In Salem, death is never just an ending—it is a declaration. A warning shot fired into the heart of the town, signaling that the rules have changed and no one is truly safe.

As Days of Our Lives edges toward a new chapter in 2026, whispers of an impending tragedy are growing louder, more insistent, and far more chilling. Fans are bracing themselves

for the first major loss of the year, and one name has surged to the forefront of speculation with devastating force: Chanel DePri.

Once seen as nearly untouchable—a woman whose resilience and ambition carried her through betrayal, heartbreak, and chaos—Chanel now finds herself standing at the center of Salem’s most dangerous storm. The question haunting viewers is no longer if someone will die, but whether Chanel is about to pay the ultimate price for daring to build a future in a town that devours happiness whole.

A Woman Who  became Salem’s Heartbeat

Chanel DePri has evolved into one of Salem’s brightest stars. Fierce, funny, unapologetically driven, she carved her place through sheer willpower and an unshakable belief in herself. Her love story with Johnny Deveraux offered fans something rare in Salem: hope. Together, they survived scandals, divided loyalties, and family pressure that would have torn weaker couples apart. For a brief moment, it seemed as though Chanel and Johnny had reached a hard-earned calm.

But in Days of Our Lives, peace is often just a pause before devastation.

That fragile calm shatters with one life-altering revelation: Chanel is pregnant. In any other town, this news would be a celebration, a promise of new beginnings. In Salem, it is a dangerous spark—one that threatens to ignite an already volatile situation and turn joy into a potential death sentence.

Sophia Horton: The Obsession That Won’t Die

At the dark core of this looming tragedy is Sophia Horton, a woman whose brilliance has long been eclipsed by instability and obsession. Sophia is not merely jealous—she is fixated. To her, Chanel is not a rival but an intruder, a thief who has stolen a life Sophia believes was meant to be hers.

The adoption of Trey, Sophia’s biological child, by Chanel and Johnny was supposed to represent compassion and healing. Instead, it became the seed of Sophia’s unraveling. Watching her son grow up in another woman’s arms has twisted her grief into something far more dangerous. Chanel’s pregnancy only sharpens that wound, transforming loss into fury.

In Sophia’s fractured mind, Chanel is building a perfect life from the ruins of her own—and that cannot be allowed to stand.

A Pregnancy That Becomes a Weapon

What makes Chanel’s situation especially perilous is how easily her happiness can be turned against her. Sophia doesn’t lash out impulsively; she plans. She calculates. Her intellect, once a strength, now fuels a campaign of methodical destruction.

Spoilers hint at anonymous reports, damning letters, and carefully planted accusations aimed at child services and adoption authorities. Johnny and Chanel’s fitness as parents is suddenly under scrutiny, their integrity questioned by faceless forces operating in the shadows. Every lie is designed to look like truth. Every move pushes Chanel closer to the edge.

The hospital at Bay View—normally a place of healing—takes on an ominous presence as well. It is where secrets are overheard, obsessions deepen, and plans may be set into motion. The unsettling question lingers: Is Salem heading toward a tragedy born not of accident, but of deliberate intent?

Johnny, Chad, and a Family on the Brink

Johnny Deveraux is no stranger to loss, but this threat feels different. He senses the danger closing in, yet every attempt to protect Chanel seems to tighten the noose around them both. His desperation grows as the attacks become more personal, more vicious, and more reckless.

Chad Deveraux, ever the protector of his fractured family, steps into the fray as well. Chad recognizes the signs—he has seen obsession destroy lives before. He knows that when someone in Salem begins to believe they are owed a life, blood often follows. His fear is not abstract; it is immediate and deeply personal.

If Sophia succeeds, it won’t just be Chanel’s life that’s shattered. It will redefine Johnny, fracture the Deveraux family, and leave an indelible scar across Salem.

Is Death the Endgame—or the Beginning?

What makes the rumors surrounding Chanel’s fate so terrifying is their plausibility. Her pregnancy raises the emotional stakes to unbearable levels. Her central role in multiple storylines makes her loss seismic. And Sophia’s instability creates a credible path to tragedy that feels both inevitable and horrifying.

If Chanel is indeed the first death of 2026, it would mark one of the darkest turns Days of Our Lives has taken in years. It would transform Sophia from a troubled antagonist into a figure of irreversible consequence. It would shatter Johnny’s world beyond repair. And it would remind viewers, once again, that in Salem, love is often the most dangerous thing of all.

Yet questions remain. Is Chanel truly doomed—or is Salem setting the stage for a shocking survival that exposes Sophia before it’s too late? Could the first death belong to someone else entirely, with Chanel serving as the emotional catalyst rather than the victim?