Days of our Lives' Emily O'Brien unpacks Theresa's latest Salem departure

Days of Our Lives fans probably got whiplash watching Theresa (Emily O’Brien) come and go recently. She went to jail for her part in forging Victor’s (the late John Aniston) will, and was released just in time to catch up on her son Tate’s (Leo Howard) fiasco with Sophia (Rachel Boyd) and their unborn child, as well as Brady (Eric Martsolf) being dumped by Ava (Tamara Braun).

That last plot thread could have meant there was a chance for Theresa and Brady to reconcile, but she’s not going to get a chance to catch up on anything now that she had to leave town for an emergency.

Theresa's mother needs her on Days of our Lives

Fans and characters were expecting that whatever ISA Director Shane Donovan (Charles Shaughnessy) was hiding had to do with the missing John (Drake Hogestyn). However, that wasn’t the case at all. Shane finally called his daughter Theresa to tell her that her mother Kimberly’s (Patsy Pease) cancer had returned. As a result, Theresa’s leaving Salem and is going to meet up with Shane so they can be there for Kim. (Learn about Marlena’s (Deidre Hall) frustration at Shane’s lack of answers.)

O’Brien spoke to Soaps and explained what she knew of Kim’s plight. “I think she has terminal cancer. Stage Four. I know it was pretty severe the way we did it,” she stated. She continued by explaining the thought that dominated Theresa’s mind: “I can’t think about anything else except to just go and take care of my mother in California right now.”

The interesting thing is Theresa’s going to miss out on some of the story resolutions, particularly what happens with Brady since Ava (Tamara Braun) has kicked him to the curb. When Theresa last left town, it was because she caused a huge disaster by collaborating with the villainous Konstantin (John Kapeolos), angering Brady. Now, she has paid for her crimes.

This time around, O’Brien noted that the two left things on a better note, feeling that they have a bond and a love that will continue to remain. “It’s just that she has to go deal with the biggest thing that’s come up in her life right now, and it’s her mother’s health,” she explained.

Goodbye...for now

Theresa also has to wrap her brain around the fact that her baby is going to have a baby. She didn’t have a say in the fact that Tate and Sophia wanted to give the child up for adoption.

O'Brien explained Theresa’s reasoning: “She has to kind of put [Tate’s fatherhood] to the side because of how serious the cancer is with her mother,” calling it “goodbye for now.”

However, we won’t have to wait too long to see O’Brien on the show again as she’ll be reprising her role as Gwen in a few short months. With the show’s 60th anniversary on the horizon, and all kinds of fun returns planned, Theresa may get happy news if Kim finds a miracle cure, as one often does in Salem.

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