Days of our Lives Recap, October 8, 2025: The walls close in on Sophia as she spills a shocking truth to Sarah 

On Days of our Lives today, Wednesday, October 8, 2025, Johnny and Chanel reach a startling conclusion, Holly says her goodbyes, and the Kiriakis family refuses to surrender.

What Happened on Days of our Lives

At the Kiriakis mansion, Maggie and Philip strategized for the meeting with Tony. Maggie urged her stepson to get past his wrongdoing and look forward when he blamed himself for the predicament. She gave Philip a pep talk about family unity and about the Kiriakis family's ability to build Titan back from the ground up, if necessary.

Outside the Brady Pub, Sarah warmly greeted Xander with a kiss and wished him luck on his meeting with Tony. “Knock ‘em dead,” she called after him as he departed, then added pensively, “Not literally, though.”

At the DiMera mansion, Tony smiled at Stefano’s portrait and declared, “It’s almost time, Father.” Later, Tony received his guests: Maggie, Xander, and Philip. Maggie spoke up first and relayed the family’s preference to keep the issue out of the courts. Tony correctly assumed that meant DiMera would be returned to him and the DiMera family.

Xander emphasized that "only" DiMera was up for discussion. Tony quoted Shakespeare on the foolishness of the decision and challenged Maggie on sacrificing Victor’s legacy by sending the company into a “death spiral.” Unfazed, Maggie confirmed she would do anything for the good of her family.

Tony turned his attention to Xander and pressed his business rival on whether Xander was willing to go to bat for a father that had never acknowledged him and for a family that would never truly accept him. Xander stood his ground and stood up for Philip. He vowed that they would remain a “united front.” Tony scoffed and turned back to Maggie, advising her he would buy up what was left of Titan once Maggie was forced to hold “an embarrassing fire sale” for the company.

Later, Xander and Philip made their way to Titan-DiMera post-meeting. Philip wanted to clear the air about Tony’s comments. Xander railed against one of Stefano’s “many bastards,” daring to question Xander’s legitimacy. He was certain that, together, Philip and he could keep Titan out of the DiMera family's hands. Xander also expressed his gratitude to Philip for staying mum about the assault.

Xander credited Philip’s discretion for the inroads he was making with Sarah. Philip admitted he understood Xander’s rage at the time, and Xander apologized for taking it too far. The brothers agreed that the next matter of business was restoring Titan to its glory days.

At Johnny and Chanel’s place, the couple concluded that Holly could not have sent the inappropriate photos. Johnny suggested he knew someone who could help them uncover the truth. He called Rafe and asked his former stepfather for assistance. Once Johnny got off the phone, he informed Chanel that Rafe could potentially track the location from where the photo had been sent. The couple pondered who could be out to get them if Holly indeed hadn’t sent the racy picture.

After putting together that the mystery individual had somehow known about the new adoption plans and had also known about Holly’s previous crush on Johnny, Chanel surmised it could only be one person: EJ. Johnny acknowledged the friction with his dad but ultimately didn’t believe EJ would be so “sloppy” with the plan. Johnny got another call from Rafe and relayed the good news to Chanel that the photo had been sent from near Horton Town Square, meaning it couldn’t have been Holly. He brightened Chanel’s outlook even more by disclosing that Rafe would take the information and vouch for them with social services.

Chanel was overjoyed by the prospect of being able to adopt Tesoro after all. Johnny cautioned that they still needed to find out who was targeting them. Chanel theorized it was likely someone at the university, given that the person had access to Holly’s phone. She added that the person could have had “an axe to grind” with Holly. A lightbulb went off with Johnny, and he kissed Chanel, thanking her for leading them to the culprit.

Johnny updated Chanel on his recent run-ins with Sophia, including Sophia having seen him with a crib in Horton Town Square. Chanel concurred that the assertion Johnny had made that Sophia hated them for backing out of the adoption. She mused that Sophia had ill will toward Holly as well. The only catch was the letter purported to be from Tesoro’s mother. Johnny had another epiphany and raised the possibility that Sophia was actually the mother of the firehouse baby.

While Johnny couldn’t explain the details, he thought Sophia being the birth mother made the most sense. Chanel came around to the idea and marveled at the twist of fate that had potentially reintroduced the first planned baby back into their lives. Both worried about what Sophia could do next.

