Days of Our Lives’ Billy Flynn Shares His Struggle With Addiction and Alcohol: ‘There Were Times I Didn’t Want to Live’
Chad’s portrayer has been to hell — and, thankfully, back.
In the May 30 edition of State of Mind with General Hospital star Maurice Benard (Sonny), Days of Our Lives MVP Billy Flynn (Chad) unburdened himself in a big way. First, he recalled an early scene in which he was called upon to turn on the waterworks. “In front of other people, [it] seemed insane,” he said. “I decided to fake it.”
It went so badly that the take was stopped — a rarity in modern-day soaps. Afterward, “I still could’t get there,” he admitted. “I thought for sure I was fired.”
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Flynn wasn’t pink-slipped. But that in no way meant that he was out of the woods. “I’m a work in progress,” he shared. “I’m an alcoholic and an addict,” one who’s been in recovery for coming up on three years.
The actor went on to say that he’d had to draw a line in the sand, that or “I was going to die.” Even on his way to getting better, he’d been “willing to walk away from my wife and my job and everything else that I loved” to not feel the way that he did.
Simply put, Flynn couldn’t continue on the way that he had. “The drinking and using even took over at work,” he said. But “sex, love, alcohol, gambling… ” he would’ve embraced “anything to make me not sit with who I really am.”
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Why? Good question — one with which Flynn has grappled. As his single mother sought love and acceptance via remarriages, he discovered that he could become the center of attention by getting in trouble, then working his way back into her good graces. The same pattern repeated with future bosses and his wife. “Once I would have something,” he marveled, “it was no longer appealing to me.”
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Finally, Flynn discovered “a new way to live” and, following the death of his beloved great grandmother, aka his “soulmate other than my wife”… well, first, he spiraled, using “more and more and more to be not who I was,” then at last getting sober. “There were times I didn’t want to live,” he said. “Certainly, how I was treating myself, I didn’t want to live.
“I mean, there were times when I would drink and use to a place where thought I was going to die quite literally in the moment,” he went on, “and I would keep going.” Hell, there were times when “I took as much as I could, and when I woke up, I was shocked.”
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Thankfully, Flynn did wake up. And now he is working toward being his best self. While he does so, check out the full interview above and stop off at the below photo gallery that revisits highlights of Days of Our Lives’ entire run.
Image: NBC/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
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<p>… and for decades, these were the two that it took: the late Frances Reid and MacDonald Carey as Alice and Tom Horton.</p>
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<p>Never mind how it ended <em>and</em> ended <em>and</em> ended again between these two; this is the way we like to remember Hope Williams (Kristian Alfonso) and Bo Brady (Peter Reckell) — as happy as they were on the day of their first wedding.</p>
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<p>… or was it just the early days in the romance of Carrie Brady (Christie Clark) and Austin Reed (Patrick Muldoon)? Nothing, it seemed, could come between them. Nothing <em>except</em>…</p>
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<p>New Austin — Austin Peck — same old chemistry. Whew.</p>
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<p>In 1966, Diane Hunter (Coleen Gray) did her best to assure daughter Susan (Denise Alexander) that bows were <em>sure</em> to come back in fashion. One day. Maybe.</p>
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<p>All Lucas Roberts (Bryan R. Dattilo) is missing in this late-1990s portrait is the other members of his dreamy boy band.</p>
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<p>Nothing could stand in the way of Joshua Fallon (Scott Palmer) marrying Jessica Fallon (Jean Bruce Scott). Well, unless you count her relationship with the Salem Strangler and her alternate personality.</p>
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<p>In 1992, Robert Kelker-Kelly wasn’t just a new beau for Dr. Carly Manning (Crystal Chappell), he was a new Bo Brady for us all.</p>
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<p>Eh, it was really more of a crowd for a jealous Ben Weston (Robert Scott Wilson), girlfriend Abigail Deveraux (then Kate Mansi) and her true love, Chad DiMera (Billy Flynn), in 2015.</p>
