Days of our Lives Recap, November 18, 2025: Stephanie's stalker drugs Alex's drink

Here is what happened on Days of our Lives on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, when Xander talked to Brady about Sarah, Lucas, Rafe, and EJ discussed Sami, Jada went on a date with Theo, and Gabi gave Chad advice.

What happened on Days of our Lives

At the Hernandez house, Rafe told Gabi that Kristen had gone missing. Rafe confirmed that the search team would call him with updates. Rafe asked about the gala, but Gabi said she had decided to stay home. Gabi asked Rafe if she should expect to see Sami while she was in town. Rafe said Sami had already left, and he told Gabi about Sami’s fiancé.

“You okay?” Gabi asked. Rafe explained that he and Sami cherished the memories of their past, but that it was in the past. Gabi told her brother that she wanted him to find someone who deserved him. Gabi suggested Rafe a dating app, but he declined.

In the pub, Roman told Lucas that Marlena was doing better. “Did Sami stick around?” Lucas asked. Roman said that Sami’s flight had already taken off when Marlena’s heart had gone into AFib, so she had not heard the news. Roman asked Lucas not to tell Sami, because Marlena wanted to tell Sami herself.

Lucas told Roman that he hoped Sami’s marriage to Dante was not a mistake. “For the record, I am glad that Sami forgave you,” Roman said. Roman noted that Lucas’s actions had been stupid, but he had been punished for his crimes. Lucas promised to be good to Sami in the future.

Xander knocked on the door of the penthouse, and he begged Brady to let him talk to Marlena. Brady explained that Marlena was in the hospital. Xander asked Brady why he was hostile, and Brady explained that Kristen was on the loose. “I know the first thing Kristen would want to do is contact Rachel. I assume that’s why you’re here. Are you doing her dirty work for her?” Brady asked. Xander stressed that he had not known about Kristen.

As Xander started to protest the idea that he was going after Rachel, Brady reminded him that he had once kidnapped Rachel. “That’s ancient history,” Xander said. “But you screwing up people’s lives certainly isn’t,” Brady countered. Brady said Sarah had told him what Xander had done to Philip. With a smirk, Brady asked Xander whether he planned to break Sarah’s legs for her betrayal. Xander tensed, then sighed.

“The old Xander would have given you hell for what you just said to me. He’d have fought back. But I’m not that Xander anymore. So, instead, I’ll just say that I have been working very hard to be a better man. And I would never hurt Sarah,” Xander said. Xander added that he would win Sarah back. “That sounds familiar,” Brady said. Xander swore that things were different. “I’ve been working with Marlena. She’s been helping me a lot,” Xander said.

With a shrug, Brady agreed that Marlena was the best. “In my experience, some people just can’t be helped,” Brady said. Xander stressed that he was determined to become a good person for his daughter. “The kind of man that Sarah would want to share her life with,” Xander added.

“What if you’re too late?” Brady asked. Xander asked Brady if Sarah had been confiding in him. Brady refused to talk about his conversations with Sarah. “But you have been spending a lot of time with her, yeah?” Xander asked. Brady noted that Sarah needed a friend. Jealous, Xander accused Brady of wanting to be more than friends with Sarah. “And here I thought you had your anger under control,” Brady said. “Not when you tell me you’re going after my wife,” Xander countered. Brady stressed that he was only interested in Sarah as a friend. Brady ordered Xander to leave.

“If you see Marlena, please tell her that I hope she’s feeling better. But you, on the other hand you can go to hell,” Xander said. As Xander started to leave, Brady reminded him that he had lost everything he loved because he could not keep his temper in check. “And you obviously still can’t. So if you really love Sarah the way you say you do, do her a favor. Let her go,” Brady said.

At the DiMera mansion, Chad asked EJ if the news about Kristen’s escape was true. EJ told Chad that the prison was treating Kristen’s disappearance as an escape. “First, Tony vanishes, and now Kristen? What is going on with this family?” Chad asked. EJ confirmed he had checked the tunnels already. EJ asked about the custody battle, and Chad said he had not heard anything, but he hoped that Jennifer would calm down and back off.

Jada met up with Theo in the bookstore for their date. Theo and Jada talked about their previous meeting, where they had talked about JJ’s bias. Theo noted that Jada had not accepted JJ’s resignation. “He was very upset and contrite about his interaction with you. And he’s a good cop. So no, I did not. Did that just ruin our date?” Jada asked. Theo told Jada that he respected her decision.

