Days of our Lives Comings and Goings: Tamara Braun Exits as Ava Vitali

Tamara Braun's latest stint as Days of our Lives' Ava Vitali is coming to a close this week as the actress just announced her last airdate.

Days of our Lives star bids farewell

Braun took to Instagram on the morning of April 1st with the news and assured fans that this was not an April Fool's joke.

"I wish this was an April Fool’s Joke, but it’s not. This is Ava’s last week on Days," Braun wrote. "Last couple of days really. Sad but true. I’ve been gone since late July of last year but you can still catch Ava on your screens until April 3rd! I miss being with my Days pals. They are a really good group of caring individuals and being with them was a joy."

So, it looks like Ava will be departing the Salem scene somehow on Thursday, which is the day that EJ DiMera (Daniel Feuerriegel) is shot. Could Ava have anything to do with the shooting, considering that EJ allowed her to be tied to an antique wheelchair for weeks while a madwoman kept her hostage?

Braun's history as mob princess Ava

Braun first joined the DAYS cast in 2008 as the daughter of a mafia kingpin. When she returned to the soap in 2011, Ava was off her radar. This time, Braun played Taylor Walker, Nicole Walker's (Arianne Zucker) younger sister. In 2015, Braun brought Ava back and has played her on and off ever since. Previously, Braun played Carly Spencer on General Hospital. She returned to GH in 2017 as Kim Nero.

Ava has ping-ponged between being a villainess and a sympathetic character. She has committed many crimes during her Salem tenure, but decided to live life on the straight and narrow the last few years — or at least as straight and narrow as possible.

Her romance with Steve Burton's Harris Michael's went belly up last summer, but she seemed to be finding love again with Brady Black (Eric Martsolf). Too bad his precocious daughter, Rachel, kept getting in the way. Ava tried ending things with Brady again last week, but later this week, she will be seen with a gun. That makes her a suspect in the EJ shooting case, so might she skip town to avoid the police? Stay tuned on Thursday to find out...

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