What happened to Hope Brady on Days of Our Lives? Explained

Hope Williams Brady is returning to the Days of Our Lives storyline after a long gap. The character was introduced with her birth in 1974 and was played by various child actors till 1982. Kristian Alfonso stepped into the role in 1983 and is playing till the present, while briefly replaced by Mila Kunis in 1994.

While Alfonso had announced her exit from the show in 2020, she appeared in the soap's spinoff, Beyond Salem, and again returned for a short stint in 2023. However, her return for the funeral of Doug Williams (Bill Hayes) and the 15,000th episode was announced some time back. The episode dated November 29, 2024, started her homecoming appearances.

For newly introduced fans, Days of Our Lives is one of the longest-running American soaps, airing since November 1965. While premiering on NBC, the soap shifted to Peacock as its airing platform. The soap's plot is set in the fictional Salem city and presents the dynamics between a few influential families in the city. That includes the Hortons, the Bradys, the Kiriakis, and the DiMeras.

Hope belonged to the Hortons from her mother's side while marrying into the Brady family, although her husband, Bo Brady, is also related to the Kiriakis family.

---

Days of Our Lives: A quick look at Hope Williams Brady

Hope was born in 1974 to Doug Williams and Adelaide Horton. While Adelaide had married Doug to break up her daughter Julie Olson's engagement with him, she ended up falling for the young man. However, after giving birth to baby Hope, cancer survivor Adelaide died in a road accident trying to save the newborn from being struck by an oncoming truck.

After losing her mother when she was nine days old, Hope was being raised by her father, Doug, and her grandparents, Tom and Alice Horton. Soon, Julie returned and married Doug. As such, Hope's half-sister became her stepmother. Soon Hope Williams was sent off to a boarding school. During these years, the character was being played by Kristina Osterhout, Kimberly Weber, Natasha Ryan, and Tammy Taylor.

Kristian Alfonso's Hope returned home in 1983. The young girl tried to catch Roman Brady's attention after having a crush on him. However, she fell in love with Roman's younger brother, Bo Brady. Due to her father's disapproval, Hope agreed to marry Larry Welch but ran away with Bo from the church.

Hope with her sister-cum-stepmother, Julie (Image via Instagram/dayspeacock)

Her love for Bo went through a lot of ups and downs on the soap, as did their marriage since 1985. After the couple had their son, Shawn-Douglas, they travelled the world on their boat with their child.

Years after being presumed dead due to an explosion in 1990, Hope was rediscovered by John Black in Stefano DiMera's home, calling herself Gina. Things turned complicated as Hope-turned-Gina got intimate with John and Stefano and became pregnant. On the other hand, the real Princess Gina replaced Hope in Bo's life. She was exposed when she tried to kill Shawn.

Bo rescued a pregnant Hope, and the couple had baby Zack. However, later Zack was killed in a road accident caused by Chelsea, Bo's daughter from a previous marriage. This caused a rift between the super couple.

The couple reconciled after having another baby, Ciara. When Bo's ex-girlfriend, Carly Manning, caused trouble in her marriage, Hope started taking sleeping pills, resulting in her sleepwalking crimes, which landed her in prison.

After some time, when Bo failed to return from his ISA assignment, a dejected Hope started an affair with Aiden Jennings and married him. However, when Jennings tried to strangle her, Bo appeared and rescued her. However, this reunion was short since Bo passed out from an inoperable brain tumor.

After Bo's death, Hope tried to move on with Rafe Hernandez. She also played the protective mother for Ciara as she started dating the shady Ben Weston. She was used by the crazy scientist Dr. Rolf, who turned her into Gina by planting a chip inside her.

---

Hope's current storyline on Days of Our Lives

Hope had been working for international law enforcement for some time and had been a victim of Megan Hathaway. March 2023 Days of Our Lives plot found Hope in Greece when Steve and John sent her to Victor's cottage. She discovered Bo Brady alive but brainwashed.

Bo took her atop a cliff wanting to throw her to death. Hope managed to calm him and tried to reach his subconscious mind. However, Shawn landed at the location and assumed his mother's life was in danger. He shot Bo, who went into a coma. Hope has been visiting the comatose Bo at the hospital, choosing to remain beside him till he wakes up.

Recently Hope's father, Doug Williams, died on Days of Our Lives. An inconsolable Hope was seen promising to return to Salem to be with her stepmother, Julie Williams. The episode, which aired on November 29, 2024, saw Hope rushing to the hospital and telling Bo about Doug's death when the latter moved his thumb. This hints at Bo waking up and the super couple making their return to the soap's storyline.

Stay tuned to Peacock to catch the upcoming episodes of Days of Our Lives as Hope returns to her family and friends.