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<p>Looking back, gamblin’ man Neil Curtis (Joe Gallison) and sad songstress Liz Chandler (Gloria Loring) probably would’ve been better off as strangers.</p>
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<p>If only the late, great Joseph Mascolo’s Stefano DiMera could rise yet again…</p>
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<p>In the mid-1970s, David Banning (Richard Guthrie) and Valerie Grant (then Tina Andrews) — aka Eli Grant’s parents — became <em>Days of Our Lives</em>’ first interracial couple.</p>
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<p>In 2004, Mickey Horton (the late John Ingle) was torn between naughty Bonnie Lockhart (Judi Evans) and nice wife Maggie (Suzanne Rogers).</p>
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<p>Billie Reed (Lisa Rinna) and Bo (Kelker-Kelly here) were as fond of one another as <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/gallery/real-life-soap-scandals-photos/" target="_blank">their portrayers infamously weren’t</a>.</p>
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<p>Sister Mary Moira was but <em>one</em> of the secondary characters that former headwriter James E. Reilly created for <em>Days of Our Lives</em>’ original Kristen DiMera, Eileen Davidson.</p>
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<p>Nothin’ to see here. Just Hope and Bo (Reckell again) sharing a warm moment while chilling in 1996.</p>
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<p>In 2003, somebody just needed to tell Belle Black (Kirsten Storms; now Maxie, <em>General Hospital</em>), Cassie Brady (Alexis Thorpe), Rex Brady (Eric Winter) and Mimi Lockhart (Farah Faith) that the camera was over here. Over <em>here</em>, kids.</p>
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<p>There’s really no other way to describe the tortured relationship between Carly and Lawrence Alamain (Michael Sabatino, who married his leading lady in 1997).</p>
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<p>Well, at least Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney) was happy anytime she and Austin (Peck here) were together. He, on the other hand, was generally ambivalent. At <em>best</em>. Maybe it shows?</p>
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<p>Despite his checkered past and despite how brightly her halo glowed, Jack Deveraux (Matthew Ashford) and Jennifer Horton (Melissa Reeves) discovered that they were perfect for one another.</p>
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<p>They say that when couples have been together for a while, they start to look alike. Or is it <em>dress</em> alike? Julie Williams (Susan Seaforth Hayes) and husband Doug (real-life spouse Bill Hayes) might be able to shed some light on this subject.</p>
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<p>For some reason, EJ DiMera (James Scott) and sometime missus Sami looked as if we were interrupting them during this 2006 bedroom shoot. We’ll just let ourselves out…</p>
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<p>John Black (Drake Hogestyn) turns his bedroom eyes up to “seduce.”</p>
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<p>In 1986, sometime stripper Pete Jannings (Michael Leon) married Melissa Horton (Lisa Trusel) in a double-wedding ceremony with her adoptive parents, Mickey (then the late John Clarke) and Maggie.</p>
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<p>Shawn Brady (then Jason Cook) and Belle (then Storms) were just whippersnappers when they fell in love.</p>
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<p>Hey, how come when Shawn and Belle grew up — and began being played by Brandon Beemer and Martha Madison — they remained just as pretty as they always were? That hardly seems fair.</p>
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<p>Lucas would stop at nothing to prove to people that there was nothing up his sleeve. Including eschewing sleeves altogether.</p>
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<p>Sure, they were troublemakers to the core, but Vivian Alamain (Louise Sorel) and Victor Kiriakis (John Aniston) certainly showed us a devil of a good time.</p>
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<p>In an early publicity shot, Reid strikes such a pensive pose, you’d swear she was auditioning for <em>Dark Shadows</em>.</p>
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<p>In 2015, Chad, Stefano and Tony — or was that André (Thaao Penghlis, either way)? — managed to fit three generatuons of DiMeras into one frame.</p>
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<p>We get why the Bradys — Shawn (the late Frank Parker) and Caroline (the late Peggy McCay) — would be together in this 1996 promotional photo. But sweet Maggie and the dastardly Stefano? Mystifying.</p>
