Shocker! Eileen Davidson Exits ‘Days of our Lives’

Well this is unexpected… Soap Opera Digest is reporting that Eileen Davidson’s (Kristen) glorious run on Days of our Lives has come to an end, as the actress has already taped her final episodes earlier this month.

Why the sudden exit? Executive producer Ken Corday told Digest, “The official word is that Eileen Davidson is leaving the show to take some out with her family.” The popular actress made her much anticipated return as Kristen DiMera in 2012 after a 14 year absence. Davidson’s return was part of the revitalization of the lone NBC soap, which had been marred a creative disarray during the transition of head writers. Kristen’s return to Salem galvanized the canvas, as she was featured heavily in stories involving the DiMera family as well as a revenge plot that saw her seduce Brady, the son of ex-fiancé John Black!

Though Davidson taped her final scenes on July 16, the magazine reports she will continue to air through the remainder of the year due to DAYS’ production schedule. Eileen Davidson thanked fans on Twitter for their support and tried to assuage concerns that she was fired. She tweeted, “You’re all so awesome! I didn’t get fired. My family is fine. Thanks for your love and support! Xoxoxo.”

You're all so awesome! I didn't get fired. My family is fine. Thanks for your love and support! xoxoxo

— Eileen Davidson (@eileen_davidson) July 31, 2013

Ken Corday praised Kristen’s exit storyline as well as the actress’ performances leading up to her exit. The showrunner implied the door is open for Davidson’s return and thanked her for returning when she did. “Will she come back? We’ll see. But she’s not going to another show. I am thankful for all she’s brought to us. It was the first shot in the arm we needed. A big shot in the arm.”

Soap Opera Digest will have more from Corday in the new issue of SOD, on sale Friday.

Our Take: I did not see this one coming. Eileen Davidson has been THE greatest thing about Days of our Lives since the moment she returned on-screen last fall. It’s hard to imagine Salem post-Kristen given how integral she’s been over the course of the last year. We hope all is well with the actress and this time away gives her some much needed time to rest, recharge and return to DAYS sometime in 2014. Thanks to DAYS’ insane production schedule, we’ll continue to see Kristen for the next 4-5 months.