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In today’s Days of our Lives recap for July 27, 2026, more than one Salemite was hot on Gwen’s trail, Alex’s joyous moment took a downturn, and Gabi came to a startling conclusion.
On the Suspect List
At the Hernandez home, Philip stopped by to once again plead his case with a resistant Gabi. After his ex failed to believe his protests of innocence, Philip reluctantly admitted he would never strike out so harshly against someone he…“cared about.” Gabi sensed Philip might be playing on her feelings and ordered him to leave. Before he honored the request, Philip made another admission: the end of their relationship still “hurt like hell.”
Philip passed Ari on his way out the door and didn't acknowledge her greeting, leading a curious Ari to ask Gabi what had happened. Gabi was glad to see her daughter, but Ari quickly shut down any reconciliation by claiming she had just come to get the rest of her clothes. Defeated, Gabi told Ari all about the counterfeit handbags and her accusations against Philip and Xander. Ari wondered if Gabi had any proof. Gabi had her certainty that the problems had only started once the shipping deal with Titan had begun; besides, no one else had early access to her designs.
“Except me,” Ari stated. She confessed that she had misplaced a handbag Gabi had given her a few weeks earlier…at DiMera. When Ari had later found the bag, nothing had seemed out of place. Gabi was upset by the revelation, and Ari started to ask her mom if Gabi believed she had left the bag exposed intentionally. Gabi didn’t accuse her daughter, but she did realize she might have made a big mistake with Xander — and especially with Philip.
Making It Official
Prior to her run-in with Gabi, Ari had an equally unpleasant encounter with Joy and Alex at the Brady Pub. She had watched with interest as the parents came into the pub, with Kelsey in tow. Joy had heaped compliments on Alex for helping her out once again.
When Alex and Joy approached, Ari played nice with Joy in front of her uncle, even offering to baby-sit. But as soon as Alex left, Ari gave a sarcastic slow-clap for Joy and said, “Well-played.” Joy acted innocent as Ari called her out on Joy's subtle manipulation of Alex and her apparent desire to make him fall in love with her. Joy said everything had been going well with Alex and Kelsey, except for Alex’s “psycho wife.” Ari was none-too-pleased with Joy’s insult towards her cousin, and she let it be known.
Meanwhile, in Horton Town Square, Alex met up with Stephanie. Husband and wife chatted briefly about the growing tension with Titan and EJ and about Joy before Alex was called away by his dad. He made his own call to Joy – who was busy insinuating to Kelsey that Daddy and she could be a family if only Stephanie was out of the way — and summoned her to the Kiriakis mansion.
Later, at the mansion, Justin warmly greeted Alex and heard about the joys of new fatherhood from his son. When Joy arrived with Kelsey, Justin gave an equally warm greeting to his granddaughter and then got down to the business at hand: the official renaming of the baby to Kelsey Kiriakis. The meeting proceeded smoothly, with smiles aplenty, until the topic of Kelsey’s custody in the event of Joy’s death arose. Joy promptly put the kibosh on the assumption that Alex would automatically get Kelsey. In no way would Joy allow Stephanie to raise her daughter.
Alex tried to defend his wife, to no avail. Joy wouldn’t budge. She wanted Stephanie’s exclusion from the arrangement to be included in the terms, or no deal. Alex countered that he wouldn’t sign off on an arrangement that didn’t include Stephanie. Justin suggested a compromise to navigate the impasse, but neither party seemed open to the idea.
Cup of Woe
Back in Horton Town Square, Stephanie spotted a downtrodden Philip and invited him to her table. He accepted the invitation, so Stephanie thanked him for offering to help out with Joy, although Joy thus far hadn’t accepted help from anyone but Alex. Philip confided his day had been disastrous, starting with the turmoil at Titan. EJ’s loan demand had diminished the prospect of keeping the company even further.
Philip also opened up about his earlier confrontation with Gabi. Stephanie lent a sympathetic ear, since she could relate to someone refusing to accept a sincere apology. Philip sought Stephanie’s counsel on what he could do to make Gabi see him as honest and full of integrity. “I can’t work miracles,” Stephanie deadpanned. She then encouraged her ex to be real with Gabi and to handle his conversations with her with kindness and understanding.
Philip believed he’d already tried Stephanie’s approach. It had been in vain, though. Stephanie urged him to give it another go.
Hazard Pay
Elsewhere in the square, Leo went to Marlena with another major crisis. He updated her on the latest with Gwen, including his growing conviction that Gwen had met with foul play...likely courtesy of EJ. Leo vowed that if anything had happened to his bestie, he would avenge her in the manner of all literary heroes, including Hamlet, Captain Ahab, and Sherlock Holmes.
Marlena was alarmed and pleaded with Leo to let the authorities handle it. Leo believed it would be too late, as he’d already tried to compel Cat to aid him and had been rebuffed. He rose, declared he would go out in “a blaze of glory” if need be, and walked away as if going off to war. Leo immediately went to his Salem Inn room and started packing, with a promise to Gwen that he was on the way.
Later, Leo crossed paths with Gus, who observed Leo pulling his suitcase. Gus asked where Leo was going. He responded vaguely that he was on a mission to save his friend. Before he left, Leo asked Gus to tell Javi that Leo still loved him if Leo didn’t return.
Mission Not-So-Impossible
In Rafe’s office, Cat arrived with a gift in hand for her partner: Gwen’s letter that she had taken from the lawyer’s computer. Rafe was less-than-happy with Cat’s methods, but he did read the contents of the letter with interest. Cat confirmed she had also shared the letter with Andrew. After perusing the letter, Rafe didn’t see anything that could help them nail EJ, since the secret lab experiments were already known.
Cat pointed out a line in the letter. In the passage, Gwen had admitted that she had conspired with EJ to disappear Dimitri. Rafe still couldn't determine a clear crime. Dimitri had been taken to another country and therefore out of their jurisdiction.
Cat had to remind Rafe that Dimitri had actually been kidnapped on American soil. She was certain the letter was their key to taking down EJ. Rafe eventually agreed that they needed to find Dimitri and ascertain if he had uncovered any evidence against Gwen and EJ.
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Later, Marlena approached Cat at the hospital and confronted her about Leo’s claims. Cat confessed that she had lied to Leo about her status with the ISA and her ability to help him. She assured Marlena she was on the case, but Leo needed to stay out of it. Marlena said it was too late. Marlena also conveyed her concern that Cat’s “growing feelings” for EJ could complicate things.
Is Cat’s con of EJ turning into something more? Which DiMera associate double-crossed Gabi? Will Leo find himself in the crosshairs again? And Team Steph or Team Joy? Sound off in the comments.
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