Days of our Lives star Emily O’Brien has broken her silence after taking over the role of Theresa Donovan from Jen Lilley.
The Theresa switcheroo made headlines when Jen revealed she had initially signed on to reprise the role for 12 weeks, shooting in four weeks, only to learn two weeks in that the character was recast.
Emily had been playing Gwen on Days for the last four years but was tapped to finish out Theresa’s storyline.
Last week, Gwen left Salem, and seconds later, Emily debuted as Theresa in the most bizarre recast intro ever.
Jen has been vocal about her disdain for how things went down while also giving Emily mad respect for taking on the recast.
Now, after a week of her playing Theresa, Emily has spoken out and has a request for Days of our Lives fans.
Days of our Lives star Emily O’Brien breaks her silence on Theresa Donovan recast
Taking to Instagram, Emily shared a lengthy post that included a picture of her. Emily kicked it off with a joke about Gwen smirking somewhere while the character was MIA before she got serious.
After addressing current world events, Emily was grateful for the opportunity to play Gwen for the past four years.
“She has taken me through such a delicious discovery of who she, is and what she ultimately always yearned for— despite all her pain, vengeance and deceit. To be loved. Perhaps someday, somewhere away from Salem, she can finally find it.” Emily wrote about Gwen.
The actress is ready for this new chapter or page in her story. Emily went on to open up about this journey and her hope for Days of our Lives fans.
“Now as for me, a new page turns from a different story… One that I am excited to explore. So, as I step into the shoes (and wig) of a very different role, I hope that you can keep an open mind, have fun with my interpretation, and enjoy the ride. After all, it’s just a bit of dress up and make believe, really. ;),” she ended her IG post.
The comments section was filled with an outpouring of love and positivity for Emily as she makes the character of Theresa her own.
Days stars show love for Emily as Theresa
Jen Lilley was one of the first to give a shout-out to Emily, writing,” YOU’RE DOING A WONDERFUL JOB 🙌🙌🙌.”
Greg Rikaart (Leo) has worked with Emily on Days and The Young and the Restless. The actor gave Emily mad props for her talent and called her a “class act” who he could learn from.
Stacy Haiduk (Kristen/Susan) also wrote a message gushing over Emily, saying anything she does turns to gold, and shared her love of working with Emily.
Emily’s former on-screen love, Paul Telfer (Xander), showed his love for Emily and support for Xwen. Martha Madison (Belle) shared several emojis, as did Camila Banus (Gabi), who also referred to Emily as a “powerhouse.”
Jamie Martin Mann, who just debuted as Theresa and Brady’s (Eric Martsolf) teen son Tate, called Emily an “icon.” Abigail Klein (Stephanie) had nothing but love for Emily and happiness that their characters are cousins.
As Monsters and Critics previously reported, Days of our Lives fans weighed in on Emily O’Brien as Theresa Donovan with a lot of feedback.
It’s never easy to be a recast, especially taking over immediately after another actor was in the role, but Emily has been doing a great job.
However, she won’t be Theresa forever, just the next few weeks to wrap up her current storyline, which involves some shady business with Alex (Robert Scott Wilson).
Days of our Lives airs weekdays on Peacock.