Days of Our Lives’ Kristian Alfonso Speaks Out About Three Very Special Fellas: ‘My Heart Is Full’
Wednesday, September 30th, 2020
Image: John Paschal/JPI
In honor of National Sons Day, the actress took to social media to pay a heartfelt tribute to her boys.
She missed National Sons Day by a day, but Days of Our Lives leading lady Kristian Alfonso’s sweet message to sons Gino Macauley, 29, and Jack Daggenhurst, 18, and stepson Spartan Daggenhurst, 27, couldn’t have been more beautiful it had been perfectly timed. She captioned a series of photos of the guys growing from cute kids to handsome men thusly: “When a mother doesn’t feel she could possibly love her sons any more than she does… I do.
“My heart is full,” she continued. “I’m so proud to be your mom.”
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Kristian Alfonso (@kristianalfonso) on
Earlier this month, the actress posted a fun photo from her intimate birthday celebration with Jack and Danny Daggenhurst, her husband of nearly 20 years. “We missed you sooo,” she wrote to Gino and Spartan. And if they got a look at that amazing cake, we bet they were sorry they weren’t there, too.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Kristian Alfonso (@kristianalfonso) on
In August, Alfonso cheered on Jack at his high school graduation. “We are all sooo incredibly proud of you and your achievements,” she said, adding that he should always “make yourself proud.”
Of course, the big news of the moment is the Days of Our Lives vet’s final airdate as Hope, the heroine she’s played for almost four decades. As October 14 fast approaches, perhaps we can distract ourselves a little bit longer by reviewing the below photo gallery, which focuses not on those actors leaving Salem but on the ones who are returning to the show. And while you’re here, why not sign up for the Soaps.com newsletter to ensure that you never again miss one of our juicy articles.
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Image: John Paschal/JPI
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<p>More than a year after the soap mainstay left <em>Days of Our Lives</em> — bequeathing her long-running role of Jennifer to Cady McClain, who subsequently won a Daytime Emmy for her work — it was announced that she’d be <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/days-of-our-lives/comings-and-goings/606494/days-of-our-lives-melissa-reeves-returning-jennifer-christmas/" target="_blank">home in Salem for the holidays</a>.</p>
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<p>Trick or treat, indeed! Though it was Eileen Davidson who had played Kristen in <em>Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem</em>, it was <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/days-of-our-lives/comings-and-goings/612191/days-of-our-lives-kristen-returns-visit-ej-victor-searches/" target="_blank">the troublemaker’s subsequent portrayer</a> — one of daytime’s most underrated actors, if you ask us — who’d be reprising the role as Halloween 2021 drew near. Hope the vixen remembered to pack her extensive mask collection!</p>
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<p>As May 2021 drew to a close, viewers gasped at <em>Days of Our Lives</em>’ latest promo, which revealed that the Emmy winner would be reprising his role of Eric — and just in time to learn that bride Nicole had already broken their wedding vows, too!</p>
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<p>The daytime vet (perhaps best known for her run as vixenish Lorie on <em>The Young and the Restless</em>) kicked off 2021 by announcing that she’d soon be back on <em>Days of Our Lives</em>, where she’d last played Jennifer’s mom, Laura, in 2018.</p>
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<p>When the fan fave left <em>Days of Our Lives</em> as the “late” Ciara, she made it clear that <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/days-of-our-lives/comings-and-goings/571461/days-of-our-lives-victoria-konefal-exit-ciara-brady/" target="_blank">she hoped to work again with her castmates</a> down the road. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that she’d be popping in at Christmastime in 2020 so that her character could offer “widower” Ben — and, in a way, all of us — a bit of holiday cheer.</p>
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<p>That same promo — seriously, that thing was<em> jam-packed</em> with spoilers — previewed a return to Salem for the indefatigable scheme team of Tony and Anna, who seemed to know more about Gwen than the rest of us. At the very <em>least</em> more than Abby!</p>
Image: John Paschal/JPI
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<p>That same promo video teased a happy homecoming for the legacy character played by this three-time Emmy winner. But would Will be visiting Salem with better half Sonny? <em>That</em> question remained unanswered. Credit where credit is due: The show even builds cliffhangers into its ads!</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=921Tfv3oYGU" target="_blank"><em>Days of Our Lives</em>’ promo for winter 2020</a> revealed that Steve and Kayla’s son would be receiving a Get Out of Jail Free Card for Christmas: Since Ava wasn’t dead, Joey obviously hadn’t murdered her!</p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
