Celebrating Days of our Lives’ Eric Martsolf’s 49th Birthday With a Look Back at Brady Black’s Unlucky Love Life

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Credit: Image: Jill Johnson/JPI

Days of our Lives heartthrob celebrating his birthday today.

Happy 49 birthday to Days of our Lives Eric Martsolf, who was born today, July 27, back in 1971. Martsolf has played the role of Brady Black on the NBC soap opera since November 13, 2008. He previously portrayed Ethan Winthrop on Passions from 2002 until 2008. Unlike his character of Brady Black, who has had a rocky love life, to say the least, Martsolf has been happily married to his wife Lisa Kouchak since October 10, 2003. The two met while working in the musical theater together. The couple has twin sons, Mason Alan and Chase Evan, who were born on April 7, 2006. In 2014 Martsolf won his first Daytime Emmy for his role on Days of our Lives in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Drama.

Martsolf is also a talented musician. He put out the album For A Lifetime, which is described as having an 80s aesthetic. He also released the Christmas single, Baby It’s Cold Outside, with fellow Days of our Lives cast member Jen Lilley (Theresa Donovan), and the single Days Go By with Holly Norman, who he performed with at Dollywood before breaking out into television. His most recent musical project is fronting the band Counterpoint Drop, which recently just released a new video. He also appeared as Sam Carmichael, the male lead in the Tony Award-winning musical based on the music of Abba, Mamma Mia.

With Days of our Lives not set to resume production until September, Martsolf has been sharing various photos on his social media, including a face-covering sent to him by his co-star Linsey Godfrey (Sarah Horton) and her partner Breckin Meyer (Clueless).

View this post on Instagram

Mask fashion courtesy of @ohmygodfrey and @breckinmeyer, who just hand delivered this handmade item to my doorstep. Just now. I believe that makes them candidates for most thoughtful humans ever. #friends

A post shared by ericmartsolf (@ericmartsolf) on Apr 7, 2020 at 3:37pm PDT

He also shared a photo of his twin boys, who turned 14 during these difficult times and asked for some birthday shout-outs for them.

View this post on Instagram

Can these brand new fourteen year olds get a Woot Woot! I love you more than my luggage. #boys2men

A post shared by ericmartsolf (@ericmartsolf) on Apr 7, 2020 at 8:40am PDT

Browse our gallery below for a history of Brady Black’s former loves. Then in order to get the latest soapy news sent to your inbox daily subscribe to Soaps.com’s newsletter.

Brady, Kristen and daughter Rachel on Days of our Lives

Brady Black and Chloe Lane on Days of our Lives

1/7

Brady Black returned to Salem an aged and bitter college student in 2000, then played by Kyle Lowder. He found someone he could relate to in his cousin Philip Kiriakis’ girlfriend Chloe Lane, and love blossomed. The two even performed a duet from The Sound of Music together in a musical fantasy number. After ups and downs, they married and relocated to Vienna to further Chloe’s opera career. There Brady fell in with the wrong crowd and became addicted to drugs, beginning his problem with drugs and alcohol. Brady returned to Salem in 2008, now played by Eric Martsolf, and made amends with his ex-wife, who he still remains on friendly terms with. Over the years Chloe has been the friend he needs when he occasionally falls off the wagon.

Brady and Nicole Walker hiding at the cabin on Days of our Lives

2/7

Nicole Walker was the ex of Brady’s step-brother, Eric Brady. That didn’t stop him and Nicole from having a romance. They’ve actually attempted romances several times over the years but always run into problems, including from Brady’s grandfather Victor Kiriakis who not only tried to pay Nicole to leave Brady, but once went so far as to marry her. After years of being on-again and off-again, including a bitter Brady blackmailing Nicole to leave his step-brother Eric with evidence she killed her ex Deimos Kiriakis, Brady and Nicole finally resolved they were toxic together. They remain friends.

