Days of Our Lives Wayback: Remember Isabella Toscano Black

Although she was only on screen for three years, Isabella certainly left Days of Our Lives with one heck of a parting gift in the form of her son, Brady Black, one of the biggest failures at love in soap opera history.

Snake Pit
Thanks to the machinations of her devilish sister Marina, Isabella found herself imprisoned in an Italian psychiatric institution. She gained an unlikely ally, and a new best friend, in Jack Devereaux, who helped Isabella enact a daring escape and smuggled her into Salem. Isabella took refuge in Jack’s loft and it was there that she first laid eyes on John Black, heretofore known as Roman Brady.

Prized Possession
Marina and Victor Kiriakis were both searching for the Toscano family treasure and when Jennifer found the key capable of opening the box that housed the precious loot, Isabella agreed to turn it over to Victor in exchange for Kayla Brady, the woman he was holding hostage.

Isabella arrived at the rendezvous point but she wound up being shot by a Kiriakis henchman. Unbeknownst to anyone, a crafty Jack made a duplicate of the key and was the first to discover the box’s contents. Rather than monetary riches, the “treasure” was a diary that had belonged to Isabella and Marina’s mother Loretta. Jack turned the diary over to Isabella but pilfered a few key pages.

Who Done It?
When Marina was found murdered, Kayla, who had argued with the woman the night of her death, was arrested and charged with the crime. Isabella was sure that there was no way that Kayla was guilty so she partnered with John to unmask the true culprit whom they believed to be Victor.

However, in a stunning twist, it was revealed that Isabella herself had committed the foul deed and then blocked the incident from her memory. Kayla was freed and an investigation proved that Isabella had acted in self-defense so no charges were pressed.

Family Reunion
Ernesto Toscano, Isabella and Marina’s father, arrived in Salem and issued invitations to many of the town’s key figures that offered them passage aboard his luxury cruise ship, the Loretta. Once the guests were assembled and the vessel launched, Ernesto spirited his daughter away to an island and left behind a ticking time bomb!

On the island, Ernesto began to slowly poison Isabella – the same manner he had employed to dispatch his unfaithful wife – all because he knew the secret detailed in the diary’s missing pages: Isabella was actually Victor Kiriakis’s daughter!

A New Normal
Isabella and the shipwreck survivors were rescued and returned to Salem. There Isabella earned her private investigator’s license and went into business with her newly discovered half-brother Bo. She also tried to bond with Victor but his shady business practices and illegal activities proved to be continual roadblocks.

Her relationship with John deepened and the two became a bonafide couple. However, they were both knocked for a loop when a presumed dead Marlena Evans was revealed to be alive and well, having spent the past four years in a coma.

Knowing that Marlena had been the love of John’s life, Isabella stepped aside and made it easy for the two of them to reunite – despite learning that she was going to have John’s baby. In a further twist of fate, it was revealed that the real Roman Brady was also alive, meaning that John had spent close to a decade living another man’s life.

Mrs. Black
After suffering an identity crisis, John proposed to a heavily pregnant Isabella and the two made it down the aisle on May 19, 1992. However, before the ceremony could be completed, Isabella went into labor and delivered Brady Victor Black.

After a few minutes of recovery, Isabella insisted on continuing and she and John were declared husband and wife. When John went to kiss his bride, he found her fast asleep.

The End
Just a few months later, the deliriously happy newlyweds were dealt a devastating blow. Isabella was diagnosed with end-stage pancreatic cancer and John honored his wife’s wish to be taken back “home” to Venice.

Knowing that her time was near, Isabella made one last request of her husband: she wanted to, “dance.” Fighting back tears, John scooped her up and slowly rocked her back and forth while fantasizing a romantic interlude where he and “Izzy Bee” danced inside a room bathed in candlelight. Upon returning to his senses, John realized that Isabella had passed away in his arms.

Guiding Light
In the ensuing years, Isabella’s spirit made a number of appearances to comfort her loved ones. She brought solace to a grieving John in 2000 and frequently appeared to Brady when he needed her motherly wisdom and guidance. Days of Our Lives airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes.