The Sydney mystery is solved! On Wednesday, September 2, Days of Our Lives revealed more details on the previous announcement that actress Sydney Malakeh was about to make her debut on the Peacock streaming soap opera on September 9.

However, now comes word via Deadline, that while previously unknown, Malakeh is taking on the role of Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney) and EJ DiMera’s (Dan Feuerriegel), grown-up daughter, Sydney DiMera.

The last time anyone saw Sydney she was a pre-teen in the Days of our Lives: A Very Salem Christmas that streamed on Peacock in 2021.

Now the aged-up version is set to have a major storyline, in particular with the news of Brandon Butler showing up in his new role as Mason Whitfield, and especially the other DAYS casting announcement today of Franco LoPresti as Dante Vitali, with whom we last knew about off-screen was engaged to Sydney’s mother, Sami.

WILL HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF?

From the looks of it, perhaps Sydney will be obsessed with Dante, sort of like Sami was obsessed with Austin and tried to get him away from her sister, Carrie (Christie Clark). Might Days be about to do a retread modernized version and this time have Sami on the receiving end of manipulations from her daughter? Time will tell.

As previously reported, Alison Sweeney is not due back on-screen until most likely late spring of 2027 after she taped a series of episodes last month in July.

Those who know the dramatic history of Sydney DiMera recall that back in 2008, Nicole Walker (Arianne Zucker), who was married to EJ at the time, had a miscarriage and lost their baby. To hold on to her marriage, she plotted to steal Sami’s newborn daughter and switch her with another baby named Grace who’s mother was teenager Mia McCormick (Taylor Spreitler). 

A few years later, Grace died, and then Rafe Hernandez (Galen Gering) began to put two and two together. After one of the biggest bitch-slap showdowns on the soaps back in 2009, Nicole admitted what she did to Sami by stealing her biological child and Sami was eventually reunited with Sydney.

The question is, do you think Sydney DiMera is a bad girl or a good girl? Do you think she and Dante Vitali might have a thing going on? Could she be involved with Mason? Weigh-in via the comment section, and just for good measure, here’s ‘The Slap!’ from Sami delivered to Nicole below.

Days of Our Lives is undergoing a major shift on-screen with the additions of several new characters and actors in September, and now comes word that none other than Franco LoPresti, who appeared in the smash hit series, Heated Rivalry, has been cast as Dante Vitali!

As viewers recalled, Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney) revealed on her last trip back to Salem in 2o25 that she is engaged to Dante Vitali, who hails from the notorious Vitali mob family. Remember Ava Vitali played by Tamara Braun? Dante is said to be her cousin on her father’s side.

Look for LoPresti to make his DAYS debut next week on the September 14 episode, and when Dante emerges on the scene, he will be Sami-less. However as previously reported, Alison Sweeney jumped back into her signature soap role last month in July, so she will be seen at some point in 2027, since the Peacock streaming soap opera tapes 10-11 months in advance of dropping all-new episodes.

Photo: Almay

WHAT ELSE HAS FRANCO LOPRESTI APPEARED IN?

Heated Rivalry fans will recall that LoPresti played hockey player, Cliff Marleau, who was a friend of one of the series leads Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) and who caused Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) concussion.

The Canadian-born actor has been seen on multiple movies for Hallmark Channel and Lifetime, and appeared in an episode of Tracker starring soap alum Justin Hartley (ex-Passions and The Young and the Restless) back in 2025. He is married to actress Emily Atalalo (pictured above).

What viewers do know of the back-story of Dante through Sami is that, he wanted no part of the crime family who was based in the United States. Dante had been living in Italy. But with Sami’s luck, can her engagement to this guy go any way but completely off course? We shall see!

So, what do you think about the casting of Franco LoPresti as Dante Vitali? Excited to see him hit the screen on Days of Our Lives next week? Did you watch the first season of Heated Rivalry? Comment below.

Nadia Bjorlin opened up during a livestream conversation promoting her new film Veronica & Julian about a hot button topic with Days of Our Lives fan these days – the status of the character of Chloe Lane; a part which Bjorlin played on and off for 25 years and since 1999.

The actress participated in a chat on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel on Monday, August 31 with her Veronica & Julian co-star and former DAYS star Kyler Pettis (ex-Theo Carver).

In this exclusive moment from the interview, Bjorlin was asked if return as Chloe was in the cards, amid speculation on social media that General Hospital alum, Sofia Mattsson (ex-Sasha Gilmore) is rumored to have taken over the part of Chloe, although unconfirmed by Days of Our Lives. Nadia then revealed she was indeed asked to return to the Peacock streaming soap opera.

Photo: JPI

A HEAVY HEART AND LOGISTICS

“What I can confirm is they did ask me, but logistically it just didn’t make sense and with TV, budgets and whatnot (these days), it didn’t make any sense, and I said ‘no,” expressed Bjorlin. Presently, Nadia lives with her husband Grant Turnbull and their two children in Ireland. In fact, Bjorlin was participating in the indie film promotional chat from Ireland on Monday.

In addition, Nadia also shared that it was with a heavy heart she turned down a chance to come back to Salem, adding, “It hurt my heart to have to say ‘no.’ So, I guess I can confirm that it will not be me playing Chloe, if there’s a Chloe that comes back.”

As for Sofia Mattsson, she joined the cast in March of this year in an undisclosed role, and with DAYS tape schedule almost 10-11 months in advance of streaming new episodes, it would appear for now, she won’t be seen on-screen until early 2027. The mystery of if she is indeed playing a recast Chloe, Abigail, or a new character, continues.

Photo: JPI

FOND MEMORIES OF SALEM

Moving forward with her life post-Chloe, Bjorlin acknowledged to her longtime fans that she is alright with her decision. “I guess, it’s just sort of a different chapter of my life. I wish another actor all the best, obviously, and whatnot if that was their (Days of our Lives) decision. It’s okay. I’m okay, because they did ask me and I said ‘no.'”

Knowing at least the producers of DAYS came to her first before a possible recast, makes the situation bittersweet for Nadia. “At least, they did that and didn’t feel like, ‘Oh, my goodness!’ But of course (it’s hard), I grew up there. I feel like those were my high school college years and that’s like my family.”

The last time Nadia was on-screen on Days of Our Lives was back in 2023 when Chloe left Salem with one of her great loves, Philip Kiriakis (John-Paul Lavoisier). The pair headed to New York City to give their romance another whirl, only it didn’t work out. Philip returned to Salem in 2024 with no Chloe in tow.

You can check out the livestream chat with Nadia and Kyler Pettis discussing their time on Days of Our Lives and their new movie, Veronica & Julian below.

Now let us know, are you sad to learn that Nadia was asked to return as Chloe, but things could not work out to make it make sense for her now that she lives in Ireland? Do you think Sofia Mattsson is playing a recast Chloe or another character? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section.