Brady and Arianna Hernandez romance on Days of our Lives

3/7

Days of our Lives reunited Martsolf with his Passions co-star and love interest on the show, Lindsay Hartley (Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald) in 2009 when they cast her as Rafe Hernandez’s (Galen Gering) troubled little sister Arianna. Hartley also played a similar part on Passions, with Gering playing her big brother Luis-Lopez Fitzgerald on that show. After a whirlwind romance and engagement, a jealous Nicole Walker framed Arianna for being behind a rash of muggings in Salem. When Brady thought Arianna might be guilty, she broke up with him. Tragically Arianna was killed in a hit-and-run accident, and her death sent Brady into a downward spiral.

Brady and Madison James on Days of our Lives

4/7

In 2011 Brady met Madison James, the CEO of Mad World Cosmetics which Titan Industries acquired. Brady and Madison found themselves at odds initially, disagreeing in business and the direction to take her company. Eventually, they succumbed to their passion and began a romance. Unfortunately, their romance hit a halt when Madison’s husband, Ian McAllister, arrived in town. They managed to make it through that and planned to marry, only for Madison to be tragically killed on the day of their wedding when explosions rocked Salem.

Brady romances Theresa Donovan on Days of our Lives

5/7

After falling in love with Kristen DiMera, his father John Black’s ex, he was devastated to learn the romance began as Kristen’s revenge plot against John and his wife Marlena Evans. Learning she drugged and raped his brother, Eric Brady, while he was still a priest, he left Kristen at the altar and began drinking again. He then met party girl Theresa Donovan in 2014, and got high one night and slept with her. They drunkenly married in Vegas, but later in an attempt to get sober, Brady decided to annul the marriage. Trying to hold onto him, Theresa announced she was pregnant, which she was. A desperate Kristen DiMera arranged to have Theresa’s embryo transplanted in her, leaving Theresa to appear as if she lied about the pregnancy. Brady’s friend, and extremely brief romantic partner Melanie Jonas, exposed Kristen’s scheme. Theresa and Brady reunited and planned to marry, and raise their son Tate together, but it was not meant to be. Theresa’s former boyfriend, drug lord El Fideo, forced Theresa to abandon Brady and Tate and move to Mexico with him otherwise he threatened to kill her family. After she was rescued, Theresa won custody of Tate in a bitter custody battle and moved to California to be near her father Shane Donovan, and his wife Kimberly Brady.

Brady cons Eve Donovan on Days of our Lives

6/7

When Eve Donovan announced she was Deimos Kiriakis’ widow and entitled to his share of the Kiriakis estate, his brother and Brady’s grandfather Victor was furious. He convinced Brady to seduce Eve in order to get her under control. What started out as a fake love affair turned real not just for Eve, but for Brady. However, as they were set to wed, Eve learned it all began as a fraud and was devastated. She also discovered Brady knew Nicole killed Deimos and once tried to frame her for the murder. Eve left Brady.

7/7

After confronting Kristin DiMera for stealing Tate from him and Theresa, Kristen fell out a window, was swept away by a river, and presumed dead. Kristen however returned to Salem, disguised as Nicole Walker with a high-tech mask and voice disguising device, determined to seduce Brady, which she did. Resorting to an old scheme, she stole Sarah Horton’s embryo, who had decided to have an abortion and pass off as her and Brady’s child. On the day of the transplant, Rolf revealed to a stunned Kristen that her night with Brady resulted in a pregnancy. Kirsten eventually stopped portraying Nicole, who returned to Salem, and she reunited with Brady as they expected their child. When their daughter Rachel was born, they were told she died shortly after due to complications from being caught in her umbilical cord. A manic Kristen blamed her nurse Haley Chen, confronted her in the hospital stairwell, and pushed her to her death accidentally. Kristen fled to Europe, where she was preparing to become a nun at a convent in Europe to atone for her sins, before deciding to return to Salem and fight for Brady. When she and Brady learned Victor and his nephew Xander Kiriakis switched their daughter Rachel with Sarah Horton’s daughter Mackenzie, who died shortly after birth, they were furious. Kristen, with the help of Brady and Lani Price, eventually fled Salem with Rachel. Brady’s unlucky streak with love and romance continues.

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