Actors playing a couple on a soap don’t often fall in love in real life but there are instances where reel life and real life start to resemble one another. That was certainly the case with Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes, who play Doug Williams and Julie Williams on Days of our Lives, and we — the audience — are all the better for it.
Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes: The Gold Standard
Susan Martin (Denise Alexander) hired ex-con Doug Williams to romance Julie but soon, Doug realized that what he felt for Julie was the real deal. The couple fell in love but it wasn’t an easy trip to the altar. They had to navigate several obstacles before becoming man and wife. Doug married Julie’s mother Addie (Patricia Barry), who was diagnosed with leukemia. Addie survived only to meet her maker when she was struck by an oncoming car as she pushed her and Doug’s daughter Hope to safety.
Julie’s marriage to Bob Anderson and the arrival of Kim Douglas (Doug’s ex-wife) were additional blockades but in 1976, Doug and Julie were finally wed. Fortunately, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth didn’t have nearly the obstacles that their on-screen counterparts did and got hitched on October 12, 1974.
The couple exited DAYS in 1984, much to the dismay of their longtime fans. However, the two were never gone from Salem for very long. Hayes reprised Bill in 1986 to lend support to Hope; Seaforth Hayes came back as Julie following a three-year stint as Joanna Manning on The Young and the Restless in 1989. Doug and Julie’s reunion in early 1993 was bittersweet. Doug tricked Julie into rushing to his side in Europe with news of a false injury. But the plan worked. Their love rekindled, Doug and Julie remained abroad — together.
They returned to Salem for family events including Tom’s (Macdonald Carey) funeral in 1994 and Bo and Hope’s near wedding in 1996. Fans weren’t happy though with guest appearances. Doug and Julie came back in 1999 during the Princess Gina (Kristian Alfonso) saga to play a more active role in the story and they have appeared (on and off) ever since.
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What makes watching the Hayeses so enjoyable is that viewers know they’re a real-life duo. When Julie fights as Doug’s advocate, they’re seeing not just Julie championing Doug but it also feels as if they’re seeing Susan and Bill’s love for one another at the same time. When Doug calls Julie “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” we feel — we know — it’s also Bill speaking to Susan.
In 2004, Doug battled “Marlena” (Deidre Hall) after she turned into the Salem Serial Killer. It was, in reality, a ‘DiMera hoax.’ “What else?” Julie asked, exasperated. He lost his life — but not really. Doug and others were whisked away to Melaswen (new Salem spelled backward) — a DiMera island where several “slain” Salem citizens were residing. Soon, Doug and Julie were reunited.
Both Bill and Susan and Doug and Julie have spent time traveling the globe, but now, the Williamses have made Salem their home. Fans have loved both the actors and their onscreen counterparts for generations. Recently, the couple has launched a new venture – Secrets of Soap Opera Lovers in which they share secrets to their long and happy marriage. DAYS has wisely used this couple in the show’s current front-burner tale in which Marlena has been possessed once again by the devil.
MarDevil may think she’s got Doug right where she wants him but Satan’s not counting on Julie’s love for her husband and how she won’t rest until they’re together once more. The world is in constant flux but DAYS fans know that there’s something warm and familiar about seeing loving duo Doug and Julie, played by Bill and Susan Seaforth Hayes.
Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Salem, check out all the latest that’s been posted on DAYS spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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