By 
The blows keep coming for fans of NBC’s Days of our Lives fans. Hot on the heels of Kristian Alfonso’s shocking exit announcement, star Greg Vaughan, who’s been with the soap since 2012, recently announced his departure as well.
Vaughan, a fan favorite prior to joining DAYS as Marlena Evans-Black’s (Deidre Hall) beloved son Eric Brady, made the announcement during a recent appearance on a podcast hosted by Emmy winning General Hospital star Steve Burton (Jason) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli). When asked about his work on the OWN series Queen Sugar, Vaughan announced the series has halted production, he recently returned and had departed DAYS. “I’ve finished my reign at Days, so I’m back for Queen Sugar right now.”
The actor’s final episode is slated for mid-September.
Vaughan, who’s played a major role in stories over his eight-year run added, “I’m still airing out, for all my DAYS fans that are listening. I love you all. It’s never over so I’m not going to say it’s over.”
Steve Burton, known for coming and going from General Hospital over the years, was quick to agree with the hunky Texan that it’s never really over. Vaughan affirmed, “I’m taking a break, if you will. DAYS was going through a renewal negotiation and not knowing where they were going to go, and um, I just felt that my time was coming to an end anyway.”
Fans were devastated by the news, especially because Eric and his long-time love, Nicole (Ari Zucker) just tied the knot on-screen last week after waiting for over two decades. It was a long overdue pay off for fans of the “Ericole” pairing and the news that Greg is leaving makes it bittersweet.
When he’s not melting hearts in Salem, Vaughan is a recurring star on the OWN drama Queen Sugar, where he had played Calvin since the first season.
Greg Vaughan earned his soap stripes the second season of The WB’s supernatural soap Charmed (1999-2000), before heading to CBS’ The Young and the Restless when he took over the role of Diego Sanchez from 2002-2003. His most high-profile soap role at the time would come when he landed the coveted role of General Hospital’s Lucky Spencer from 2003-2009. The actor would depart the series when producers opted to bring back predecessor Jonathan Jackson.
Off screen, Greg Vaughan is a father of three boys. In December 2019 he announced his engagement to actress Angie Harmon. The two began dating in 2018 and she accompanied him to the Daytime Emmy Awards where he was awarded the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor.
No word yet on whether the role of Eric Brady will be recast, but head writer Ron Carlivati tweeted his best wishes to the actor writing, “Wishing all the best to the Emmy-winning @greg_vaughan as he begins his next chapter. Please come back and see us some time, Greg!”
The TV Source team will miss seeing Greg Vaughan on our screens as Eric but we will surely follow him on his journey.
This article says Vaughan won the 2018 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting ACTRESS?