What We Know About Kassie DePaiva's Return To Days Of Our Lives
Watch out, soap fans; everybody's favorite bad girl is back! That's right, Kassie DePaiva is returning to Days of Our Lives as Salem's wickedest woman, Eve Donovan. And it's guaranteed she'll bring the drama with a capital D. Soap Central notes just a few of the mischievous misdoings that made everybody love to hate Eve. They include tricking an amnesiac into walking down the aisle with her, getting her fellow costar, Hayley Chen, deported, and bedding her daughter's boyfriend. Now that's a low blow.
It was always a matter of time before Eve was banged up behind bars. And sure enough, per Soaps, DePaiva waved farewell to her fellow Salemites on December 31, 2019, after the long arm of the law finally caught up with the villainous vixen. Eve was apprehended and hauled away, kicking and screaming— in a to-die-for va-va-voom red dress — and thrown in the slammer for kidnapping Ben Weston on his wedding day.
"Thank you, soap opera fans, for all your love and support. On New Year's Eve, once again, Eve Donovan will leave town after wreaking havoc," the actor tweeted (via Soap Central). "I just want to send a big love letter out to all of you that have watched and supported me over the years. As you know, I love working in daytime. It has been my honor and pleasure to work on Days of Our Lives over the last five years." Here's what we know about Kassie DePaiva's return to "Days of Our Lives."
Batten down the hatches Salem, Hurricane Eve is on her way
Per Soaps, Kassie DePaiva had exited "Days of Our Lives" several times before finally leaving the show for good (or so fans thought) on New Year's Eve 2019. Still, it appeared the soap opera star had finally hung up her Manalos for good after she was thrown into jail. Even DePaiva believed her "Days" days were firmly behind her. But as every soap fan knows by now, nothing is ever forever in the world of daytime drama. Especially after it seems producers made the actor an offer she couldn't refuse.
"I was sitting up in the Catskills last winter when the phone rang. I looked over and saw that it was Marnie [Saitta, DAYS's casting director]," DePaiva told Soap Opera Digest in an exclusive interview. "I was like, 'Marnie? Oh, my gosh.' We talked for about 20 minutes, and then she said, 'They're writing a quick little story arc. It's one episode. Would you be interested?' I was like, 'Well, yeah. What am I doing? I'm sitting here watching it snow.'"
But wait, what? Isn't Eve rotting inside a jail cell? Did somebody smuggle in a nail file baked inside of a cake to help her make a great escape? No! That would be silly, silly! It transpires that Eve had actually been found criminally insane and thrown into an institution, not a prison. "I've gone from the aging s*** to criminally insane,' " DePaiva told Soap Opera Digest.
Reconciliation not retribution
Kassie DePaiva's exit from "Days of Our Lives" was explosive, to say the least. Eve Donovan literally blew up Ben Weston and Ciara Brady's wedding and orchestrated the kidnapping of the groom. She then planned to stuff Ben full of hallucinogenic drugs and brainwash him into murdering his would-be bride in retaliation for him killing her beloved daughter, Paige Larson. But Eve's evil plan was scuppered after she was hauled away by the cops, per Celeb Dirty Laundry.
However, DePaiva's brief return to the daytime staple will be decidedly less dramatic this time around, as it's more about reconciliation than retribution. DePaiva told Soap Opera Digest that fans will see Eve's nemesis, Steve Harris atone for his wrongdoings in high school. And Eve will show off her vulnerable side as she shares her heartbreak over her daughter's death. "Back then, Charlotte Ross played the part [of Eve]," DePaiva explained. "So I watched those old scenes, and [Steve] was mean to her. He was this bully jock and not a kind soul. I just tried to stay true to the history."
And it seems that stint in the psychiatric hospital actually worked its magic. "[Eve] shares about Paige and how [her murder] really messed with her and destroyed her world," DePaiva continued. "But being in Bayview helped her change for the better, and she really worked hard on herself."