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What Happened to Will on DAYS OF OUR LIVES

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Will Horton on DAYS OF OUR LIVES has been through a lot in his young life from coming out of the closet to being murdered to having amnesia and being thrown in jail, so it’s understandable if some viewers might not remember everything about his history in Salem. But that’s where we come in — Join us for a rundown of some of the highlights of Will’s life!

Who plays Will on DAYS?

After a series of child actors, Dylan Patton took over the role of Will as a teenager in 2009, but in 2010 Chandler Massey stepped into the role. When he left to return to school in 2013, Will was recast with Guy Wilson who aired until 2015. With the character’s return to DAYS in 2017, Massey once again assumed the role, but in February of 2019, it was revealed that the character was being written out.

Who are Will’s parents?

Will was born in 1995 to parents Sami Brady and Lucas Horton, although at the time of his birth, Sami had convinced herself and everyone in Salem that Austin was really his father. Will had trouble growing up as his parents’ relationships were often turbulent with Sami swapping between Lucas and Austin. The kid even ran away to Chicago once when Sami and Austin split up. He was overjoyed to have his family together again when Sami married Lucas, but furious when his mother was blackmailed into marrying EJ DiMera instead. This led to Will moving to Switzerland to live with his Uncle Austin and Aunt Carrie.

Days of Our Lives Will Sami Lucas
Sami and Lucas started having problems with Will when he was a pre-teen played by Christopher Gearse.Paul Skipper/jpsitudios.com

Will returned to Salem in 2009 to find that his mother had adopted a baby named Grace, though that was just a lie to keep EJ from knowing he was a babydaddy. The young man befriended Mia McCormick, who also had given birth to a baby recently, and after Grace died, it was revealed that Nicole had switched Sami and Mia’s babies and was raising Sami’s daughter herself! Will began dating Mia but they split up when she cheated on him with her ex, Chad. After Sami married Rafe Hernandez, Will started dating his stepdad’s younger sister, Gabi Hernandez. But as he graduated high school, Will met Sonny Kiriakis and his life changed forever.

Days of Our Lives Sonny and Will Kiss
Sonny made Will realize his true feelings.Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

How did Sonny and Will meet?

After catching Sami cheating on Rafe with EJ, Will got really drunk at a party and kissed a guy named Neil. He confessed this to his grandmother, Marlena Evans, who offered her support and love as did Kate, who claimed she’d known for a while. Will confided to Sonny he wasn’t ready to come out as gay, and trying to convince himself he was straight, had a one-night stand with Gabi that left her pregnant. Later, Will started a relationship with Sonny and agreed to let Gabi claim Nick was her babydaddy. Nick didn’t want Will to be part of the baby’s life because he’s gay and blackmailed him into signing over his parental rights. But after Will was shot trying to save him, Nick allowed him to be named as father on the birth certificate. Gabi and newborn Arianna moved in with Will and Sonny to become a three-parent family.

Days of Our Lives Sonny and Will's wedding
Marlena presided over Will (then Guy Wilson) and Sonny’s nuptials.Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

Will and Sonny tied the knot in April 2014, but soon after, Nick was killed and Will confessed to the crime to protect Sonny, who he believed to be guilty. But it was really Gabi, who thought Nick was a threat to their daughter. While Gabi was in prison, Arianna was left in the care of Will and Sonny. Financial troubles began causing friction between the couple, and Will threw himself into his work, interviewing baseball player Paul Narita. Suspecting Paul to be gay as well, Will hoped for a scoop, but the athlete seduced him into bed! Will felt terrible, but things got worse when it turned out that Paul was Sonny’s ex! After the truth about his infidelity was exposed, Will still hoped Sonny would forgive him and tried desperately to get Paul out of town. But it was Sonny who left Salem to heal his wounded heart.

How did Will die?

While at his cousin Abigail’s apartment she shared with fiancé Ben Weston, Will called Sonny and left an emotional message expressing his love and begging for forgiveness. Unfortunately, Will then noticed a red necktie and was reminded of the recent stranglings in town done with just such a weapon. Ben returned home and began acting strangely. As Will realized that he was the Necktie Killer his fate was sealed and Ben strangled him to death!

But a couple years later, Ben has escaped from the mental hospital to interrupt Sonny and Paul’s wedding with the shocking news that Will is really alive! His family located him living in Nashville with Susan Banks, who led him to believe he was her late son, EJ. Although they convinced him to return to Salem, Will had no memory of the love he shared with Sonny and instead began dating Paul, which complicated things immensely! He attempted to use a drug to restore his memories, but it didn’t work and only brought back brief flashes. However, during John and Marlena’s wedding ceremony, Will was struck by a wave of memories and emotions as he finally remembered how much he loves Sonny.

Days of Our Lives Sonny Will hospital
Sonny and Will feared the worst.XJJohnson/jpistudios.com

Unfortunately, Leo Stark, the guy Sony had briefly dated while Will was with Paul, tried to blackmail Sonny into marriage, and when the three guys got into a fight, Sonny knocked Leo into the fireplace and they believed him dead! Sonny and Will grew closer as they covered up his death, and after Will regained his memories and Paul left town, things finally looked to be on the right track… until Leo showed up alive! This time, he forced Sonny to marry him, threatening to expose their attempted murder. But Will and Sonny remained as close as ever, sneaking time together and plotting to get Leo out of their lives. Unfortunately, once they succeeded, Leo put the evil eye on Will, and the couple feared the curse was real when Will suffered fainting spells and ended up in the hospital! The doctors diagnosed him with an inoperable brain tumor that appeared to have been caused by Rolf’s serum that gave Will back his memories. Fearing his time was running out, Will remarried Sonny in the hospital and very nearly died before Rolf’s antidote saved his life.

Why was Will in prison?

After one year passed in the blink of an eye, Will was locked up behind bars with Ben as a cellmate. Blaming himself for the death of Adrienne Kiriakis, Will accepted his punishment and pushed Sonny away, feeling guilty about taking away his mother. As Sonny grew closer to Evan, Will agreed to end their marriage and urged his husband to move on with his life.

Will learned from Gabi that it was actually Maggie Horton who had run Adrienne’s car off the road, killing her, but was reluctant to ruin her life just so he could get out of prison. However, after Xander Kiriakis told Maggie the truth, she took responsibility for the accident, and Will was set free. Reunited with Sonny, the couple discussed having another child, and when Will’s sister, Allie Horton, returned to Salem pregnant, they set their eyes on adopting the infant.

Unfortunately, Sami threw a monkey wrench into that plan by convincing Allie not to sign the adoption papers and when Sonny asked him to come with him for a fresh start in Phoenix, Will agreed. The couple left Salem with Ari, promising to return one day.

Stay tuned to see if Will comes back to continue his story!

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