It’s not very often that a soap opera couple gets to stay happily married for decades. But Days of Our Lives’ Doug and Julie broke that mold when they got married way back in 1976. However, they did have their ups and downs over the years to keep the stories interesting. In a romance for the ages, their real-life alter egos, Bill and Susan Seaforth Hayes, fell in love on the show and married in 1974 — a union that lasted 50 years. Bill sadly passed away last January, and the show will soon air a tribute to him. With Doug dying on the show, Seaforth Hayes shared what went into those agonizingly emotional scenes.
Everyone Could See Their Love
Seaforth Hayes spoke to Variety and explained that while their characters Doug and Julie were falling in love on the show, the fans and even series creator William Bell saw real-life sparks fly between the two before the actors even realized it. “[Bell] scrapped all the story he had planned and wrote a story for us that was endless,” she stated, adding, “So, I owe Days of Our Lives my career, my happy marriage, my mother’s writing career.” (Check out Seaforth Hayes’ first message after Bill’s death.)
She described how supportive everyone on the show was for the real-life couple. And she noted that Deidre Hall (Marlena) visited with them during Bill’s final moments on this mortal coil. “He deserved to be loved by a wide audience, and he was,” she revealed, explaining that she wants to continue to be a wonderful and good human like her late husband. But she’s not going to go off and live the rest of her life in solitude. “I prefer to work and do one of the few things I can do,” she explained. “I don’t know how to make change, but I do know how to be Julie the character.”
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He Was Wonderfully Honored
Seaforth Hayes describes life after Bill’s death as “Quite a change.” But what really hits home is the delicate way the show has incorporated Doug’s passing into the show. “I really appreciate what the producers have done to honor him — to allow me to give pretty much the same eulogy [on the show for Doug] that I gave [Bill] at our church. I certainly didn’t expect that.”
She knows the mark her husband left on soap opera history is indelible. “He deserved to be lifted up, and I was so, so pleased that [his death] wasn’t just passed over as something that happened off stage. It happens very much on stage, too. It was difficult to do, but not as difficult as living through it in life.” Thankfully, the loving cast surrounds Seaforth Hayes. And the upcoming scenes of Doug’s death will truly be heartbreaking, especially with video clips from his best moments incorporated into the storyline.
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