Over a cup of coffee, Jada noted that Theo must have had a tough day, considering that both Tony and Kristen had gone missing. “What do you mean?” Theo asked. Jada told Theo that Kristen had escaped from prison. As Jada started to ask if he had heard from Kristen, he said no. Theo accused Jada of wanting to interrogate him. Jada said no.

“And actually, we made this date before I even knew about Kristen’s escape,” Jada reminded Theo. Theo apologized for his overreaction. They changed the subject to their interests. When Theo asked about chess, Jada admitted she had not played. Theo pulled out his portable chess set from his backpack, and he showed Jada how to play. Jada talked about her dad, and Theo noted that his mother had also been a doctor. Jada suggested they play poker on their next date.

Stephanie returned home after a shopping spree for her book tour. Before Stephanie could model her clothes, she received multiple phone calls about work. When Stephanie finally ended her calls, Alex suggested they order dinner. Stephanie was ordering online as she asked Alex about his day. Stephanie got distracted by texts that were sent to her phone, and Alex noticed that she was not listening to him. Stephanie apologized. Stephanie earnestly asked about Alex’s day, and he told her about how the family had used the estate for collateral on a loan. Alex also told Stephanie that a rival publishing company had attempted to poach him from Titan.

“Would you really consider leaving the family company?” Stephanie asked. Alex said that he had turned down the offer. While Stephanie and Alex talked inside, a leather-clad mystery man squirted a liquid into the drink in the takeout order marked with Alex’s name. After the man left, Stephanie retrieved the food from the hallway. Alex took a sip of his drink, and he noted that his drink tasted strange. Alex set it aside.

Over dinner, Alex talked to Stephanie about the book tour and the need for a PR push to help with lagging sales. Stephanie suggested that Alex travel with her. Alex agreed to join her on the road when he could. In the park, the mystery man stared at his phone at a press release for Stephanie’s book tour.

EJ went to the pub, and Lucas gave him a back-handed compliment about his speech at the gala. EJ turned to leave, then he groaned when Rafe entered. “Oh, god. I’m surrounded,” EJ muttered. “Well, if it isn’t the inaugural meeting of the Sami Brady ex-husbands’ club,” Lucas joked. Rafe sat down at Lucas’ table, and EJ sat nearby at the bar. Rafe told Lucas that Sami had texted him from the plane to tell him about her trip to Bimini. EJ chuckled ruefully. “Her one true love,” EJ said. “Let’s not get into some juvenile rivalry here,” Rafe said. Rafe noted that all three of them had been Sami’s “great love” at one point or another.

“Yeah, but current great love is Ava Vitali’s cousin, he’s got to be bad news, right?” Lucas said. Rafe confirmed that Dante had passed his background check. EJ scoffed. “Look harder,” EJ said. Lucas pointed out that Sami had made an effort to track all three of them down during her visit to push the idea that she had moved on. “What if this is a ruse? What if she’s just trying to get under our skin?” Lucas asked. Rafe disagreed. Rafe argued that Sami had changed and was more mature.

“We just have to accept the fact that she is in love with some Italian dude, and that we’re not the center of her universe anymore,” Rafe said. “Too bad,” Lucas muttered. EJ asked Lucas if he was still in love with Sami. Lucas admitted, “She is the one that got away.” Rafe said he felt the same way. “To the one that got away!” Rafe toasted. After Lucas and Rafe left, EJ whispered, “To Samantha.”

Chad invited Gabi to join him for a drink. Chad told Gabi about Jennifer’s threats. “I’ve tried to do what she thinks would make me a good dad, stayed away from Cat. But I can’t just walk away from somebody who’s having a hard time,” Chad said. “Not when you really care about her,” Gabi said.

Gabi suggested that Chad date someone new. When Chad raised an eyebrow, Gabi clarified that she did not mean her. “I’m seeing someone. Kind of,” Gabi said. Gabi suggested that Chad use the new Salem dating app, Salem Singles. “It wouldn’t hurt for Jennifer to see you trying to move on,” Gabi said. After Gabi left, Chad downloaded the app to his phone.

Stream Days of our Lives on the Peacock app.