Days of our Lives Character Recap: Lani Price

Lani Price – this Days of our Lives heroine has had more interrupted happily ever afters than most. From a denied opportunity for motherhood to being blackmailed to bail on her own wedding, and imprisoned at the hands of a terrifying criminal, Lani’s survived it all.

Who Is Lani Price?

Lani is the only daughter of Abraham “Abe” Craver and Tamara Price, though she has two paternal siblings – Brandon Walker and Theo Carver. For years, Lani remained unaware of her father’s identity, but once Tamara finally divulged a name, she relocated to Salem and enrolled in the cadet training program.

After graduating, rookie Officer Price joined the SPD and did her utmost to stay as close to Mayor Carver as possible. Abe was entranced by the young woman’s eyes and claimed that they reminded him of someone from his past.

When he eventually spotted a picture of Tamara on Lani’s laptop, she confessed that she was his daughter! Abe happily welcomed Lani into the family, but he worried about how his autistic son, Theo, would handle the news.

Lani ingratiated herself into Theo’s life by assisting him when his good friend, Joey Johnson, collapsed at a party. Soon the siblings were inseparable. But while her familial bonds were strong, Lani’s love life was far from stable.

Makeups and Breakups

First, she pursued Detective Rafe Hernandez only to lose him to Hope Brady. Then she made the acquaintance of Hope’s son, Shawn. However, before the two could really explore the possibility of a romance, he reunited with his long-estranged wife Belle Black and followed her out of town.

In response, Lani relocated to Miami. While there, she achieved the rank of detective and shared a drunken night of passion with JJ Deveraux, a fellow SPD officer she had worked with to bring down Ben Weston AKA The Necktie Killer. He promptly forgot about it.

When news reached Lani that Abe had been shot, she quickly returned to Salem. Once there, Lani profusely thanked Dr. Valerie Grant for saving her father’s life but then found herself forced into investigating the woman at Theo’s request.

Once firmly ensconced back “home,” Lani accepted a dangerous undercover assignment that saw her bring down a violent narcotics-dealing pimp – though there were serious repercussions for her heroism in the form of being force-fed drugs from which she had to detox.

Another life-threatening adventure followed when Lani was a passenger on a downed airplane. She and JJ (he finally remembered their night in Miami) consummated their love amid the rubble and the danger – which included Paul Narita contracting jungle madness and violently attacking Eli Grant.

Back in Salem, the romance was halted in the aftermath of JJ accidentally shooting Theo and Lani sleeping with Eli (when they thought their loves, JJ and Gabi, had cheated on them).

Despite a pregnancy which she was sure Eli was responsible for, Lani returned to JJ. Following the truth’s outing, Lani developed a serious medical condition that resulted in the loss of her baby.

The experience drew Lani and Eli closer together but the former’s growing obsession with Jordan’s infant son nearly tore them apart. Though they were able to work through their grief – and become engaged in the process – Lani was forced to abandon Eli at the alter. That was thanks to the machinations of a grief-stricken Gabi, who couldn’t bring herself to forgive Lani’s accidental shooting of Stefan DiMera.

Lani spent time in an Italian nunnery alongside her victim’s half-sister, but both women chose to return to Salem rather than take their final vows. With the help of Julie Williams and JJ, Lani was able to expose Gabi. Her actions resulted in yet another reunion with Eli.

Lani Price – Moving Forward

But what’s next for the former Detective Price? If Abe has anything to say about, she and Eli will resume their former positions at the SPD and finally make that all-important trek down the aisle. Days of our Lives airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes.