Days of our Lives Recap, October 20, 2025: Sophia has a nervous breakdown

On Days of our Lives today, Monday, October 20, 2025, an explosive confrontation leads to chaos at the pub, Leo and Javi dread the inevitable, and EJ and Sarah face off.

What Happened on Days of our Lives

At the hospital, Sarah confronted EJ about how his hospital cuts were affecting her patients. EJ tried to blow off Sarah’s accusations and turned the conversation to Xander and Sarah’s seeming reconciliation with her husband. Sarah grew more hostile at EJ’s insinuation that if she’d been more supportive of Xander, then Xander would be the one in charge of the hospital. She shot back that a “sock puppet” would be a better leader than EJ; he made a veiled threat about firing her. Tensions eased slightly on the topic of the free clinic.

EJ surprised Sarah by asking her to speak at the clinic’s opening as both a physician representative and a representative of the Horton family. Sarah agreed to the request and said she’d do anything to honor her grandfather Tom.

At the Brady Pub, Brady and Steve contacted Roman and secured a key to the only unoccupied upstairs room. When they went upstairs, they called out to Sophia and urged her to open the door. After the men got no response, they used the key to enter the room and discovered Sophia packing. Sophia lashed out and ordered Brady and Steve to get out of her room. She was soon forced to give up the act when Brady told her the room was supposed to be empty.

Outside the pub, Amy greeted Johnny with a slap to the face. Johnny was taken aback as Amy laid into him for “spreading lies” about Sophia and for pushing her daughter to run away. Amy threatened legal action against Johnny and then started to storm off. Johnny, however, stopped her in her tracks when he spotted Brady and Steve inside…with Sophia.

In Horton Town Square, while Tate and Holly volleyed ideas back and forth for their upcoming film project, they ran into Leo, Javi, and Tesoro. Tate stunned Leo and Javi with the news that baby Tesoro was Sophia’s son and that Tate wasn’t the father. After some commiseration about the developments, Tate and Holly invited Leo and Javi to join them for breakfast at the pub, but the couple declined the invitation.

Chanel approached Leo and Javi shortly thereafter. They briefly discussed the situation with Tesoro, and Chanel brought up the potential hurdles with the adoption if Sophia didn’t come forward. Javi noticed Chanel staring at Tesoro and offered to leave if being around the baby was making her uncomfortable. Chanel clarified she was happy to see Tesoro, and she knelt down and assured him that Johnny and her were fighting for him. Javi told Chanel that he was rooting for the couple, while Leo remained quiet.

Chanel said no matter how things turned out, she would always be grateful to Javi and Leo for providing the baby such a loving home during his early life. When she got a text from Johnny indicating Sophia had been found, she left for the pub.

Back at the pub, Sophia muttered “Oh, no” when she saw her mother -- along with Tate, Holly, and Johnny -- entering the pub. Amy rushed up to her daughter and began proclaiming everything that was being said about Sophia couldn’t possibly be true because she knew her daughter. Sophia emotionally retorted that her mom didn’t know the real her at all, just the “fictional version” Amy had created in her head. Trying to live up to Amy’s impossible standards had been why Sophia had given birth alone in her bedroom.

Tate and Amy were stunned by Sophia’s confession. Sophia teared up as she explained how her fear had driven her to take the baby to the firehouse. She fiercely affirmed that she was determined not to let her mother nor Tate force her to raise a baby she couldn’t care for and never wanted. Tate claimed he wouldn't have forced Sophia to keep the baby, but Sophia didn’t believe him.

Outside the pub, Javi was torn about whether or not he, Leo, and Tesoro should go inside. When he said the situation was “none of our business,” Leo reminded him that they were “the parents…for now” of Tesoro, and that made his welfare their business. Before they made their way inside, Leo shared an emotional talk with Javi about how hard it would be for both of them to give up the baby. He let Javi know that when the time came, he would support Javi and would give thanks more than ever for having Javi in his life. With tears in his eyes, Javi returned the sentiment and embraced Leo.