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<p>In late October of 2020, the <em>Melrose Place</em> alum revealed via social media that she had returned to work at <em>Days of Our Lives — </em>and just in time for Valerie to be on hand for the birth of her grandbabies, too.</p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
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<p>Just in time for Halloween, the veteran actor was slated to return the villainous Orpheus to the canvas (along with James Read as Clyde and William Utay as Rolf). Call us paranoid, but something tells us that Salem’s own Evil League of Evil isn’t getting together again to carve pumpkins and hand out candy.</p>
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<p>Only the good die young. So it was a safe bet that when this Emmy winner returned as manipulative Ava Vitali, as was announced in early September, the character was gonna have a pulse. And also an agenda. (She <em>is</em> manipulative!)</p>
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<p>“Here comes trouble,” you can just hear all of Salem grumble whenever the veteran actor brings back mad scientist Dr. Rolf, as he was set to do in September. Then again, you can also hear <em>viewers</em> going, “This is gonna be fun!” </p>
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<p>According to <em>Days of our Lives</em>’ fall-preview video, JJ Deveraux is getting out of Africa and returning home. Fingers crossed he forgets to pack the hangdog expression with which he’d stuck his handsome mug for so long!</p>
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<p>All aboard the crazy train! After Lindell reprised her memorable role of loco-en-la-cabeza Jan Spears in <em>Days of our Lives</em>’ <em>Last Blast Reunion</em> digital series in early 2020, it was announced that she’d be bringing our favorite nut (other than cashew) back to Salem.</p>
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<p>Thrilled as we were to hear that <em>Days of our Lives</em> was getting another visit from the actress, a favorite since her run as <em>The Young and the Restless</em>’ Patty and Emily, a part of us wanted to just say, “But… but can’t we <em>keep</em> her?” Whether Kristen’s gone off the deep end or is toeing the line, we’re crazy about her.</p>
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<p>Who knew that Tripp’s full name was actually <em>Return</em> Tripp? We sure didn’t — not until it was announced that his portrayer was bringing Steve’s son back to Salem. The question then became… hmm, which gal was going to make his pulse race? <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/days-of-our-lives/news/574857/days-of-our-lives-lucas-adams-tripp-allie-babydaddy/" target="_blank">(Read our educated guesses here.)</a></p>
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<p>After being off the <em>Days of our Lives</em> canvas for two months — wait, did it only <em>feel</em> like two years?!? — Brady’s portrayer was scheduled to make his return to Salem in late August. We, in turn, were scheduled to set our DVRs. Well, <em>double</em>-set them; we’d never miss an episode!</p>
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<p>We’re always in favor of our soaps doing long-term planning — and even more so when that long-term planning involves a visit from an actress as beloved as Sami’s portrayer that’s going to extend through most of the following year! We predict that, by the time her mischief-making character is done, there won’t be a pot in Salem that hasn’t been stirred!</p>
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<p>“Are we being punked?” We couldn’t help but ask when, right after it was announced that Camila Banus was returning before Gabi had even left Salem, the news broke that Rafe’s portrayer was <em>also</em> homeward bound. Oh, and to be clear, anytime a soap wants to punk us by bringing back actors that we’d miss if they left and stayed gone, that’s 100-percent fine by us!</p>
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20/36
<p>Now <em>that’s</em> the kinda exit we can get behind! Even before the actress had aired for the last time as Gabi Hernandez, the news broke that when <em>Days of our Lives</em> resumed production in September, she’d be back on the set as if she’d never even left. Perfect.</p>
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<p><em>Days of our Lives</em> without Maggie Kiriakis is like an hourglass without sand. So we were awfully relieved to learn that Rogers, a cast member since 1973 (yet <em>not</em> <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/soaps/news/574692/longest-serving-soap-opera-actors-list-photos/" target="_blank">the soap’s longest-running cast member</a>), would be back in action in late summer.</p>
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<p>Apparently, death becomes her. Though the ingenue was killed off <em>Days of our Lives</em> five years ago, when Paige Larson learned in the worst way possible what Ben’s favorite fashion accessory was, she reappeared, at least briefly, in August.</p>
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23/36
<p>Ain’t no stinkin’ prison cell that can hold Eduardo Hernandez for long — and we couldn’t happier! His kids, on the other hand… eh, <em>they</em> may wish those bars had been reinforced. When Dad returned to Salem in late August, it was, as his portrayer put it, to “blow up the lives of two of his children, harder and colder about it than when last we saw him.” Yikes.</p>
