Days of our Lives Character Recap: Stefan DiMera

Stefan DiMera – he stormed onto the Days of our Lives canvas with a chip on his shoulder and a grand scheme to right the wrongs that the world has foisted upon him. He succeeded but only for a brief shining moment.

Who Is Stefan DiMera?

Stefan Octavius – “Or quite simply, Stefan O” – was the result of an assignation between Stefano DiMera and Vivian Alamain. The former, using the alias Rudolpho Meradi, seduced the latter to help rob her of a precious ruby.

For the majority of his life, Stefan was raised as Sam Maitlin, owing to Vivian being assured by her trusted manservant, Ivan, that her baby had been stillborn – when he had, in fact, spirited the babe away and placed him up for adoption.

“Sam” matured into a cutthroat businessman with a reputation for corporate raiding. When the truth about his parentage was finally revealed, Stefan tracked Vivian down and mother and son shared a tender reunion.

Making His Presence Known
Subsequently, the pair traveled to Stefano’s favorite stomping grounds, Salem, USA, made their presence known during the annual New Year’s Eve gala hosted by Julie Williams.

In short order, Stefan and Vivian (with an assist courtesy of Andre) had convinced the DiMera Enterprises board to depose Chad, Stefano’s youngest offspring, and install Stefan as acting CEO.

Not content with robbing his half-brother of his position in the company, Stefan next attempted to lay claim to the man’s wife, Abigail Deveraux. His charm and smooth talk didn’t interest his conquest in the least, but her alternate personality, Gabby, was certainly smitten.

In order to keep his lady love from being imprisoned for her role in Andre’s murder, Stefan helped frame the most likely suspect – Gabi Hernandez. Afterward, Stefan and Gabby fell into bed but an enraged Chad caught them and beat his brother into unconsciousness.

Once Abigail’s personalities were integrated, a distraught Stefan’s troubles were further compounded when his mother was shot (apparently to death) during a struggle with Kate Roberts.

Life After Loss

He was briefly bolstered by the control he wielded over Steve and Kayla Johnson after the former was gifted with a bionic eye constructed by DiMera technicians. But accusations of treason and the revelation that Abigail was pregnant – possibly with his child – only frustrated him further.

Stefan became determined to prove that Abigail’s baby was his and he was heartened when a paternity test seemed to prove him correct. Furthermore, he gladly accepted Abigail’s proposal of marriage, though it was hardly a love match.

Instead, Abigail had concocted the scheme as a way to ensure her freedom from returning to the mental health clinic that Chad had installed her in. Once Abigail was able to prove that Gabi had both doctored the paternity tests and fraudulently claimed that Abigail’s alternate personalities had resurfaced, she divorced Stefan and reunited with Chad.

The loss of his great love – and the chance to be a father – imbued Stefan with a terrible rage that he unleashed on Gabi. But there’s a fine line between love and hate.

Rather than scar or kill her as he had earlier planned, Stefan freed her and the two jumped into bed together! In the aftermath, Stefan did his best to distract himself from Gabi – he even moved Chloe Lane and her son into the DiMera mansion in hopes of protecting them from their pursuers.

Stefan DiMera Finds True Love
But try as he might, Stefan just couldn’t stay away from Gabi- he even forgave her for conning him into marriage with the express purpose of usurping his claim on all things DiMera.

But just as it seemed the two were finally settled into their positions as loyal spouses and the Lord and Lady of the manor, tragedy struck. In an effort to save his recently resurrected mother, Stefan dove in front of a bullet fired by Lani Price, which subsequently lodged in his throat.

In spite of the hospital’s best efforts, Stefan passed away. His heart was gifted to Julie Williams but it came at a substantial price. In times of great crisis, Gabi found comfort imagining conversations with her beloved but exactly how many of those talks were all in her head?

In a town where the dead returning to life has become a matter of routine, is it possible that Stefan actually survived his “fatal” gunshot injury and it was a substituted heart that has sustained Julie ever since? Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes.