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DAYS Chandler Massey & Alison Sweeney Chat on Will Coming Out to Lucas & Sami!

By Michael Fairman

Published

14 years ago

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Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

Today is a red-letter day for fans who have been following Will Horton’s coming out storyline played by Daytime Emmy nominee, Chandler Massey (Will).   After months of not knowing when the other shoe would drop, Will finally blurts out that he is gay to his parents, Lucas and Sami in key scenes on today’s episode of Days of our Lives!

On-Air On-Soaps caught up with Chandler and his on-screen mom, Alison Sweeney (Sami) at last week’s An Evening with Days of our Lives Paley Center for Media event honoring the success of the soap in telling this coming of age story, and its record fifteen Daytime Emmy nominations.    Here is what the duo had to say about the upcoming interactions, playing these key scenes, and more! Then,  read below NBC executive Bruce Evans comments to the crowd in attendance on the future of Will’s story!

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

Chandler on this week in Will’s life when he drops the bombshell on his parents:  “Yes, that finally plays out! The thing I like about this week’s scenes is there is some nice Will and Lucas stuff.  Because of Sami’s reaction, Lucas kind of has to step up and be in the one to tell Will that they still love him, even though Sami has walked out.  I think that is great because Will and Lucas really have not had a lot of moments since Lucas came back to Salem.  And the scenes that they have had, there was not a real sense of a father/son bond.  I think that is appropriate and it was intentional on Bryan Dattilo (Lucas) and my part. You know, Lucas has been gone for years in Hong Kong, during the years that Will has changed the most.  So it’s not that just that it is awkward or uncomfortable.  It’s just that there is a distance that they have to bridge. They can’t exactly pick up where they left off, because Lucas has also changed and so has Will.  There will be some big Sami and Will scenes too. There are a couple of them coming out and they are pretty amazing!”

Alison on the episode where Sami learns the truth about her son being gay. “I am so excited for everyone to see the show.  Sami does not have a great reaction which is something you may have seen so far.   But I think, at the same time, it’s a classic or perfect way Sami would react.  Bottom line is she is like, “What did I do?” And then, I had this great woman say to me at the Outfest Days of our Lives Coming Out Celebration panel that mother’s do feel this way.  I thought that was a great.  She put her blessing on it and that is the thing that I think the writer’s did.  They acknowledged that everyone came at it from a different perspective. I feel that as actors, our job at the heart of it is to portray someone’s real feelings and their emotional heart.

Chandler on if he is concerned that the new DAYS writing regime headed up by Gary Tomlin, Chris Whitesell and Lorraine Broderick, will make a wrong turn in Will’s story:  “Gary Tomlin was the executive producer at DAYS when I first came on the show. I cannot express how much I loved Marlene and Darrell’s writing and how they told Will’s coming out story.   But also, I first found out that Will is going to come out when I was approached by Gary.   He was the first one to tell me the plan.  I know that the new writing team will tell a story that is just as touching, hopefully.”

Alison on being part of this important storyline, and working at DAYS now with the new head writing team, after all the trials and tribulations Sami has encountered, endured, or brought upon herself over the years.  “I never thought I would be in this position with the show.  When I first started on DAYS, I thought I was going to be playing the kid where you are trotted out during the summer.  I  really had no idea how this was going to unfold and I am super excited.   I know that right now I am super excited to read the next script. ”

Chandler on the fact that actor, Brent Daugherty has shot some scenes that involve Will’s storyline:  “ Yes.  More gay characters which is good!  We are keeping it alive! (Laughs) That is always nice to have a new character come in and do a couple of episodes.  Maybe Will might have a date? Or, maybe Sonny might have one?  We shall see.”

Bruce Evans, the executive at NBC who oversees Days of our Lives addressed concerns from those in attendance at the Paley Center,  as to the future of Will’s coming out story, “Let me assure we are not backing down from telling this story. We wouldn’t have gone there if we didn’t think it had real value, and boy, has Chandler Massey just batted it out of the park. Certainly, we care about fan reaction and things that are written.  But we also have to stay the course. Fans have various favorites, and they want you to pull to them. If we tried to satisfy everyone, we wouldn’t have a show.”

So soapers, after our preview, make sure to watch the scenes where Will coming out to his parents on DAYS! What do you think of Bruce Evans comments assuring that Will’s story will continue?  Let us know your thoughts!

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Just finished watching it. I really liked the way both Chandler and Ali played the scenes. It seemed very genuine and exactly the way it would go down in many families. I know we’re going to see Sami run out tomorrow – running is what she does when she’s uncertain about things, and I do think it’s perfectly understandable for Sami. I also think it’s understandable that she would question if her parenting somehow ‘contributed’ to Will’s gayness, no matter how illogical that idea is. I am looking forward to seeing this story work it’s way out. So far it’s been quite good and honest, so I’m counting on the remainder to be the same. If it isn’t, I’ll be upset. And I do hope that when this is all over, Sami and Will will have found their way back to each other.

Regarding Bruce Evans comments, it would be a major blunder Days not to continue to tell the story the way Marlene McPherson and Darrell Thomas began it. Will’s story has been one of the freshest and most honest stories that Days has ever done, and this is from someone who’s watched for 47 years. Besides this coming out and coming of age story is something that so many have experienced or will experience. Not give it its proper place would do Days viewers a gross disservice.

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well well well i hope these scenes will be great but i am really disapointed about Sami being the one freaked out but the outing of her son..it is so predictable and at the same time not so much in character except for the ‘blame myself, self-centered, guillty’ card..but it is so so so predictable..Lucas being the one with a problem would have been so much interesting, it could have developped his character who otherwise is an afterthough tied to Sami’s shoes..It could have explored Will and Lucas relationship and would have suited well with Lucas rooted insecurity and years of absence in his son’s life..;what a waste..and Sami being the one who support would have explored Will and Sami tortured relationship in a different way with a Sami would understand Will insecurity, underdog status like she experienced herself as a teen, a young adult with other issues like Teen pregnancy, eating disorder..underdog status too !!
Such a waste and weak writing..quite lame..but still i hope these actors will still be able to make some great acting scenes..Sweeney is brave to endure all this one-note writing and Massey is a great young actor for soaps..i wish them well.

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It’s great to see that the new writers and Gary will continue to write for Will. And they are right, Massey knocks it out of the ballpark, I can’t wait to see the Will and Sami scenes!

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After the horrendous ending of Luke and Reid, and the lame ending of Luke and Noah on ATWT (even though the show has gone off the air nearly 20 months ago); I am afraid to invest in the Will SL on DOOL or any other gay couple SL on soaps or shows. So far every soap or show that I have faithfully watched has ended in disaster for the gay characters/couples. The EPs, writers, and TPTB somehow manage to screw up SLs involving gay characters/couples time after time in TV history. If the intent is to ultimately shatter these SLs, then why begin them in the first place.

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Chandler Massey is one of the best younger actors on daytime. I see a bright future for this young man.

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Fingers are crossed that the new regime doesn’t mess with, or drop the storyline, since it’s the best storyline on DOOL these days.

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Finally! I have been waiting for this part of the story arc to play out! Massey is pretty amazing! (Sammi’s upcoming reaction, while not commendable, is definitely realistic- I can hardly wait to watch it play out during the week.)

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Glad this storyline will keep going. Chandler is such a great actor. He is really doing well for this storyline. When everything else on Days is kinda bleh, this is what keeps bringing in the viewers, including me.

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i pray that the new writing team will continue to embrass this storyline and continue to let chandler massey hit it out of the park. as done yesterday, the words used by the best loved characters carry lots of weight with middle america and how they will treat their kids who need to come out to them. do this thing right, please. don’t drop the ball, or for god’s sake, don’t put it back in the closet

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Days Of Our Lives

‘Days of Our Lives’ Star Emily O’Brien Ties the Knot With Longtime Love Ken Barnett

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2 days ago

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August 4, 2026

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Congratulations are in order for Days of Our Lives schemer, Emily O’Brien (Gwen Rizchech). The actress said “I do,” over the weekend in a wedding ceremony on Saturday, August 1 at the CaliPaso Winery in Paso Robles, California.

Emily married her longtime boyfriend, Ken Burnett. The couple have been together for 12 years before the big day. Taking to her Instagram with some exquisite photos which includes a look at Emily’s spectacular wedding dress, O’Brien announced the couple’s union.

As it turns out, the dress was worn by Burnett’s grandmother in 1956! Making the whole feel of the nuptials so special. Emily expressed, “I married my best friend this weekend… Ken, this life is more colorful, more adventurous & so much more beautiful with you in it. You make every dream a reality. Wearing your grandmothers heirloom wedding dress from 1956 was just the cherry… Cheers to Pickles & Neens”

Emily O'Brien Wedding

Photo: EOBrienIG

DAYS AND Y&R STARS SHARE EXCITEMENT FOR EMILY

The comment thread quickly filled up with congratulations from many of Emily’s present Days of our Lives co-stars and those from her former soap, The Young and the Restless where she played Jana Hawkes.

Tamara Braun (ex-Ava, Days and ex-Sienna, Y&R) shared, “The day was everything you two embody. Absolutely beautiful.” Greg Rikaart, who played Emily’s on-screen husband, Kevin Fisher on Y&R, and is now her bff Leo on DAYS shared, “Spectacular and beautiful. Zero notes. Congrats you two!!”Al Calderon (ex-Javi, DAYS) chimed in with “perfection,” while current DAYS co-star Linsey Godfrey (Sarah) added, “Perfect perfect perfect. Both of you.” Abigail Klein (Stephanie, DAYS) shared, “Storybook!” Y&R’s Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) expressed, “Gorgeous!!!!!”

It was back in March of this year that Barnett made his own tribute to the love of his life via his Instagram with a series of photos of the couple adding, “12 years later and we’re still up to our same shenanigans 😜 joyeux anniversaire, ma chérie.”

Share your congratulations for Emily and Ken via the comment section below, and wish the newlyweds all the best on their union!

 

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A post shared by Emily O’Brien (@emroya)

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Days Of Our Lives

‘Days of Our Lives’ Favorites Making Returns: Alison Sweeney, Christie Clark, Chandler Massey and Bryan Dattilo

Published

1 week ago

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July 28, 2026

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Great news for Days of Our Lives fans, now that Ryan Quan is co-head writer of the long-running soap opera. Coming in June of 2027 (since DAYS tapes ten or so months ahead), you can look forward to the returns of Alison Sweeney (Sami Brady), Christie Clark (Carrie Brady), Chandler Massey (Will Horton) and Bryan Dattilo (Lucas Horton).

The foursome is back on set and began last week to tape their upcoming story arc, according to TV Insider. As to what exactly is going on that brings sister Sami and Carrie’s history back up, as well as Will and Lucas’ is only being teased at this time, but suffice to say, it should be intriguing.

Alison Sweeney explained on being back on set, “It was a lot of dialogue and emotion, but with all the best actors to work opposite, we fell into it as if no time had passed. It was really wonderful.”

Photo: JPI

As to working with the longstanding rivalry of Sami and Carrie, Alison added on working with Clark, “So, it really does feel like we’re sisters. It’s so fun, and she’s such a good actor that she makes everything so natural that you can really disappear into those stories.”

JUST LIKE OLD TIMES

It also seems like the deep-history, which often had the sister fighting for the love of Austin Reed, but that might not figure into the equation this time, or will it?

Alison indicated what she thought of the scripts she was given. “I felt like when I read it, it was a page-turner. I was very excited. There’s a lot of history here, and a lot of things that haven’t been said. So, it’s really not like, ‘Oh, rehashing stuff.’ And now having played some of the scenes, I’m psyched.” Sweeney added, as for the men, working again with her on-screen son, Chandler Massey and Will’s on-screen father Bryan Dattilo, was also extra special.

