By the time Dimitri cut Gwen off and started pushing for a divorce on Days of our Lives, the fight stopped being emotional and started being logistical. Money mattered. Timing mattered. Who believed what mattered. Gwen didn’t need to win an argument anymore; she needed him gone. That shift was what sat underneath Emily O’Brien’s comments about Gwen now, a version of the character who wasn’t lunging or flailing, just waiting and letting other people think they were in control.
Key Takeaways
- Emily O’Brien described Gwen as shaped by experience rather than reinvented.
- Gwen’s access to money and status changed how she approached conflict.
- She said Gwen understood Dimitri’s expectations of her behavior and used that to her advantage.
- The dynamic between Gwen and Dimitri relied on playfulness and trust between the actors.
- Gwen’s strategy relied on patience rather than immediate confrontation.
She Learned What Not to Do
Emily O’Brien spoke with Soaps about where Gwen’s head was, and she didn’t describe someone reinvented so much as someone corrected by experience. Gwen had already tried chaos, but it hadn’t worked. What worked better was restraint.
O’Brien explained that Gwen was now more “elite,” adding, “Gwen with money. Gwen with status. Gwen, who now has an ex-husband…and is part of the DiMera household.” Gwen isn’t scrambling for approval or safety anymore. She’s standing still long enough to see where Dimitri (Peter Porte) slipped.
O’Brien talked about how Gwen understood Dimitri now, not just what he wanted, but how he assumed she would behave. Letting him believe she was still predictable became useful, even when it cost her comfort. (Could Gwen and Dimitri connect for real this time?)
Playing It Out Instead of Burning It Down
What made the story click, O’Brien said, was the freedom she and Peter Porte had in scenes together. “He’s always ready to play. I think once I slapped him and didn’t tell him, and he was like ‘That was great! I loved that!’” she said. She further noted they have an unspoken rapport that works. That looseness let Gwen pull back instead of escalating. She didn’t need to win the argument at the pub or prove she was right. She just needed Dimitri to keep talking.
O’Brien didn’t suggest Gwen was safe or settled. “I’m still discovering who she is and what she wants and how she says things,” she said, which fit a character who wasn’t finished shaping herself yet. Gwen had money, status, and allies, but none of it felt permanent enough to relax into.
She wasn’t declaring victory. She was letting the board fill up before she made her move, trusting that patience would do more damage than anger ever did. (Find out what Gwen’s biggest mistake was.)
