Days of our Lives Recap, July 21, 2025: Arianna and Holly’s rescue hits a snag

On Days of our Lives today, Monday, July 21, 2025, Gabi and Tate reunite with loved ones, Xander and Philip play nice, Gwen makes big plans, and a baby becomes Salem’s top confidante.

What Happened on Days of our Lives

At Titan-DiMera, Xander comforted Gabi as she called herself a bad parent. She wished she had never allowed Arianna to return to Salem from Arizona, where Arianna had been thriving. Xander sympathized with Gabi’s predicament and reminded her that he’d gotten a happy ending after Victoria had been kidnapped. He urged Gabi to take the rest of the day off.

Outside the office, Johnny told Philip he’d likely need at least two weeks off work since his trial would begin the next day. Even as Johnny professed his innocence in the crime, he said he’d understand if Philip needed to release him from the company for PR purposes. Philip assured Johnny his job was safe. The conversation was interrupted by Gabi, who hurried out of the office in tears.

When Philip and Johnny went inside the office, Philip immediately asked what Xander had done to Gabi. The brothers’ hostilities soon flared, made worse by Victoria’s cries from the crib. Philip complained about the girl’s presence, which irked Xander further. Johnny tried to ease the tensions and suggested they get prepared to film the joint statement from Xander and Philip, but Xander turned his ire to Johnny. He wasn’t certain that Johnny should remain with the company given Johnny’s recent reconciliation with his father. Philip sent Johnny away briefly and pitched Johnny’s value to the company.

Xander remained unconvinced, but Philip shut down any talk of firing Johnny. The co-CEOS agreed to set it aside and reluctantly began filming their statement. While they smiled and put on a show for the camera and vowed to move forward as a united front, the snarking resumed as soon as Johnny stopped filming. He left the brothers to their bickering, which ended with Philip telling Xander to liberate Victoria from her “prison” crib by returning the girl to Sarah. After Philip departed, Xander groused to Victoria that he’d need to find a more “creative” way to rid himself of Philip.

In Horton Town Square, Leo lamented to Javi over the phone about jury duty. He promised he would be home soon and ended the call but spotted Gwen. Leo snarked about the stolen necklace, and the comment prompted Gwen to join him and return the snark in kind. She demeaned The Spectator and Leo’s new reporting job, then hinted the former gossip columnist would love to know her true reasons for being in town. Leo fired back that he had enough gossip about Gwen after seeing her enter the Salem Inn with Xander.

Leo grew serious and cautioned Gwen about letting Xander use and hurt her again. Gwen responded that no one had broken her heart more than Leo. He reaffirmed how badly he felt for what he had done to her, as evidenced by his many “groveling” emails and texts. In the end, Dimitri had betrayed both of them. Gwen said the “knife” Leo had plunged into her back was too big to ever be removed.

Gwen had noticed that Leo seemed to have moved on nicely. Leo sang Javi’s praises and called himself lucky. Gwen replied that Javi was lucky, too. Leo seemed taken aback and asked if Gwen had meant it. She insisted she did, but Leo got flustered and said he needed to get home. After he left, Gwen made a bitter crack about Leo’s “happy family.”

Later, Gwen returned to her hotel room and put the necklace in a safe. She chuckled to herself and mused, “Salem, you really are in for a rip-roaring good time.”

At Rafe’s house, Javi confided to Tesaro how difficult it would be to say goodbye. He hoped the baby would stay with him for a while longer. A distraught Gabi arrived and ended the bonding moment. She tearfully told Javi about Arianna’s disappearance, and Javi hugged his cousin. After giving Gabi a pep talk, Javi said he would see if he could find out anything at work.

At an industrial park, Tate searched the premises where Holly’s ring had been found by Felicity. Rafe came up on him with a gun, and the agent scolded Tate for being on the scene. Rafe informed the worried teen that he’d narrowed the place where the girls were being held to one of two warehouses. Tate offered to search one warehouse while Rafe searched the other. Rafe ordered Tate to stay put, but Tate ignored the command and took off after Rafe embarked on his search.

In the warehouse, Holly tried in vain to pick the door lock. Arianna eyed an air vent she’d discovered and said she had another idea. With Holly’s help, Arianna removed the vent cover and shimmied inside to look for an exit. Instead, she found a mouse and a too-narrow opening that left her stuck. Panicked, Arianna said she couldn’t breathe.

Holly guided Arianna through breathing exercises until she heard Tate’s voice calling from outside. Once he realized the girls were inside, Tate kicked open the door and reunited with Holly. Rafe arrived soon thereafter and instructed Tate and Holly to wait outside after Holly told him about Arianna’s predicament. Rafe approached the vent and attempted to calm Arianna. Suddenly, a loud crash sounded in the vent, and Arianna screamed.

Realizing the vent had collapsed, Rafe called to Arianna, but she was unresponsive. Outside, Holly and Tate alternated between joy, gratitude, and worry for Arianna.

Back at Rafe’s house, Gabi talked to the baby about her regrets with Arianna. When Leo came home, he sincerely told Gabi how sorry he was for the crisis. Javi called with an update: Arianna had been found by Rafe, and Javi was on the way to check on her. Gabi was overjoyed and expressed her gratitude to Javi before hanging up. Leo got emotional as well at the news and hesitantly asked Gabi if he could give her a hug. She gladly accepted.

After Gabi left to see Arianna, Leo called Doug and chastised him for getting Gabi’s daughter involved in his problems. Leo worried what Gabi would do to him if she found out he had helped the man responsible for her daughter's kidnapping. Later, Leo relaxed himself by holding Tesaro. He confessed that Tesaro was making him believe he wouldn’t be so bad at parenting after all. Leo pledged to protect Tesaro with his life.

Meanwhile, Gabi raced to the warehouse. Her worry flared anew when she saw Tate and Holly outside, alone. After she rushed inside, though, Gabi’s fears were assuaged. Javi was tending to a conscious Arianna, who was wearing an oxygen mask. He reported that Arianna’s oxygen levels were returning to normal and that she should be fine. Mother and daughter shared a tearful embrace.

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Back outside, Tate and Holly expressed relief as well when Rafe updated them on Arianna’s rescue and recovery. Holly left to check on Arianna, and Tate checked a missed message from Sophia that left him stunned: Sophia had gone into labor.

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