On the June 4 episode of Days of our Lives, Marlena, Brady, and Belle shared their good memories of John on the anniversary of his passing. Marlena told a story about a coin of John’s that she’d lost, and then it was miraculously returned. Everyone wondered how that happened. While we wondered if this meant what we thought it meant. And then we worried.
Key Takeaways
- John has always been a mystery
- John’s past has been retconned multiple times
- Will this be another dip into John’s convoluted past
The Man He Used To Be
First, John (Drake Hogestyn) was an amnesiac war veteran. Then he spent multiple years as Roman Brady (Josh Taylor), even married to Marlena (Deidre Hall) and playing Daddy to Carrie (Christie Clark), Sami (Alison Sweeney), and Eric (Greg Vaughan). Once he was stripped of that moniker, that’s when the musical chair deep, dark pasts really kicked in.
The Prince and the Pauper
Among John’s more memorable identities were those of Forrest Alamain, the long-lost son of a family known for breeding psychos, from Vivian (Louise Sorel) to Lawrence (Michael Sabatino). And then, for a while, he was both a Brady and a DiMera, supposedly the missing offspring of Colleen Brady (Shirley Jones), sister of the late Shawn Brady Sr., and a nun, who had an affair with Santo DiMera, Stefano’s (Joseph Mascolo) father.
Latest Chapter
As of now, John is the son of Timothy Robicheaux (Dick Van Dyke), and we thought the show would leave it at that. But now with all this talk about John and a mysterious coin, we’re worried the plan is for yet another identity change. And we honestly don’t think we have the strength to go through another one — especially without the beloved Hogestyn. Let’s celebrate the character and the actor… and call it a day.
MORE: Shi Ne Nielson is DAYS’ Performer of the Month for May 2026.
