Heartwarming DAYS Reunion: Lani & Eli Are Back, and Sal Stowers Drops a Bombshell About Their Return

Lani and Eli return to Salem to celebrate a happy Thanksgiving with their families, but end up mourning a very sad loss when Doug suddenly dies. Sal Stowers (Lani) spoke to Soap Opera Digest about her recent visit to Days of our Lives with leading man Lamon Archey (Eli), what stood out about filming the poignant good-bye to late actor Bill Hayes (Doug) and his character, and her future with the soap.

Soap Opera Digest: It’s become a regular thing for Lani and Eli to return to DAYS for different special occasions. What are your thoughts on that?

Sal Stowers: I love it. Lani and Eli are such a big part of Salem and the family dynamic there that people love to see, so I think it’s really great. You know how much I love James Reynolds [Abe] and the family we’ve been able to create with Jackée [Harry, Paulina] and Raven [Bowens, Chanel]. It’s just beautiful. Anytime that we get to come in and step back into those shoes again, I am always honored. Lani is so special to me and such a big part of my life. It’s been [almost] 10 years since I [started] playing Lani, and I couldn’t be more grateful for her and this opportunity. It makes me very happy that the fans and our show runners still want us [to come back].

Digest: Who do you make a beeline for the minute you walk back into the studio?

Stowers: Oh man, that one’s tough. Obviously James. He’s my TV dad. I get excited to see everyone, down to the crew and hair and makeup, because they’re such a big part of my life. At one point I was there every day, so everyone became family. I want to hug and see everyone. I literally have the same reactions of excitement with everyone. But I would definitely say James, Jackée, Janet [Spellman-Drucker, co-executive producer] and Randy [Dugan, producer]. Then, my hair and makeup [team], which is Karen [Dahl] and Amber [Redick]. I love those girls. And, of course Lamon. Anytime I get to see Lamon, I feel like we just step right back into our old pattern. We have a lot of fun with each other. We’re just goofy and have such a natural dynamic together.

Digest: Were you excited to have Lani and Eli’s twins back this time around?

Stowers: Yes! We have a new set of twins [Zyair and Zamir Ashford] playing Carver. The little guy we got to work with was the star of the show. He just wanted all the attention, and it was so sweet. He was such a natural. Our girls, Jules, are the same, Dion and Raegen [Yancy]. When we first started working with them, they were so shy, but they were so much more receptive of us this time. We got to pick them up, and they weren’t crying. We got to see their personalities more, and their vocabulary has expanded so we could have more conversations with them. It’s so special creating a little relationship with kids when you’re playing their mom and them not being afraid and being more open to you.

Digest: On-screen, things are much heavier, as Lani learns that Doug has died and being there to support his widow, Julie. Was it particularly hard playing those scenes knowing that Susan Seaforth Hayes, Bill Hayes’s widow, had endured the loss of her husband back in January?

Stowers: It was such a surreal moment because, yes, we were filming a television show and we were acting, but at the same time we weren’t. This was Susan’s real-life circumstance that she had just gone through, and she was having to relive it all over again. I just want to speak to the woman that Susan is. For her to carry herself with such poise and grace through this… She was so put together during this really hard time in her life. It was absolutely beautiful and sad to watch, but I was really impressed by that. In life when things happen to us, we can be like, “Woe is me” and go down this dark hole. Yet there’s such a beautiful light and presence during the filming of this episode, and it was really beautiful to see. But, yeah, knowing that Bill had actually passed away while we were filming this made it really hard. I’m not going to lie. Those tears that everyone had are real tears. Bill was such a very special part of the DAYS family, and the entire DAYS family lost someone very special.

Digest: Do you have any personal memories of Bill?

Stowers: As Eli and Lani, Lamon and I got to interact with Bill and Susan a lot. Julie is Eli’s grandmother. So we had become really close with them. I’ve said this a couple times in interviews, but anytime Bill would see me or come into the makeup room, he would always sing the same song to me, “My Gal Sal.” I have [Bobby Darin’s version of] it on my phone. There was not a day that would go by where Bill would not sing this song to me. It was a very special song, and I will have [that memory] for the rest of my life.

Digest: Do viewers get to see any Lani and Julie bonding scenes during your DAYS visit?

Stowers: I do get to have a beautiful little moment with Julie. It’s not a crazy big moment, but it’s a moment of like, “I’m here for you. Whatever you need, I am here. I love you.” I love that they allowed me to comfort her, because we haven’t seen too much of Lani and Julie. We’ve had little moments together, but this is a special one.

Digest: Part of your visit this time involves Paulina making a pitch for Lani and Eli to stay in Salem full-time. Of course, DAYS viewers would like the same thing.

Stowers: It’s definitely a bittersweet moment, but even within that episode, we do state that [living away from Salem is] not forever. We’ll figure it out. We’ll be back one day. I can’t tell you how many people are like, “When are you guys coming back? We miss you. You’re what’s missing from the show. We want you back.” That feels really good, and James and Jackée are always rooting for us to come back.

Digest: Has there been any discussion behind the scenes about you and Lamon returning, and is that something you would be open to?

Digest: Absolutely. Lamon and I have definitely talked about it. We’ve always kind of kept that in the back of our minds, because we do love the show and we do love these characters. So definitely, in my mind, I hope to return. Anytime I do get that call from Marnie [Saitta, DAYS casting director] or an email asking, “Hey, are you interested in coming in for this?” — it’s always a yes. That’s just because of my love for the show, and I am the actress that I am today because of this show. So I could never say no to it.

Digest: Would you be open to coming back full-time or do you prefer occasional shorter stints?

Stowers: I’m open, honestly. I’m at this point in my life where I love acting. I love telling stories. So wherever that leads me, wherever I get that opportunity to be able to tell a story and to do good work, I feel like that’s where I’m going to allow myself to go. So that’s definitely an option for me to go back full-time. I love to work, and that’s my goal as an artist. And I love Lani enough to know that I can still go there and grow as an artist. The goal for any artist is to work and to be able to tell compelling stories and to be able to touch the lives of people who watch the show. That is one thing about DAYS that I love. After all these years interacting with the fans, I know we get to touch so many lives. So we will see what happens in the future. Like I said earlier, Lani is a special part of Salem and the DAYS family. So speaking for myself and I think Lamon too, we both would be honored to get to come back and work for whatever that consists of.

You Can Go Home Again: Stowers in a scene with Lamon Archey (Eli) and Jackée Harry (Paulina) during her current DAYS drop-in.