DAYS of Our Lives has recently welcomed back a slew of old cast members, but now the show is also saying goodbye to one of its stars. Actress Jen Lilley revealed it’s her final week on the show as Theresa Donovan, and fans are begging her to stay. Jen has starred on the soap opera on and off since 2013, and she recently returned to help give a proper send-off to late John Aniston’s character, Victor Kiriakis.
Now, the 39-year-old shared her time on the show is coming to an end after a decade. Along with photos of herself on Days, Jen wrote on Instagram: “Last week of me exploring this girl’s shenanigans on screen.
“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.”
She added: “To the cast and crew at @dayspeacock, I love you forever. You’re my family.
“And to the best fans a girl could ask or hope for: remember there is no pit so deep you could ever find yourself in where God’s love cannot find you still.
“You are never beyond redemption. You are called by grace and marked with love.
“Thank you for supporting me on this decade long journey. #Days #RIPJohnAniston #ripvictorkiriakis #DOOL.”
A few weeks ago, Jen revealed in an interview with Soaps.com that her role was being recast for the rest of the character’s current stint on the show after the 39-year-old departs this week.
After learning of this news and now seeing Jen’s goodbye post, fans told the star in the comments how much they’d miss her. One follower insisted: “Seriously, when thinking of Theresa Donovan, you are the only one I can think of playing her!!”
A second said: “It was nice to see you onscreen; too bad you couldn’t stick around for a little bit longer. I hope someday you might be able to come back”
A third Instagram user begged: “Nooooo don’t leave forever!”
“It has been such a joy to see you back on Days. Now we have to miss you all over again,” wrote a fourth.
Another said: “We will miss you. There is only one Theresa.”
Jen first joined Days of Our Lives as Theresa in 2013. Theresa was originally introduced on the show in 1990 and portrayed by various child actors throughout the ‘90s until the character left. When she returned more than a decade later, it was Jen who took on the role and continued as the character until 2016. She has since returned for multiple temporary arcs on the show – for three months in 2018 and, most recently, for the past few weeks.
During her time away from the soap opera, Jen starred in a slew of Hallmark Channel movies, including Harvest Love and Mingle All The Way. Jen’s latest stint reprising her role on the show, which is now wrapping up, came about in order to participate in an emotional farewell for John’s character, Victor.
The DOOL icon died in November 2022, and his final appearance as Victor aired in December, though the character wasn’t killed off until just last month.
Along with Jen, Charles Shaughnessy, who plays Jen’s onscreen dad of Shane Donovan, and Zach Tinker, who plays Sonny Kiriakis also returned for Victor’s farewell storyline, among others.