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<p>At least some of the sting was taken out of Kate Mansi’s departure as Abigail DiMera by the news that Miller — who’d already replaced her once before in the role — would be stepping back in. So we knew ahead of time that we were getting a recast that we’d like!</p>
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<p>Nearly a decade after he last played Philip Kiriakis, the fan favorite took part in <em>Days of our Lives</em>’ <em>Last Blast Reunion</em> digital series, then signed on to reprise his role on the actual show. Hmm… who’s thinking that Philip’s homecoming might just have <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/days-of-our-lives/news/575730/days-of-our-lives-philip-kiriakis-chloe-lane-reunion/" target="_blank">something to do with Chloe’s?</a></p>
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<p>Just like a singer’s last song in concert isn’t <em>really</em> their final one unless it’s the second or third encore, Bjorlin’s exit in 2019 wasn’t really so much a departure as it was a “Hold my beer, I’ll be right back.” Luckily for the actress, her return as erstwhile Ghoul Girl Chloe Lane coincided with what Soaps.com predicted just might be <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/days-of-our-lives/news/573927/days-of-our-lives-chloe-lane-biggest-storyline/" target="_blank">“her biggest storyline ever.”</a></p>
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<p>Technically, Reeves was never <em>gone</em>-gone; Jennifer Deveraux was just off the canvas for a few weeks in the summer of 2020 while she accompanied daughter Abigail to Florida for post-drugging treatment. Nonetheless, the actress and new grandmother was back in the thick of things on screen as of early August.</p>
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<p>As Ben and Ciara’s nuptials approached, he saw a familiar face in a nightmare — that of his twisted sister, Jordan Ridgeway. (If only the show hadn’t killed off her portrayer; she’s the concentrate from which good soap is mixed!) After Eve set in motion her batty revenge plot, Read was brought in to offer bride Ciara potentially valuable intel as father-in-law Clyde Weston.</p>
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<p>Ben Weston wasn’t exactly thrilled to have Eve Donovan back — and just in time for her to crash (and also <em>kaboom</em>!) his wedding to Ciara Brady, too. But the rest of us were delighted to see the actress, who since slipping into Charlotte Ross’ old role in 2014, has made it <em>so</em> her own that we hope by now she’s cut out the tags.</p>
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<p>Apparently, <em>Days of our Lives</em>’ powers that be were as intrigued by Li Shin as viewers were. A couple of months after Hoffman made his first appearance — <em>and</em> that lasting impression — as the handsome DiMera Enterprises executive, he was brought back to ensure that we’d never be… ahem… “bored” meeting.</p>
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<p>If anyone was as crushed as Justin Kiriakis when Adrienne died, it was us. What? You, too? Yeah, loving Adrienne is pretty universal. That being the case, you don’t have to imagine, you totally understand the relief and excitement that we felt when her portrayer was reintroduced to Salem’s lot, albeit as Adrienne’s mischievous lookalike, Bonnie Lockhart.</p>
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<p>Seeing the former <em>Days of our Lives</em> regular back in action as Vivian’s devoted manservant, Ivan Marais, was a revelation. The gravitas that he now possesses didn’t just make us wish he’d plant roots in Salem, it made us think he’d make a fine stand-in for <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/days-of-our-lives/news/572139/days-of-our-lives-new-stefano-dimera-ivan/" target="_blank">the biggest, baddest Big Bad</a> in all of daytime history.</p>
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<p>Although the veteran actress’ return engagement as a vengeful Vivian Alamain was entirely too short for our liking, we’re comforted by two things: 1. It set right the mistake that was made when <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/soaps/news/570555/soap-opera-worst-recasts-list/" target="_blank">her iconic character was recast</a>. And 2. since Vivian’s latest “death” was as exaggerated as most of Salem’s, we’re all but <em>guaranteed</em> that she’ll be back again.</p>
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<p>Is Sami Brady ever <em>really</em> gone from <em>Days of our Lives</em>? Sure, her portrayer leaves occasionally — sometimes for far longer stretches than we’d like (no matter how big a sigh of relief Salem breathes!). But we always know that, like a bad penny, the scheme queen will turn up again, and when she does, she’ll take the cake… if only to force on sister-in-law Nicole an unwanted facial.</p>
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<p>Make room for Daddy! Shortly after a pregnant Allie Horton showed up in Salem, pop Lucas followed suit, in so doing filling a void not only in the show but in our hearts. So fingers crossed that this time around the actor, a <em>Days of our Lives</em> cast member off and on since 1993, is back for the long haul.</p>
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