Kristian Alfonso: Exclusive: Days of our Lives' Kristian Alfonso Says Bo and Hope Fans Finally Got the Ending They Deserve

Days of our Lives fans' dreams came true when Bo and Hope left Salem together last year to travel the world. Soap Central recently caught up with Kristian Alfonso, who plays Hope, to talk about the couple’s happy (for now) ending, and why it’s what fans deserved!

Happy DAYS, Sad DAYS

In 2015, Bo "died" on screen in Hope's arms | Image: JPI

Alfonso and other DAYS stars, including Martha Madison (Belle) and Julie Dove (ex-Connie), attended The Marianna Group’s HARVEST Awards Week Experience in Los Angeles. Soap Central spoke to Alfonso there for an exclusive interview, and the actress happily reflected on her legendary run in Salem with us.

Bo and Hope were reunited in 2025, and the fan favorite duo was given a much happier ending than the finale that they experienced in 2015 during the show’s 50th anniversary. That's when Bo passed away in Hope’s arms. Surely, soap opera’s most romantic couple deserved a happier ending, no?

“I was so grateful,” Alfonso says, about Bo and Hope sailing off into the sunset together in 2025. “That was supposed to happen the time before [we were on the show].”

The actress is thankful to the show for giving Bo and Hope fans the knowledge that their favorite duo is out there, traveling around the world. She’s also grateful for the show’s legendary diehard fanbase.

“Hope and Bo would not have been what they were without the fans,” Alfonso says with a smile. “We were given tremendous storylines to play.”

DAYS, Behind the Screen

Kristian Alfonso, former DAYS producer, Shelley Curtis Litvack, and Peter Reckell | Image: JPI

The actress credits the entire DAYS company for contributing to Bo and Hope’s success. She singles out her pal Shelley Curtis Litvack, former producer, who was producing the show when Bo and Hope’s love story was in full force.

Arguably, the couple’s most memorable moment was when Hope was preparing to marry Larry Welch (Andrew Massett) – even though he was not the man who held her heart. The late Bonnie Tyler tune “Holding Out for a Hero" played as Bo raced against time to get back to Hope.

There was a knock on the door of the bride's room, and Hope thought it was her grandmother, Alice (Frances Reid). Nope. It was Bo! He barged into the room and declared that he was there for Hope. They bickered (of course!). Then, Alice helped the two get away as Bo and Hope rode off on a “borrowed” policeman’s motorcycle.

Alfonso, a teenager at the time, couldn’t conceive that the Bo and Hope love story would be the tale that so many others would be measured against. “I had no idea,” she says, “but I know now. I was just telling my kids [about it].”

Finding Hope

Alfonso was quite familiar with DAYS when she was cast on the show as the daughter of Doug Williams (the late, great Bill Hayes) and stepdaughter of Julie Williams (Susan Seaforth Hayes), who is also Hope’s half-sister!

“I was so grateful to have joined the show that I used to watch after school,” Alfonso says. “I would head to the [skating] rink, and as I was gathering my things, I’d watch 10 minutes or 15 minutes.” (The days before DVRs and streaming were challenging!)

Alfonso recalls seeing a billboard with Bill and Susan’s image on it as Doug and Julie in New York City before being cast on DAYS. She modeled for Wilhelmina and appeared in The Star Maker, a 1981 film that starred Rock Hudson (Daniel, Dynasty) and Suzanne Pleshette (The Bob Newhart Show).

Then, history was made when she joined DAYS in 1983. Alfonso agrees that one reason that Bo and Hope’s love story was so successful was that it developed slowly. Fans still remember Bo calling Hope “Little One” and his kissing her not on the lips, but on the forehead after he bought a bunch of tickets at a kissing booth where Hope was stationed. (Swoon!)

“The show knew that love takes time to build,” Alfonso says. “Moments are important. That first touch, the zooming in. It was a piece of art.”

Soaps are facing tough economic times in today’s world, as viewers have streaming platforms and multiple shows to choose from. However, the actress believes that a show can be great when everyone comes together with the same goal.

“I’ve always felt, and I hold myself accountable as well, when you show up on set, it should be all hands on deck,” Alfonso says. “We’re a team. You have to be a team. Never take [anything] for granted. I say that a show can always be a great, magnificent show if you have all hands on deck and everyone shows up."

Gifting Suite

In addition to DAYS stars, The Marianna Group’s HARVEST Awards Week Experience in Los Angeles (at the Beverly Hills Marriott) was attended by numerous other celebrities, including Emmy® nominees Lauren Weedman (Hacks), Carlos Manuel Vesga (Pluribus), Dale Dickey (Widow’s Bay), Kim Estes (Big Law), Constance Marie, and Gilles Marini (Dancing With the Stars).

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