Why Camila Banus (Gabi) Is Exiting Days of Our Lives After 13 Years

Here’s a Days of Our Lives twist we definitely didn’t see coming — and that’s saying something, given that the show has twice brought Satan to town: After 13 years, Camila Banus is exiting the soap. In fact, The Wrap reports that she’s already taped her last episode!

“There’s definitely been a lot of changes at Days the last couple of years,” she told the publication, “one being moving to Peacock. Although it’s been wonderful and we’ve had a super-great reception, for me, I felt like that was kind of like the initial start for changes happening in general. And I kind of just saw that as a sign for me to start the next chapter in my life.”

Exactly what that next chapter will be is still a bit up in the air. Banus says that she and hubby Marlon Aquino, whom she married last year, are “trying to start a family.” As for future gigs, the actress says that she’s “ready for pretty much whatever comes my way,” adding that “my biggest desire is to work in films.”

The decision to leave was not one Banus took lightly or made cavalierly. She and the soap entered negotiations about a month before her current deal expired. She hoped to carve out an agreement “where I would have a little bit more time off. But they didn’t go for it.”

While Banus tells The Wrap that it seemed she and the execs might manage to compromise, that was not to be. “I talked to producers… and they were like, ‘Well, what can we do?’ And [I said], ‘I need to slow down. And part of that is, you know, you guys accepting this shooting schedule for me, and you won’t.”

Time appears to be running out for Gabi and Stefan!

Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI

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At that point, she knew what the right move was. “I have to respectfully bow out and say thank you, and that’s all I can do!”

While her last day of taping was April 28, Banus — and Gabi — will be seen on screen for months, thanks to the soap’s advance taping schedule. (One insider tells us that the show is currently shooting episodes that will air in late November or early December.)

Banus and her hubby are hoping to start a family in the near future.

Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI

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Meanwhile, Banus is grateful to not only the show but the fans who have been so supportive over the years. “Gabi has definitely put fans through a roller coaster of emotions throughout the 13 years that she was wrecked havoc on Salem,” she understates. “And I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone that has ridden that ride, been there through all the highs, been there through all the lows when my girl has not been someone you want to support. But there’s still been support! I want to say a deep, deep thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone that’s loved Gabi the way that I have!”

Who else is leaving — or recently left — Days of Our Lives? Check out the complete list by clicking here!