According to a report by The Daily Mail, “Days of our Lives” will formally acknowledge the absence of the Victor Kiriakis character, famously played by the late John Aniston, in scenes set to air later this month and into early September on the daytime soap opera.
The outlet reveals that the character will be killed off in a plane crash, a method which allegedly doesn’t sit well with real-life daughter Jennifer Aniston.
“Jennifer hates to fly so this has rubbed her the wrong way but what can she do? They have to explain Victor’s death on the show,” a source told the publication, which shared that Jennifer has become close with some of her father’s co-stars in the months following his passing.
Reportedly, Jennifer has been coping with the loss of her father by reaching out to his colleagues at the show, even going so far as to host them at her home. “Jennifer has sent his friends gifts and called them and remember their birthdays and been a real sweetie,” claimed an insider. The source further states, “[Jennifer] has been incredibly generous and has had his friends up to her house for parties to talk about the good old days with John.”
In February, while celebrating her birthday, Jennifer thanked everyone for their well wishes in a post on Instagram as she reminisced about her parents, saying of dad John and her late mom Nancy Dow, “Thinking about these two humans that created me as I bask in the afterglow of a beautiful birthday. Thank you ALL for my birthday wishes. I felt sooooo much love from so many and ALL of it is going to carry me through this wild and beautifully unknown year ahead. I love you!”
In response to Jennifer’s post, Stephen Nichols, who plays Steve Johnson on “Days of our Lives” said, “Happy Birthday, Jennifer. Just prepping a ‘DAYS’ script which honors your dad, airing in August.”
John Aniston passed away on Friday, November 11, 2022. He last appeared “Days of our Lives” as Victor Kiriakis on the Monday, December 26, 2022 episode, which included a montage of some of his most memorable scenes. The episode ended with an “In Loving Memory” title card, which said, “Good Night, Sweet Prince; and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest…”
“Days of our Lives” airs Weekdays on Peacock.