What Happened to Justin on Days of Our Lives
Justin on Days of Our Lives is a character with a lot of history on the soap so it’s understandable if even longtime fans aren’t familiar with his past. He first appeared back in 1987 and was played by Wally Kurth until 1991. The actor left and took over the role of Ned Ashton on ABC sudser General Hospital that same year, but in 2009, returned to DAYS and has continued to play both roles in the years that followed.
Justin Kiriakis arrived in Salem to reconnect with his uncle Victor Kiriakis and took over the construction company. He soon fell head over heels for Adrienne Johnson and Victor objected to their relationship but they got married anyway. Unfortunately, their marriage hit a serious rough patch when he cheated on her with Anjelica Deveraux, an affair that resulted in a son, Alexander Kiriakis. Adrienne countered by having an affair of her own, and Justin’s attempt to have Emilio Ramirez killed actually resulted in Justin himself being paralyzed from the waist down.Â
After they divorced, Adrienne created a competing construction firm but they eventually reconciled and remarried. When Adrienne struggled to conceive a child, they adopted their housekeeper’s twins named Victor and Joseph. After a custody battle with the boys’ biological father, the housekeeper also tried kidnapping the kids! Justin and Adrienne not only got their sons back, she learned she was expecting and they left Salem before the birth of their son, Jackson, who was nicknamed Sonny.
When Justin returned in 2009, he revealed that he and Adrienne were on the brink of divorce again. Bo Brady and Hope Brady were also on the outs, and Justin and Hope had a brief and tentative relationship that didn’t really go anywhere. Adrienne’s return to town finalized their divorce but ultimately led to the pair reuniting and remarrying.
Justin and Adrienne were happy when Sonny came home, and supported him as he publicly came out as gay. Justin went into business with EJ DiMera to orchestrate a takeover of the DiMera empire and represented Sami Brady against murder charges. He also spoke at Sonny’s wedding to Will Horton.
In 2015, Justin and Adrienne divorced again after he had an affair during a business trip to Mumbai. He became Salem’s District Attorney and began a relationship with Eve Donovan. The following year, Justin was fired after Andre DiMera revealed he’d destroyed evidence. Anjelica returned in 2017 looking to ruin Adrienne but Justin helped thwart her schemes.
Justin was confused when Adrienne broke up with Lucas and married Victor, but then discovered that the real Adrienne was stuck in prison as part of Anjelica’s schemes and look-alike Bonnie Lockhart had taken over her life in Salem! He helped get Adrienne set free and they reconnected as Bonnie skipped town.
In 2019, Justin and Adrienne celebrated a double wedding with Jack and Jennifer, but when a year passed in the blink of an eye, Adrienne was dead and Justin was dating Kayla Brady! When Steve Johnson was implanted with Stefano’s consciousness and abducted Kayla, Justin teamed up with John Black to rescue her. Eventually, Steve was returned to normal and he urged Kayla to move on with Justin. But once they became engaged and planned to wed, Justin stepped down and let Kayla and Steve reunite.
Justin was stunned to encounter Bonnie at Adrienne’s grave and reluctantly agreed to help the writer with a contract dispute. He was happy to help her in court but not when she tried to kiss him! However, as more time passed, Justin admitted he could see a change in Bonnie and was actually falling for her. As their relationship deepened, she popped the question but Justin turned her down so he could propose instead. Unfortunately, their wedding was interrupted when Bonnie was arrested for murder. But Justin stood by her and once her name was cleared, the couple finally tied the knot in November 2021.
In 2022, Sonny came home for another visit and was clearly not pleased that Justin had married Bonnie. Justin was happy when his other son, Alex, returned to Salem in July. Later in the year, Justin worried when Bonnie was abducted, and furious to discover that Xander had been behind it. In 2023, he tried to intervene on Alex’s behalf to convince Maggie to give him another chance. After Victor died in August, the family was thrown into turmoil, particularly when Justin confirmed that legal documents made Vivian Alamain Victor’s sole heir! That was quickly cleared up but the new documents claimed that Alex was really Victor’s son, not Justin’s! Plus, the Kiriakis clan was dealing with the very suspicious Konstantin Meleounis wheedling his way into their lives via Maggie.
Justin tried to maintain a connection to his son, but Alex turned his back on the man he had thought was his father. The two continued butting heads until finally, in July 2024, as Alex was preparing to marry Theresa, Xander’s mother, Fiona Cook, arrived to reveal that the letter saying Alex was Victor’s son was a fake because she had written it! In the chaotic aftermath, both Justin and Alex forgave each other for the way they’d behaved and reestablished their father/son bond.
Stay tuned to see what happens next!
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