A Stunning Salem Exit for Stephen Nichols!

While the news that Stephen Nichols was leaving Days of Our Lives broke months ago, we now know how — and when — he’ll be leaving Salem!

According to published reports, Nichols will last air on August 31 — and off camera, Steve will be arrested for espionage. It sounds like it was a last-minute fix after the show decided to show the actor the door.

As Soap Hub reported last week, the actor revealed in a tweet the real reason he was leaving the show, despite what had been reported previously.

“Tori, I am touched and humbled by your kind words. I will be forever indebted to you and all of our dedicated supporters who give so much love. I accepted their offer after trying unsuccessfully to negotiate something better than a 30% cut. With no warning -written out. Truth[.]”

So with that being the case, it makes sense that whatever the exit story they came up with would happen off-screen, meaning that we wouldn’t see it actually happen to Steve but rather we’d hear about it.

But having the character arrested for espionage is sadly an un-glorified end for a beloved and heroic character like Steve “Patch” Johnson, who has been on and off the show for over 30 years. On the plus side, at least they didn’t kill him off, not that it usually matters for anyone from Salem.

Should things work out down the line with the popular actor and the show, it should be easy enough to rescue Steve on what we’d all like to believe are trumped up charges. After all, with his brother Jack (Matt Ashford) returning soon, a reunion with Steve would be must-see viewing.

Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes.