Could Lani and Eli return to Days of our Lives for good? Sal Stowers has the answer

Lani and Eli Grant returned to Salem for Thanksgiving, marking another brief Days of our Lives return for Sal Stowers and Lamon Archey. While their presence is welcome, their visit turns bittersweet as they extend their stay to comfort Eli's grandmother, Julie, after she learns she's lost her beloved Doug.

Sal Stowers loves her Days of our Lives visits

Since Lani and Eli left town in 2022 after Lani was sentenced to prison for killing her biological father while trying to protect her mother, Stowers and Archey have made brief comebacks. Lani was released on furlough when Salem believed Abe had died in 2023. Earlier this year, the Grants were back again when Lani's sentence ended, and Paulina underwent cancer treatment.

This time around, Stowers gets to play some heavy emotional material that really hit home. Not only is DAYS saying goodbye to Doug Williams, a Salem mainstay since 1970, but the show also bids farewell to the actor who played him. Bill Hayes brought Doug to life for more than 50 years but passed away in January.

In an interview with Soap Opera Digest, Stowers couldn't stop raving about Susan Seaforth Hayes as she played out scenes of her character mourning her fictional husband while Hayes was still grieving for her real-life love.

"This was Susan’s real-life circumstance that she had just gone through, and she was having to relive it all over again," Stowers said. "I just want to speak to the woman that Susan is. For her to carry herself with such poise and grace through this… She was so put together during this really hard time in her life. It was absolutely beautiful and sad to watch, but I was really impressed by that."

Could little returns lead to a big one?

Stowers relishes her brief returns and never hesitates to say yes when DAYS asks her to reprise the character she's played off-and-on since 2015. Is it possible that Stowers and Archey will be back in Salem on a more permanent basis?

"Lamon and I have definitely talked about it," Stowers admitted to Soap Opera Digest. "We’ve always kind of kept that in the back of our minds, because we do love the show and we do love these characters. So definitely, in my mind, I hope to return."

Paulina certainly wants her daughter to live close again and asks her if that might ever happen.

"It’s definitely a bittersweet moment, but even within that episode, we do state that [living away from Salem is] not forever," Stowers explained. "We’ll figure it out. We’ll be back one day. I can’t tell you how many people are like, 'When are you guys coming back? We miss you. You’re what’s missing from the show. We want you back.' That feels really good'"

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So, never say never when it comes to Lani and Eli. They have become beloved DAYS mainstays for a reason, and whenever they return, Salem feels like home again.

Catch all-new episodes of Days of our Lives weekdays on Peacock.

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