Here’s How Days of Our Lives Julie Soldiers On
Susan Seaforth Hayes explained that many viewers can relate to Julie’s grief, and that women needed a strong role model to portray it accurately.
It’s hard to believe that Days of Our Lives’ Bill Hayes left this mortal coil in January 2024. He played the beloved Doug and happily worked alongside his real-life wife, Susan Seaforth Hayes, who played Doug’s wife, Julie.
With art sadly imitating life, Bill’s passing was addressed on the show by having Doug die, and Seaforth Hayes has had to relive her painful moments as Julie went through the same grieving process.
The actress recently opened up about how Julie manages to continue on without Doug.
Fans Were There From the Beginning
Hayes spoke to Soap Opera Digest and explained that she felt many female viewers of the soap could relate to Julie, considering wives often live longer than their husbands.
However, she further remarked how this particular storyline was handled differently than other stories where a spouse is killed off. “
She continued to try to face reality, feel the pain, and not inflict it on others or expect special treatment because of it,” she said of her character.
The DAYS actress also noted that longtime viewers know that Doug and Julie’s portrayers were real-life husband and wife and that the audience was present from courtship until death.
She felt that the viewers were fully aware “that Susan and Bill really loved each other. So there’s a certain depth, and I appreciated that.”
Support Is Key
Hayes also stated that everyone involved in working on the show was nothing short of supportive of her in her time of need.
She explained that everyone from executive producer Ken Corday to the camera operators was “outstandingly considerate” and loving. She noted that since her husband’s passing, the show has become the center of her world.
Seaforth Hayes also remarked that she has a few female friends who also lost their husbands, and it seems like they’re in a special club.
Between the fan support and that of her co-workers, she felt confident in explaining, “Women need support at this time. Anyone who has lost the center of their universe needs a bit of extra support.”