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<p>Tom tried to reach Susan, but her troubles were usually so great, even his wise words couldn’t help. She was probably daydreaming about her old bows. “They’re coming back in style,” she told herself.</p>
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<p>Abe Carver (James Reynolds) made the last days of lost love Lexie (Renée Jones) ones that she — and “oui” — would always remember.</p>
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<p>Unless you know Mark Valley, who spelled usual portrayer Ashford in the role from 1994-97. Then OK, you <em>might</em> know Jack. (Don’t get us started on Steve Wilder, though.)</p>
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<p>Doug gave only the subtlest of signs to gold digger Lee DuMonde (the late Brenda Benet) that was he was <em>slightly</em> more into Julie. Do ya think she noticed?</p>
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<p>There would be no pulling focus from Lucas in 1999. Not at <em>this</em> photo shoot, anyhow.</p>
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<p><em>Days of Our Lives</em> vet Alfonso may have left the building, but we’ll always have our memories of her iconic character. And also amazing images like this one. What <em>was</em> up there? Cobweb? Good lighting? We can’t help but wonder.</p>
Image: Paul Skipper/JPI
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<p>Given the history between Sami, Austin (Peck here, as if you didn’t know), Lucas and Carrie, this <em>had</em> to be one of the more fraught double dates in history.</p>
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<p>When John married Isabella Toscano (Staci Greason) in 1992, he thought that it was for keeps. If only, pal. If only.</p>
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<p>If this wasn’t Jack and Jennifer’s engagement photo, it should’ve been. For real, yo.</p>
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<p>As this 2013 scene shot suggests, mercurial Kristen (original flavor Davidson) had a tendency to go off half-cocked.</p>
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<p>So frosty a presence is Vivian that she gives herself the chills even in a sweater. Now <em>that’s</em> cold.</p>
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<p>Austin (Peck again) and half-sibling rival Lucas never failed to make a splash when they tried dipping into the same dating pool a, um, <em>toe</em>.</p>
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<p>After solving the Salem Stalker case, Roman Brady (then Wayne Northrop) made a missus of Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) in 1983.</p>
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<p>In the early 1990s, Kelker-Kelly’s do-gooder had it bad for both Hope and Billie. Can ya blame him?</p>
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<p>By 2018, Ben had totally sold <em>Days of Our Lives</em>’ audience on his feelings for Ciara Brady (Victoria Konefal).</p>
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<p>Unbeknownst to them, back in 2001, Philip Kiriakis (Jay Kenneth Johnson), Chloe Lane (Nadia Bjorlin), Shawn Brady (Cook) and Belle (Storms) were <em>actually</em> looking at seaweed; they’d been in the sun for a long time.</p>
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<p>In 1995, Marlena ran afoul of a demon that was even more troublesome than Kristen. Maybe you heard a little something about it?</p>
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<p>Foolishly, the first doctor who treated Marlena for possession had just prescribed Visine.</p>
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<p>In the grip of an otherworldly fiend, Marlena seemed seriously opposed to letting John — or <em>anyone</em> — borrow her office supplies.</p>
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<p>We’d love to say that we didn’t know what possessed her. But c’mon, we knew. We <em>all</em> knew.</p>
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<p>In the end, Kristen (still Davidson) didn’t have a prayer of holding onto John.</p>
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<p>“Her!” cried Kristen. “There are too many pictures of her and her damn possession in this photo album!” Fine. We’ll move on.</p>
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<p>Nope. This is just about normal for Doug and Julie. They dance cheek to cheek even when standing still.</p>
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<p>Dr. Mike Horton (Roark Critchlow) did the near-impossible: He made us forget that we always thought that Austin was endgame for Carrie.</p>
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