jealous of Brady and Chloe’s intimacy.

2022: The devil caused problems for Shawn and Belle, and Johnny and Chanel (among others). Ciara and Ben welcomed a son, Bo. Nancy and Craig split and he came out as gay, nearly marrying Leo. Rafe and Nicole eloped, but split when she and Eric reunited. It didn’t last; she turned to EJ and he got together with Sloan. Abigail busted Gwen for her various misdeeds at Gwen’s near-wedding to Xander, who reunited with Sarah after Sarah’s ordeal with Kristen. Clyde murdered Abigail, devastating Chad and threatening Jennifer’s sobriety. EJ slept with Belle after being exonerated of Sami’s kidnapping. Lucas was busted as the culprit and went to jail; Sami left town. Jake and Ava became lovers before he was shot dead. Dr. Rolf used Jake’s heart to revive Stefan. Ava drove Susan off the road, killing her. Stephanie caught the eye of both Alex and Chad. Xander and Sarah wed. Orpheus’s trickery threatened to doom Marlena, Kayla and Kate. Lani killed drug dealer TR, her true biological father. Paulina and Abe wed, and he adopted Lani. Kristen blackmailed Brady into breaking up with Chloe.

2023: John finally found his true father, Timothy Robichaux. Rafe and Jada coupled up. Sarah divorced Xander, who slept with Gwen. Gabi and Stefan reunited, as did Johnny and Chanel. Megan Hathaway brainwashed back-from-the-dead Bo. Shawn shot Bo, mistakenly thinking he was going to harm Hope; Hope split from Harris and took comatose Bo to a long-term care facility. Shawn drank heavily, cheated on Belle and went to rehab. Victor died in a place crash. Vivian made a claim on Victor’s estate. Alex and Justin were led to believe Alex was Victor’s son, but Vic’s true secret son was Xander. Nicole and EJ wed, believing she was pregnant with his baby, but really, it was Eric’s (Sloan had tampered with the DNA test). Sloan and Eric married and adopted baby Jude, who was really Nicole and Eric’s son; Nic had been told her son died. Sarah gave birth to Xander’s daughter. Susan turned up alive. Chloe split from Brady, then Xander, then left town with Philip. Gabi went to jail for murder. Tate crushed on Holly, who overdosed on New Year’s Eve. Abe suffered from amnesia.

Nicole (Arianne Zucker) and Eric (Greg Vaughan)

2024: Tate took the fall for Holly’s drug use. Steve investigated shady Konstantin, who had caused Victor’s plane crash and was after Maggie’s money and connected to The Pawn, John. He was exposed and killed. Johnny and Chanel remarried, as did Xander and Sarah. Paulina battled cancer and a failing heart. Abe’s memory returned. The Horton house burned down in an act of arson, but was rebuilt. The truth about the baby switch and Jude’s paternity came out; Eric dumped Sloan and left for Paris with Nicole and Jude. Clyde led Chad to believe Abigail was alive; Chad found “Abigail,” but she turned out to be an impostor, Cat. Gabi was freed from prison, found out Stefan had slept with Ava and had revenge sex with EJ. Alex’s true paternity, as well as Xander’s, was revealed. Alex dumped Theresa, who had tried to conceal his lineage; she went to prison. Brady bedded Xander’s mom, Fiona, who paralyzed Sarah after striking her with her car.