Back at the pub, Sophia subtly needled Tate about Holly and Johnny. He rebuffed her invitation to “hang out” after work and left to take his break. Sarah came inside and approached Sophia. She didn’t want to know what was on the menu, however.

Sarah directly asked Sophia why she had been lying to everyone, including Sarah herself. Sophia tried to walk off, but Sarah grabbed her arm and demanded she “make time.” Sophia reluctantly agreed to meet Sarah in the park after her work shift was done.

In Holly and Arianna’s dorm room, Ari was caught off guard when she found Holly packing. Ari was even more stunned after Holly announced she was leaving school…and Salem. Holly filled Ari in on her “humiliating” conversation with Johnny. She believed the incident was “the universe” telling her to get out of town and to go to Paris. Ari tried to talk Holly out of it, but Holly insisted it was for the best and touted the benefits of the move.

Ari tearfully accepted Holly’s decision; the friends affirmed how lucky they were to have each other and hugged. Holly extracted a promise from Ari not to tell Tate about the move until Holly was gone. Later, Tate stopped by the room and told Ari he needed to speak with Holly. Ari said Holly wasn’t there but didn’t divulge any further details. The talk turned to the rumor Tate had heard about Johnny and Holly.

Ari stood up for Holly and called the rumor completely fake, but she did have an idea of how it had gotten started. She updated Tate on the photo fiasco and conveyed Holly’s belief that she had been trying to send the pictures to Tate. He doubted why Holly would do it…until a frustrated Ari told him that Holly was still in love with him.

Tate knew how much he had screwed up, but he also believed that if Holly really did love him that they could work things out. He implored Ari to speak to Holly on his behalf. Ari insisted she needed to stay out of it. She did promise to tell Holly about Tate’s visit. Tate departed, still unaware that Holly was on her way out of Salem.

Meanwhile, Holly went to the Kiriakis mansion and thought back to happier times with Tate. Maggie arrived home soon thereafter. Holly asked if she could stay the night before collapsing into sobs in her grandmother’s arms. She pulled back and told Maggie about the situation with Johnny. Maggie was understanding but encouraged Holly to stay and “weather the storm.”

Maggie indicated someone at work had made a big mistake, but they had decided to confront the problem head-on rather than running away. Holly appreciated Maggie’s encouragement. She felt she was in a toxic cycle, however, and needed a fresh start. Maggie acquiesced to Holly’s choice to move away. Grandmother and granddaughter stressed how much they would miss each other and shared an emotional hug.

At the park, Sarah confronted Sophia about Sophia’s claim that the firehouse baby was her son. The doctor let Sophia know that patient confidentiality didn’t apply if Sarah suspected Sophia had done something to her baby. Sophia protested that she had been telling the truth, but she stopped short after Sarah revealed a DNA test had been conducted on Tesoro. Based on the results, Sarah no longer believed Tesoro was Sophia’s son.

Sophia turned the accusation back on Sarah and accused the doctor of lying about a DNA test. Sarah told Sophia that Brady had grown suspicious and had secretly gotten the test, which had twice confirmed no DNA match with Tate. Realization seemed to dawn on Sophia, and she confessed that the results meant Tate was not Tesoro’s father. Wide-eyed and panicked, she kept telling herself that it couldn’t be true. Sarah interjected and asked Sophia if she had slept with someone else around the time of Tesoro’s conception.

Sophia nodded and said the mystery guy must be the father. She muttered that she had convinced herself it wasn't possible. When Sarah asked about the father’s identity, Sophia lashed out and exclaimed it was none of Sarah’s business. Sarah argued it was Tate’s business, as he was “torturing” himself about not meeting the baby. Sophia dismissed the idea of telling Tate.

Sarah tried to empathize with Sophia by opening up about how conflicted she had once felt trying to hide her child’s true paternity. She gently warned Sophia that secrets never stayed hidden. Sophia yanked a hair from her head and shoved it at Sarah. She instructed Sarah to run a DNA test that would prove Tesoro was hers, and then Sarah could leave her alone. Sarah reminded Sophia that Brady and Tate wouldn’t give up on finding the child.

Sarah’s efforts at persuading Sophia to come clean ultimately proved in vain. Sophia firmly stated she couldn’t tell Tate the truth – and neither could Sarah.

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