Romance, heartbreak, and temptation collide in Days of Our Lives during the emotionally charged week of February 16–20. Valentine’s Day sweeps across Salem with kisses,

reunions, and heat-of-the-moment hookups, but amid the flowers and candlelight comes a farewell that threatens to change the canvas forever. As love blooms for some

, others confront the ache of letting go — and one devastated widower prepares to walk away from the town that has defined his life.

What unfolds is a tapestry of passion and grief, reminding viewers why DAYS remains a master of pairing soaring romance with gut-punch emotion.

Love Takes Center Stage

The holiday brings out both the sentimental and the daring, with longtime partners honoring the journeys that kept them together through decades of trials.

At the center of that warmth are Paulina Price and Abe Carver. Raising a glass, they celebrate not just Valentine’s Day but survival — of illness, secrets, political storms, and the everyday challenges of loving fiercely in a complicated world. Their toast is more than symbolic; it is a reaffirmation that commitment in Salem is never passive. It is fought for.

Across the Bistro, another supercouple reminds onlookers what enduring devotion looks like. Steve Johnson and Kayla Brady share a kiss that feels suspended in time. After kidnappings, presumed deaths, and separations that would shatter lesser bonds, the simplicity of their affection lands with enormous power. In a week filled with upheaval, they are the steady heartbeat.

But Valentine’s Day is not reserved only for the established.

New Sparks Fly

Outside the Brady Pub, impulse takes over when Sarah Horton and Brady Black give in to a sudden rush of chemistry. The moment is quick, electric, and impossible to ignore. Both carry complicated romantic histories, and neither is naïve about the cost of diving in too fast. Yet the spontaneity suggests two people tired of overthinking happiness.

Whether this is the start of something lasting or merely a beautiful detour is the question hanging in the winter air.

Meanwhile, intrigue smolders elsewhere as Gabi Hernandez and Philip Kiriakis find themselves tangled in a far more clandestine encounter. Attraction, ambition, and unresolved baggage fuse into a meeting that promises fallout. Gabi rarely makes emotional moves without strategic calculation, while Philip is forever vulnerable to desire clouding judgment. Together, they are dynamite awaiting a spark.

Wedding Bells — and a Wedding Night

For newlyweds Stephanie Johnson and Alex Kiriakis, the night becomes a celebration of choosing each other against the odds. Their relationship has weathered jealousy, interference, and self-doubt, but standing on the other side of “I do” brings a new kind of intimacy.

Their kiss carries relief as much as passion — the relief of having made it, at least for now. In Salem, forever is always provisional, which makes the present burn brighter.

A Door to the Past Reopens

If some couples are stepping into the future, others are circling back to unfinished business. Few reunions arrive with more emotional landmines than the one between Xander Cook and Gwen Rizczech.

These two share a history built on fierce attraction and mutual damage. They have hurt each other, protected each other, and never fully severed the invisible thread binding them. When they finally find themselves alone, restraint evaporates. Gwen, long convinced she lost the man who understood her best, seizes the moment with breathtaking boldness.

Is this reunion a mistake born of nostalgia, or the first honest step back toward a love that never truly died? With Xander, redemption and relapse often travel together.

Desire vs. Reality

Elsewhere, longing creates its own complications. Theo Carver sits across from Jada Hunter, physically present but emotionally adrift. His mind wanders — not to the woman in front of him, but to Gabi.

Jada senses the shift immediately. Her question is gentle, but the implication is sharp: if Theo is somewhere else, what chance does this relationship have? In Salem, distraction is often the first crack before the collapse.

Fantasy has a way of demanding reality eventually answer for it.

A Goodbye That Changes Everything

Amid the champagne and stolen embraces comes news that stills the town. Chad DiMera is leaving Salem, taking his children and the fragile hope of a fresh start with him. For a man who rebuilt himself after unimaginable loss, the decision is both understandable and devastating.

Farewells ripple outward. Jack Deveraux and Jennifer Horton struggle to say goodbye to the former son-in-law who will always be family. Julie Williams offers love wrapped in aching pride. The children, too young to grasp the permanence, make the moment almost unbearable.

Yet Chad has one last stop.

At Abigail’s grave, time seems to fold in on itself. Speaking to Abigail DiMera, he promises that distance will never erase her. Salem will travel with him because she is Salem — in memory, in spirit, in the shape of the life they built.

His voice breaks, but he stands firm. Loving Abigail means learning how to live without her, even when that lesson feels impossible.

Later, in the quiet of the Horton house, he clutches their wedding photo, imprinting every corner of the room into his heart. When he finally turns away, it is not defeat. It is survival.

The Aftermath Begins

By week’s end, Salem is transformed. New couples hover between thrill and uncertainty. Old lovers risk reopening wounds. And a widower drives toward an unknown horizon, leaving behind ghosts who will never truly release him.

Valentine’s Day promised romance. DAYS delivers that — and then reminds us that love’s deepest power often lies in goodbye.