While we weren’t entirely surprised to learn that Theresa was coming back to Days of Our Lives for Victor’s funeral, nor that she’d be sticking around for an extended story, we were surprised when we found out Jen Lilley would only be returning for the first part of the visit. And we were downright shocked when we found out how it all went down!
How long Lilley would continue to serve in the position before switching to the next individual wasn’t totally known. She is in possession of Victor’s mysterious letters and has a scheme to use Alex to make Brady crazy. (Yeah, we also don’t see her heeding Shane’s counsel to let Brady go!) However, it currently appears that her last day in the position will be Friday, September 22. Theresa had been on-screen up to that point, and Lilley herself announced on Instagram that this would be the final scene.
“Last week of me exploring this girl’s shenanigans on screen,” she wrote. “Playing Jeanne Theresa Donovan off and on for the last 10 years has taught me so much about empathy and grace. I have enjoyed every moment of her hilarious sass and ferocity, layered with brokenness. To the cast and crew at Days of Our Lives, I love you forever. You’re my family.”
From Salem to Greece, Alex, Brady and even Shane, Lilley shared moments from her return below.
Lilley’s fans showed an outpouring of love, with many echoing Maysam’s comment as she wrote, “Seriously, when thinking of Theresa Donovan, you are the only one I can think of playing her!”
And that makes perfect sense given that Lilley is the only person to date to play Shane and Kimberly’s adult daughter! Fortunately, Lilley and Charles Shaughnessy did appear in a few incredibly brief father-daughter sequences together before the recast.
The show has been completely mum on who’s taking over the role, but Lilley herself dropped a number of hints that seem to indicate that Emily O’Brien will be stepping into the role. If that’s the case, though, it seems hard to imagine that it’ll happen right when Lilley’s exit does as Gwen’s currently smack in the middle of bringing down Leo and Dimitri.
Lilley pleaded with fans to “be kind” to her recast, expressing her own awareness of how difficult it can be to assume another person’s role. Lilley made care to thank everyone who had been there cheering her on, “supporting me on this decade-long journey,” as she took her bow this week, regardless of whether she ever steps back into the role or not.