Some people love her. Some people hate her. And others combine both in a "love to hate her" scenario. But how does Kassie DePaiva feel about her DAYS' alter ego, Eve? And does the actress think the woman's latest mistake -- sleeping with her daughter's boyfriend multiple times and being caught by his mommy -- will force her to finally grow up? Soap Central went straight to the source to find out.
From the moment DePaiva's Eve hit Salem, she's been trouble for those who hate her, like Melissa Reeves's Jennifer, and trouble for those who love her, like True O'Brien's Paige. And funny enough, she's been a bit of trouble for the actress, too. "Eve is definitely a challenge for me to pull off," DePaiva admits of her alter ego. "She is very different from me in real life. But I think she's most interesting when you're seeing her struggle with trying to find out who she is and trying to be a better person, because she just can't help [being bad]."
Case in point: knowing that she messed up by falling into bed with her daughter's boyfriend, J.J. (Casey Moss), but doing it again -- multiple times -- despite the consequences that are sure to follow. Some of those consequences have already slapped her in the face, as Jennifer is blackmailing her since learning that Eve hit the sheets with her son. And Jennifer's request that Eve stay away from J.J. and allow him and Paige to get back together again is a tough pill for the former singer to swallow.
"She's been blindsided by this," DePaiva explains. "As long as Eve stays away from J.J., Jennifer will never tell Paige. So whether [Eve has] feelings for J.J. or not, I mean, she has feelings for him, but whether they're love, lust, hate, jealousy? She's got all of those feelings. And it drives the fans crazy. They wanted that pillow to have stayed on Eve's head just a little bit longer. 'Kill her, kill her!' [laughs]"
Sometimes, as soap opera fans have seen happen over the years, characters must hit rock bottom as a way to a serious wakeup call and turnaround. Will that be the case with Eve? "I doubt that!" DePaiva says with a laugh, adding that her character's actions are bound to get even worse rather than better. "I think Eve would stoop as low as she could stoop to get what she wanted, and... all she knows is that she doesn't want to lose the love of her daughter."
As for the future of Eve in Salem -- whether Paige discovers her mother's dirty deeds or not -- DePaiva isn't sure what the powers that be have in mind. "NBC still continues to love Eve, even though Jennifer doesn't," she jokes. "But I don't know. This new team [of writers and producers] might love it or hate it. We'll found out, won't we?"
Do you think Eve has the ability to redeem herself? If so, what would you like to see for her future in Salem? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
