Days of our Lives Recap, July 28, 2025: Steve takes on a new client

On Days of our Lives today, Monday, July 28, 2025, Julie needles Gwen and reaches out to a friend, Tony and Gabi plot their next move, and the past haunts Marlena.

What Happened on Days of our Lives

In Horton Town Square, a beaming Julie approached Gwen. Stroking her necklace, Julie mused, “It really does look better on me than you, don’t you think?” Gwen accused Julie of stealing her necklace, but Julie reminded her that the necklace never belonged to Gwen in the first place. Someone had “righted an egregious wrong.” Julie believed Gwen’s idea of “poetic justice” for Laura’s past actions had really been “misplaced anger.”

Gwen made a veiled threat about Julie enjoying the “gaudy” necklace while she still could. Julie leveled a threat of her own about messing with the Horton family. Her voice raised, Gwen sarcastically asked if Julie was going to deprive her of hanging an ornament at the Christmas tree gathering, where the main event was “stuffing doughnuts down our gullets.” An older man suddenly came up behind Gwen and demanded that she be quiet because he could hear her from his bookstore. The man further instructed Gwen to “leave this wonderful lady alone,” referencing Julie.

Gwen eventually stormed off, and Julie thanked the man — whom she called Foster — for his help. He cracked that Gwen was the one who needed help. Later, in Foster’s bookstore, Julie and Foster chatted about Julie’s recent absences from the store, where she had been a regular customer. Foster complimented Julie on her necklace and offered to help her find books on rare gems. Julie declined and said she was looking for a gift for someone, but a “For Sale” sign soon caught her attention.

Foster confided that since becoming a widower, he’d worried about ending up alone. But he’d realized he had a wonderful family in California, and he wanted to spend time with them. Julie lamented the potential closure of the bookstore and joked about the building being converted into a pot shop. The comment prompted light banter about Julie’s “adventurous” book club meeting that featured pot doughnuts. Foster expressed his desire for the shop to remain a bookstore.

Julie spoke fondly of how books helped people both understand and connect to other people. That’s why she was searching for a book on grief to help her friend. Julie didn’t want a book that was too “technical” or too “self-help”-focused, however. Foster suggested a memoir, and Julie liked the idea. She thanked Foster for his friendship over the years and wished him well.

At the DiMera mansion, Tony offered Gabi a drink in celebration of their new partnership. While she didn’t yet have any ideas on how to get back control of the company, Tony suggested they instigate “in-fighting” between the Kiriakis men. “We fight fire with arson,” Tony added. Gabi thought Tony’s idea had promise, since she’d observed a flare-up of tensions between Xander and Philip.

Tony was intrigued by the news, and he vowed to find out who knew the reason behind the brothers’ renewed hatred. He pondered if Gabi was having second thoughts, given her fraught relationship with the DiMeras and her newfound affinity for Xander. “Business is business,” Gabi said. She assured Tony she was all in before departing.

Later, Gwen strode into the room, took Tony’s drink, and gulped it down. She braced herself for a fight with Tony, but was taken aback when he stated he was happy that she would be living at the mansion. Gwen marveled that someone had said something nice to her. Tony said he wanted to “catch up,” beginning with Gwen’s time in Alamainia. He first asked about Dimitri’s whereabouts, as he thought it strange that Dimitri had made no attempt to reclaim his fortune.

Gwen claimed no knowledge about Dimitri; she’d had a difficult enough time extracting his money from the Von Leuschners. Accepting the answer, Tony turned his attention to the subject of his brother Stefan. He thought it equally odd that Gwen hadn’t seen Stefan in Alamainia, despite Vivian’s claims that Stefan had been “living it up” there. Gwen suggested that Tony should be happy Stefan and Dimitri were MIA, since both had been treated like outsiders by the family.

Tony protested that he cared about all his family. He didn’t like the notion of being in the dark about where they were and what they were doing. Gwen wondered if Tony’s true intentions were driven by a desire to reenter the family business. In response, Tony kindly advised Gwen to mind her own business.

At Marlena’s place, a slumbering Marlena dreamed of her time as Stefano’s Queen of the Night. She jerked awake on the couch, uneasy. She spotted a note from Belle underneath a book on the table. The note urged Marlena to take advantage of the time she had to herself. But instead of resting, Marlena got up to leave.

In Steve’s office, Steve and Kayla reminisced about John over bowls of chowder. Steve then updated Kayla on the developments with Julie’s necklace. Kayla was relieved that Julie had her family heirloom back, even if it meant condoning stealing to make it happen. When Kayla mentioned she had to get back to the hospital, she took the opportunity to complain about EJ and Rita’s changes that were affecting staff and patient morale. Steve worried about Kayla’s stress level, but Kayla was more concerned about Marlena…especially after Marlena had fainted in the courtroom.

Later, Steve’s thoughts of John were interrupted by Gabi’s arrival. She announced she wanted to hire Steve and, for a follow-up, proposed that Steve investigate the heads of Titan-DiMera. To Gabi’s astonishment, Steve immediately replied, “Absolutely not.”

Steve explained it was too personal to him since his brother-in-law and nephews were members of the Kiriakis clan. Moreover, Stephanie was dating a Kiriakis in Alex and also had a prior relationship with Philip. Gabi assured Steve that she didn’t want to focus on Alex. Steve challenged Gabi on why the investigation mattered to her. Gabi attributed her interest to Gabi Chic’s best interests, and she pitched Steve on doing a public service if he helped expose the corrupt power players in town.

Steve eventually agreed to do the investigation. A pleased Gabi told him to get in touch with her when he uncovered anything. Later, Steve chatted with Kayla over the phone and informed her he had taken a new case.

At the hospital, Kayla was surprised to see Marlena, who explained that she’d come in to consult with a doctor about a patient. Marlena then surprised Kayla further by revealing the patient in question was Marlena herself. Kayla asked about grief counseling, but Marlena clarified that she wanted to make sure the problems she’d been experiencing – and her feelings of losing control – were psychological in nature, as Sarah had suggested. While Kayla assumed Marlena wished to rule out physical causes, Marlena admitted she was worried about “a problem with my soul.”

Kayla jumped to Marlena’s possession, but Marlena stressed it had nothing to do with the devil. She confessed she’d been having dreams about when Stefano had made her his Queen of the Night. Kayla brushed off the memories as just dreams, but Marlena wasn’t so sure. Susan had sensed something with her “body, mind, and soul.” Kayla cautioned Marlena not to give too much credence to Susan, and she theorized that Marlena’s dream could have been influenced by the book Marlena had been reading to Rachel: 1,001 Arabian Nights.

Later, Marlena returned from her consultation with the doctor. She expressed frustration to Kayla because the meeting had left her with more questions than answers. Marlena didn’t think another appointment would do her any good.

When Marlena later went home, she received a visit from Julie. Marlena noticed Julie’s necklace. Julie told her a brief version of the story, and Marlena was happy that Julie had gotten the necklace back and had made amends with Doug III. Julie said she had stopped by to bring Marlena two books she had purchased on “losing the center of your life” and moving forward.

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Marlena was touched by the gesture, as she knew Julie understood her grief better than anyone. Julie tearfully affirmed that Marlena was not alone. She wanted to be there for Marlena the same way Marlena had been there for her. The friends embraced.

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