Rumors have been swirling for months that Days of our Lives would be taking Billy Flynn (Chad DiMera) and Kate Mansi (Abigail Deveraux) off the canvas, and the sad moment is finally here. Both of the fan-favorite actors will be exiting the NBC soap opera on Thursday, February 21.
News that Flynn would be exiting the role he's played since 2014 came last August, just months after he assured fans that he had signed a new contract to continue in the role of Chad. Because typical soap opera contracts have 13-week cycles, it's likely the actor decided in May to stay on long enough for the writers to plan a proper exit storyline for the character and then left the series at the end of the summer.
Mansi's latest run as Abigail was originally planned to be short-term, because she stepped in as a last-minute replacement for Marci Miller, who took over the role from Mansi in 2016 and unexpectedly left in 2018. Rumor has it Mansi stayed on with the soap opera longer than expected in order to give both Abigail and Chad their deserved on-screen goodbyes.
There is no word on how the popular Salem couple will leave Salem, but at least they will be departing the show together. After all, Chad and Abigail have gone through quite a bit together, including dealing with Abigail's dissociative identity disorder, the murder of Andre DiMera (Thaao Penghlis), Abigail's alter Gabby sleeping with Chad's brother Stefan (Tyler Christopher), and much, much more.
DAYS has yet to confirm whether or not February 21 marks the final airdates for Flynn and Mansi -- though Flynn seemingly confirmed it in a Twitter post -- and the NBC soap likewise has not announced if they'll recast the characters in the future.
Flynn and Mansi's exit news comes hot on the heels of other DAYS actors being let go from the series. Both Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe Lane) and Olivia Rose Keegan (Claire Brady) are also leaving Salem in the near future. To read about Bjorlin's exit, click here. To read more about Keegan's exit, click here.
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