Today's episode is a slow burn with a sharp edge. Stephanie doesn't yell, doesn't cry, doesn't accuse anyone of anything. She just says the quiet thing out loud and walks away. Meanwhile, Chad is sitting in the Pub calmly explaining to Theo why he thinks his dead wife is alive in EJ's basement, and Marlena is turning down another Stefano inheritance like it's junk mail. There's a lot happening under the surface today, and the Bigger Picture digs into what Stephanie's been building toward since she got back from Owen.

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Chad Offers Marlena a Lifeline

Chad runs into Marlena in the square and hears that Kristen has banned her from visiting Rachel at Bayview. He's baffled. He promises to talk to Kristen himself, though Marlena says Brady is already working on it. Chad apologizes on behalf of the whole DiMera family. Marlena waves it off, telling him the rest of the family has been lovely: him, Johnny, Sydney, and of course, Lexie. (Lexie?!?! - come on, Marlena!)

Later, EJ texts Marlena asking her to come to the mansion. She says goodbye to Chad and heads over.

EJ Drops the Will Bomb on Marlena

At the mansion, EJ tells Cat he wants to get out of the house. Kristen moving in has made the place feel smaller. He asks Cat to dinner, and she agrees.

When Marlena arrives, EJ gets right to it: she's been added as a beneficiary of Stefano's will. She's cordially invited to the reading. Marlena's reaction is immediate. She's been the beneficiary of Stefano's wills before. Once she even inherited a pillow with the words "Sleeping Beauty in the Woods" in French. She wants no part of this.

EJ pushes back. Depending on the terms, declining to attend could mean forfeiting the inheritance. Marlena doesn't care. "Stefano is dead and buried. He is done living rent-free in my head." EJ's response: "Until you have closure, Stefano will always be living rent-free in your head."

Abe and Theo Both Plan to Attend the Will Reading

Abe and Theo grab breakfast at the Pub. Theo tells his dad he's been named executor of Stefano's estate. Abe is visibly uncomfortable. He doesn't want Theo deeper in the DiMera world. But he's going to the will reading himself, and his reason catches you off guard: he's there to claim Lexie's inheritance for Theo.

Abe pushes back. "You know, Stefano's dead, Theo. So you no longer have to please him." But Theo says DiMera is still his family. They talk about Stefano, about Lexie being his golden child, and about Celeste being the only woman he truly loved. "Besides Marlena," Theo adds. Abe agrees.

Alex and Stephanie Hit the Wall

Alex sits Stephanie down and tells her about Joy and Kelsey. Stephanie doesn't take it well. She questions everything. If Joy lied once, how does Alex know she's not lying now? Why didn't Joy just call first? "She freaking ambushed you, Alex, with a baby."

Alex tries to explain that Joy didn't want to come between them. Stephanie isn't buying it. The conversation escalates. Alex says the old Alex would have tossed Joy some cash and told her to leave town. He can't do that anymore. He's changed.

Stephanie goes quiet. "Joy's given you what I'm not sure I ever can. And it's hard not to see this as a sign, like the universe is trying to tell us something." She asks for time and walks out.

Joy Opens Up to Jeremy

Joy and Jeremy are at Small Bar with Kelsey. Joy tells him Alex practically melted when he held the baby. Jeremy says he figured out Alex was the father because Stephanie happened to mention Alex was pressuring her to start a family. He thought if Joy told Alex about Kelsey, it might take the pressure off of Stephanie.

Joy pushes back. "I've heard about your history with Stephanie. Part of you had to be hoping that when she found out about the baby, she'd leave Alex. Giving you another shot." Jeremy doesn't deny it.

Joy also explains why she kept Nancy in the dark. If her mother found out it was a Kiriakis baby, she would have had dollar signs in her eyes and made it her life's mission to rope Alex into marriage. Joy wanted none of that. "I'm not here looking for love or money or to try and trap Alex into being with me."

Chad Puts the Pieces Together

Chad meets Theo at the Pub after Abe leaves. He wastes no time. He knows EJ pushed Theo out of DiMera. "He gets a son installed as CEO, but that would require something being sacrificed on the altar of greed and power, and that something was you." Theo gets defensive and says he's sick of everyone asking him to explain himself.

Chad lets it go and pivots to something bigger. He tells Theo he thinks Abigail was in the pod. Theo's grave is empty, Rolf is back, and EJ has always had a thing for his wife. "Who else could it be?" Theo tries to talk him down, but Chad isn't budging. "If it was Abigail and EJ straight up lied to my face, that would destroy our relationship forever."

Cat arrives and the conversation shifts. But Chad's not done with this.

Alex Pushes for the DNA Test

After Stephanie leaves, Alex finds Joy in the square. He tells her Stephanie didn't take it well. He wants the paternity test done today. Joy agrees.

Meanwhile, Stephanie runs into Jeremy in the park and breaks down. She tells him about the baby, about how the day started so well and now she doesn't know if she's strong enough for this. Jeremy comforts her: "I'm always here if you need me." He is very much still in her orbit.