Back inside the pub, the gathered group began hammering Sophia with questions and accusations. When Leo and Javi entered the fray with Tesoro in tow, Amy walked up and questioned if the baby was really her grandson. The moment proved to be the final straw for an overwhelmed Sophia. She began sobbing while punching at her head and saying “I can’t” over and over. Brady tried to restrain her, but Sophia collapsed into his arms, seemingly unconscious.

Javi and Amy raced to Sophia's side, and Javi placed Sophia on the ground. He instructed everyone to back off so he could examine her. Sophia’s eyes opened, but when Amy tried to get a response out of her, the girl just stared blankly into space.

Later, Leo took Tesoro back to Horton Town Square. He nervously made jokes to the fussy baby before uncertainly assuring Tesoro that his mom would be fine. EJ passed by and stopped for a bit of banter with Leo. Nodding toward the stroller, he asked if Tesoro was the baby Johnny and Chanel had planned on adopting. Leo hinted at “complications” in the process, which piqued EJ’s curiosity.

After EJ took his leave, Javi rejoined the boys and updated Leo about Sophia’s condition and her trip to the hospital. The couple wondered what the ordeal meant for Tesoro’s future.

Across the pub, Tate, Holly, and Steve sat at a table and absorbed the happenings. Tate couldn’t believe he had invested so much time in searching for a child who ultimately had no association with him. Steve believed Tate had only done what anyone “with a heart” would have done. He mused that Sophia had been through so much and had kept so many secrets that the pressure had consumed her. Holly admitted that despite what Sophia had put them all through, she did feel compassion for her former best friend.

After Steve left, Holly opened up more about her tight friendship with Sophia and all the sleepovers and good times they had shared. She confided that she felt responsible in part for who Sophia had become because she had betrayed their friendship by sneaking around with Tate and lying to Sophia. Tate shouldered some of the blame as well. He conceded he had been trying to force himself to feel something for Sophia that wasn’t there when he had been with her, and he felt guilty about leading her on. Both prayed Sophia would get the help she needed.

Back at the hospital, Sarah took over care for a still-unresponsive Sophia when Amy and Brady brought the girl into the ER. After Sarah wheeled Sophia to an examining room, Brady settled with Amy in the waiting area. Amy fretted about her daughter’s condition and marveled at how much Sophia had changed in only a year's time. She pondered if she had “missed something” with Sophia. Brady compelled Amy not to blame herself and related the recent struggles he’d experienced with his children.

When Brady saw Johnny and Chanel arrive, he went over and updated them on what little he knew. Chanel expressed sympathy for Sophia, as the girl was just “a kid” who had made a lot of mistakes. Both Johnny and Chanel still had hope that Sophia could emerge from her catatonic state and clear Johnny’s name.

In the examining room, Sarah apologized to Sophia for any part she had played in making Sophia feel like her only option was to run away. She attempted to get Sophia to acknowledge her, but Sophia continued with her vacant stare.

Later, Sarah returned to the waiting room and provided an update to Amy, Brady, Johnny, and Chanel. Sarah had ordered a psychiatric evaluation for Sophia. Her evaluation had led the doctor to the tentative conclusion that Sophia had experienced a “psychological break” and had developed “selective mutism” as a result. She attributed the condition to Sophia’s high stress levels and to possible postpartum depression. Sarah escorted Amy to see Sophia.

Johnny and Chanel worried that if Sophia could no longer speak, she wouldn’t be able to tell the truth to Child Protective Services. Just then, EJ approached and offered his help. “We don’t need anything from you,” Chanel angrily responded before taking Johnny’s hand and walking away from EJ.

Meanwhile, Brady stepped aside and made a call to Marlena about the day's developments. He then encountered Sarah, who expressed her regret for not being able to directly tell Brady about the baby. Brady was thankful to Sarah for “pointing” him in the right direction. Sarah mentioned the “shame and guilt” Sophia must have been enduring, but she couldn’t provide an answer when Brady questioned what would become of Sophia.

Back in the examining room, Amy tentatively approached Sophia and lamented how much “anguish” Sophia had been experiencing. Amy wished that Sophia could have confided in her, and she wished that she could change places with her daughter. “We’re gonna figure this out my darling, I promise,” Amy vowed. She hugged Sophia and pledged it would be okay…as Sophia stared straight ahead and laid limply in her mother’s arms.

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