Television icon Marla Gibbs is heading back to “Days of our Lives” as Olivia Price during the week of June 20, 2022, when the character’s daughter, Paulina (Jackée Harry), looks to finally marry Abe Carver (James Reynolds). Gibbs last appeared on the daytime drama series in November 2021 when the couple’s previous attempt at getting married was ruined when Paulina’s secrets unraveled – she is Lani’s (Sal Stowers) biological mother, but Abe (James Reynolds) is not the biological father.
In addition to Gibbs, viewers can look forward to the returns of Cameron Johnson as Theo Carver, Abe’s son, and William Christian as TR Coates, Lani’s actual biological father who she later shot and killed when he attempted to harm Paulina soon after he had already hit Abe over the head with a blunt object.
Like Gibbs, Johnson and Christian will be on hand for Abe and Paulina’s wedding, although Johnson’s character will appear as a supporter of the couple’s nuptials while Christian appears as a vision to a guilt a guilt-ridden Lani.
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In a recent interview with Soap Opera Digest, head writer Ron Carlivati told the publication, “We know that Abe has his doubts about the legitimacy of the story about Paulina shooting TR. And Eli [Lamon Archey] knows that Lani’s the shooter and tells Lani to keep quiet, but Lani’s guilt continues to eat away at her. She has visions of TR taunting her about what she did, so we will wonder if she’s going to come clean.”
As for Abe and Paulina’s wedding itself, fans will be thrilled to hear that the couple decide to get married now that Paulina has made bail on Monday, June 20. Realizing they don’t want to wait any longer to live their lives together, the pair alert their closest family and friends about their plans which just so happens to coincide with Juneteenth. The timing was intentional.
First implemented in 2021 by the United States, the newly established federally observed holiday celebrates the end of slavery when on June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger announced General Order No. 3 which stated that in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation, “all slaves are free.” One year later, Salem will honor the event with its first-ever commemoration of the Juneteenth holiday.
“The wedding coincides with Juneteenth, and we wanted to find a way to celebrate that. So we’re building toward this wedding, but have Lani growing uneasy with keeping this secret,” Carlivati said to Digest.
Photo by XJJohnson/JPI Studios
Officiating their wedding will be Eric Brady now that actor Greg Vaughan has returned to the show full-time. The wedding episode is scheduled to take place beginning Tuesday, June 21, and will include bouts of happiness and joy, mixed in with several twists and turns.