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Stephanie didn't fight today. She didn't yell. She didn't accuse Joy of lying or demand Alex choose. She sat there, listened, and then said the thing that tells you where her head really is: "Joy's given you what I'm not sure I ever can. And it's hard not to see this as a sign, like the universe is trying to tell us something."

That's not a woman in shock. That's a woman who's been looking for a way out and just found one.

Rewind to Friday. Alex surprised Stephanie with skydiving, something she hadn't done since her race car days. When they landed, she said she felt present for the first time in months. Think about what that means. Her husband planned a romantic day off, they jumped out of a plane together, and her takeaway was that she finally felt like herself again. For a few minutes, she forgot about everything.

That's not a woman falling deeper in love. That's a woman who needs an adrenaline rush to feel anything at all.

Now look at what she's been doing since Owen. She went to the shooting range with Steve. She learned to shoot. She imagined Owen as her target. She said she wished she could put a bullet in him for real. Steve told her to lock the gun in the safe, away from the ammo. She said she would. Then she loaded it and put it in her purse.

Stephanie has been building a version of herself that doesn't need protecting. Every step she's taken since the kidnapping has been about control, about never being helpless again. The skydiving. The gun. The range sessions. She's not healing. She's arming herself.

And now Joy walks in with a baby, and Stephanie doesn't react with jealousy or rage. She reacts with relief. "The universe is trying to tell us something." She's framing the end of her marriage as fate, as something that's happening to her rather than something she's choosing. But she is choosing it. She's been choosing it for weeks.

Consider the timeline. Stephanie was already married to Alex when Owen kidnapped her. She came back from that and started gun training almost immediately. She's been having flashbacks at the range. She told her father the gun makes her feel like she's taking control of her life. And when she learned Alex has a baby with another woman, her first instinct wasn't to fight for the marriage. It was to say maybe they weren't meant to be.

Joy didn't blow up this marriage. Joy gave Stephanie permission to leave it without being the bad guy. If Stephanie walks away now, she's the gracious wife who stepped aside so Alex could be a father. She's not the woman who couldn't handle being married anymore. She's not the woman with a loaded gun in her purse and revenge fantasies about a man who kidnapped her.

The show has been signaling this for a while, but today made it clear. Stephanie is building an exit ramp, and she's laying every brick herself. The question isn't whether she leaves Alex. It's what she does once she's free, with a gun she never locked up and a rage she's only just starting to understand.

Abe and Theo discussed Celeste as the only woman Stefano truly loved "besides Marlena." How many times was Stefano DiMera married in total? (Answer at the bottom of the email.)

Jeremy Kisses Stephanie — and It's His Last Scene

Jeremy misreads a moment with Stephanie and goes in for a kiss, according to SheKnows Soaps and Soap Central. Wednesday is Michael Roark's final airdate as Jeremy Horton. After everything he engineered with Joy, he's going out by making one last wrong move.

Kristen Tells Sophia: Tomorrow, No Emotion, No Mess

Kristen calls Sophia and tells her the attack on Johnny happens tomorrow. CDL frames this as the trigger for the sweeps-opening move. With Chanel away at the aquarium with Lani, Johnny will be alone.

EJ and Johnny Share a Father-Son Moment

SheKnows Soaps flags a bonding scene between EJ and Johnny that reads as heavy foreshadowing given what Sophia is being pushed toward.

Chanel Opens Up to Lani About the Mammogram

Chanel confides in Lani about her breast lump and the upcoming mammogram, per SheKnows Soaps. Sarah is helping her prep for the appointment, according to SoapHub's weekly update.

Alex Asks Sarah for a Favor

Daytime Soap Stop reports Alex approaches Sarah for help. The spoiler sites tie this to his processing of Joy's baby reveal. Could be the DNA test, could be something else.

Angelica Nero has been cast as the new Victoria Kiriakis. The five-year-old, known for viral music covers that caught the attention of Paul McCartney and Lady Gaga, takes over the role starting Friday, April 24. Parade and Soap Opera News both carried the announcement. The recast lines up with Sarah and Xander stepping into a more active parenting story heading into May Sweeps.

AlexAnn Hopkins confirmed Joy's return is a multi-week arc, not a cameo. In TV Insider, Hopkins said the door was "left very open-ended" when she exited in March 2025, and that this version of Joy has an agenda that "comes from a good place." Soap Opera Digest frames the return as a sweeps-month complication for Alex and Stephanie's marriage. So Joy is here to stay - for a while at least.

Two weeks out: Holly faces accusations and Shawn shows muscle. Soap Dirt's two-week roundup adds two new details to the May 4 week picture. Holly faces accusations — could Sophia's screenshots be surfacing already? — and Shawn flexes muscle after weeks of flirting with Jada. The bigger sweeps beats hold: Lexie's awakening, Stefano's will reading, Sophia's attack on Johnny spilling over to Chanel, and Philip potentially learning Gabi's merger secret.

Six. Stefano was married to Daphne DiMera, Lee DuMonde, Vivian Alamain (twice), Celeste Perrault, and Kate Roberts.

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