Days of Our Lives: Stefan DiMera returns from the dead – and Vivian outsmarts the FBI!

days of our lives It’s revealed that Stefan DiMera (Brandon Barash) may still be alive and well. His mother, Vivian Alamein (Louise Sorel), must be hiding something about Stefan’s fate.

It looks like Gabby Hernandez’s (Cherie Jimenez) ex-husband may show up in Salem again at some point.

Did Vivian Alamein forge the death documents of Stefan DiMera on Days of Our Lives?

Vivian recently told Eli Grant (Lamon Archie) and Rafe Hernandez (Galen Gerin) that her son Stefan’s heart, which was transplanted from identical twin Jack DiMera, died of heart failure late last year. At first, Vivian offers a photo of Stefan’s tombstone in Alamainia, but it doesn’t make any sense.

Vivian then provided a copy of Stefan’s death certificate, but she didn’t submit it until December 2025, a full two months after Stefan’s alleged death. This does look suspicious. Rafe and Eli thought it was sneaky, too.

Vivian is an expert at forging documents. Witness the chaos she caused for Xander Cook (Paul Telfer) when she forged a letter from Victor Kiriakis (John Aniston) stating that he wanted Philippe Kiriakis (John Paul Lavoisier) to be his heir. This also passed the test.

Because they were skeptical, while Rafe and Eli were attending to official business in Alamainia, they continued to exhume Stefan’s remains and conduct DNA tests on them.

Shocking butler testimony reveals Stefan was held captive by DOOL

When Rafe and Eli travel to Alamainia to investigate a CCTV feed from the basement, they return to Salem with much more information than they bargained for. This week, they meet the housekeeper who was fired by Vivian.

FBI agents learned that Vivian was holding Stefan against his will until he died in captivity, and they knew nothing about it.

When Rafe and Eli first question the woman, they expect to hear that the man locked up in the house is Dimitri von Leuschner DiMera (Peter Porter). Vivian swears repeatedly that Dmitri is an unwelcome tenant, then evicts him and returns him to Salem without his belongings.

Instead, the housekeeper said she had no idea who Dmitri was. She told agents that the only man she saw in the house where she was being held was Stefan and that he was in good health. He tried to stay healthy while in captivity and mentioned missing his wife.

Vivian Alamain cunningly plots to break up Gabi Hernandez and Stefan DiMera

The housekeeper said that was a year ago, about eight to ten months before his death. The former housekeeper seemed shocked when Rafe and Eli told her about Stefan’s death. According to her, she didn’t look sick when Stefan was still working for Vivian.

Now Rafe knows that Stefan didn’t leave Salem of his own free will, and he never wanted to divorce Gabi. He was taken from her, and Vivian was the culprit. Viewers know that Stefan wants to reconcile with Gabi and work on their marriage.

At this moment, Vivian’s valet Ivan Malles (played by Ivan Guevera) knocked Stefan unconscious, stuffed him into the trunk of the car, and then abducted him to Alamainia. Vivian wanted to control Stefan’s life and never agreed to his marriage to Gabi.

Vivian may not accept that any woman is worthy of her son. We even saw Vivian forge Stefan’s signature on the divorce decree she gave Gabi before she left town.

Will Gabby Hernandez dump Philip Kiriakis for Stefan DiMera?

Now, more than a year later, Gabby still thinks her ex wants to leave her and Salem behind. She is currently grieving his death. I can’t wait for Gabi to learn that Stefan was held captive by his mother and actually wants to be with her.

I do feel sorry for Philip, though. He was very supportive of Gabby’s feelings for her late husband. Wait until Gabi finds out she was cheated on and lost her future with Stefan; that’s going to sting.

Gabby and Phillip are also heading to Miami for a romantic getaway. This news may put some pressure on their budding relationship. I think Gabi will dump Philip like a hot stone and take him back when Stefan suddenly returns to Salem.

Double Switch: Will Jack DiMera be in Stefan DiMera’s grave?

When Eli and Rafe confronted Vivian, the way Vivian grimaced made me think she was still hiding something. I really don’t think Stefan is dead. I thought he might still be alive and maybe Vivian sent him somewhere to hide him before Rafe and Eli showed up.

It’s a real risk for Vivian to leave Stefan at the manor while the FBI raids the manor. Rafe and Eli are supposed to learn from the FBI lab that the DNA in the exhumed remains matches Stefan.

While it does appear that he is dead, he had an identical twin brother, Jack, who also died, and the DNA matched. Vivian could have put Jack’s body in Stefan’s coffin. I wonder if Rafe and Eli would consider checking Jack’s grave as well.

Masterplan for DiMera Estate by Vivian Alamin and Peter Blake on Days of Our Lives

If Stefan did die in October, then Vivian would have no motive to work with Peter Blake (Jason Brooks) to plan DiMera’s kidnapping. It now appears that Vivian, if not the mastermind, is at least an accomplice in this crime.

If Stefan were still alive, Vivian would not have participated because she had no chance of acquiring any of Stefano DiMera’s (Joseph Mascolo) fortune. I suspect Vivian lied and said Stefan was dead so she and Peter could discuss dividing the estate.

Stefan could then reappear alive, and if they killed the others in the basement as planned, he and Peter could run the DiMera Corporation together since two of the few DiMera’s would be gone.

Days of Our Lives Spoilers: The Fallout of Stefan DiMera’s Return

At this point, there are so many red flags that we can say that Stefan DiMera may still be alive. I’d give it a 98% chance. Also, people rarely die all the time days of our lives.

Once Gabi and Phillip commit to each other, that’s the perfect time for Stefan to escape from where Vivian has hidden him. He will most likely escape his evil mom and return to Salem in search of a reunion with Gabi.

If Stefan were still alive, there would be many consequences. Philip may end up being collateral damage, which is ironic since he is titan Especially because of Vivian’s tricks.

I expect more twists and turns soon as Raph searches for answers. After returning from Alamainia, Rafe will confirm to Gabi that Stefan is dead based on the DNA results. But if Jack’s remains were in that grave, those results might be accurate, but they might be misleading.