The last time DAYS viewers saw Sami on the canvas was back in November of 2025, when she revealed she has gotten engaged to never-before-seen Dante Vitali. As for Clark, she last visited Salem for the episodes surrounding John Black’s memorial in June of 2025.

Chandler Massey’s Will Horton last made a visit to Salem in November of 2025 when he attended the gala for the Tom Horton Free Clinic as part of the soap opera’s 60th anniversary celebration. Bryan Dattilo was last seen in December of 2025. So, by the time we see all four again it will be close to two years since they were on new episodes of the series. Time to look forward to June of 2027.

So, excited by the news of Alison, Christie, Chandler and Lucas making a return to Days of Our Lives? What do you think the story will be involving, Sami, Carrie, Lucas and Will? Let us know via the comment section.

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Days Of Our Lives

‘Days of Our Lives’ Alum Al Calderon Talks On His Daytime Emmy-Nominated Scenes as Javi Hernandez (Exclusive)

Published

2 weeks ago

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July 23, 2026

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Last Tuesday, Al Calderon scored the first Emmy nomination of his career for his role as Javi Hernandez on Days of Our Lives.

Calderon name was announced as one of the performers competing for gold in the Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series category at the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards on October 30.

This week, Calderon chatted live on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel for a one-on-one conversation where he discussed: his nominated scenes and time on the Peacock streaming soap opera, his decision to leave DAYS, his role of Nico Silva on Brilliant Minds and its sad cancellation, plus his passing the torch of Javi to Jacob Martinez, who took over the role on-screen on the June 30, 2026 episode of Days of Our Lives.

Photo: JPI

JAVI REVEALS TO LEO THAT HE HAD A DAUGHTER WHO DIED

Al revealed the scenes that comprise his now Emmy-nominated reel have at its epicenter the heartbreaking moments from the September 12, 2025 episode. In it, Javi shares for the first time to Leo (Greg Rikaart) that he had a daughter named Solana, with a woman he was seeing named Sylvia. One fateful day, Sylvia left their child in a car when she went to work and the little girl died. Javi had blamed himself for not being the parent to take his daughter to school that day since he was hungover the night before, therefore it opened up the opportunity for something to happen to the his child, and it did.

The multi-talented actor/singer explained his reel: “It was the scene where he is talking about his daughter to Leo. I also included the scene where Javi goes to talk to Melinda (Tina Huang) and to see if it would be a viable option to adopt, because I wanted to introduce the subtlety and nuance of why Javi kind of has this whole connection to Tesoro, in a way.”

It is true that Al can bring the tears and make us cry right along with him during his run as Javi.  To that, Calderon added, “I’ve read the comments that I’m a little bit of a crybaby, so I didn’t want the entire reel to be of me crying, but I wanted it to show a little bit of an emotional range of the restraint that Javi was feeling so I included that scene

In addition Calderon shared, “I also included a really beautiful scene with Cherie Jimenez (Gabi Hernandez, DAYS) where I’m looking at photos of Tesoro, and of course, Javi is crying. I just wanted to show the relationship between Javi and his family as well, and as I mentioned the reveal of the child that he lost.”

Alice Halsey

Photo: JPI

ALUMS AL CALDERON AND ALICE HALSEY REPRESENT DAYS OF OUR LIVES IN EMERGING TALENT CATEGORY

In a twist of fate, Calderon is also nominated in the Emerging Talent category with Alice Halsey who played Rachel Black. Halsey is currently starring in the reboot of Little House on the Prairie in the lead role of Laura Ingalls on Netflix.

As to his hope on Emmy night, Al expressed, “Of course, I want to win, but Alice Halsey is going to give me a run for the money. And if’s not me (who wins the award), it better be her!”

You can check out the full interview with Al below.

Now let us know, do you remember Al’s emotional scenes when he explained to Leo he had a daughter who died, which made it all the more heartbreaking to not end up with permanent custody of Tesoro? What do you think of Al’s chances to win the gold based on his Emmy scene selection? Do you miss him as Javi? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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