What happened to Stephen Nichols character on Days of Our Lives? Explained

Stephen Earl Nichols is an American actor, who currently plays the role of Steve "Patch" Johnson on Days of Our Lives. Additionally, the actor is also known for appearing in multiple other daytime soap operas in a wide range of roles. In 1996, he joined General Hospital as Stefan Cassadine, while from 2009 to 2013, he was cast as Tucker McCall on The Young and the Restless.

As Steve Johnson, Nichols plays an often surly but continually developing character on the soap. Steve is a former crime family aide, who developed into a police officer and a former undercover agent during his storyline. He is married to the love of his life, Kayla Johnson, one of the most popular and prominent couples on the soap.

Steve is a regular character on Days of Our Lives and is involved in the Abigail storyline. He is trying to prove to Chad that Abigail is actually playing a hoax, and is not who she says she is.

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What happened with Stephen Nichols' character Steve Johnson on Days of Our Lives?

Stephen Nichols was introduced on Days of Our Lives as Steve in 1985 when he served in the Merchant Marines with Bo Brady. They both fell for a woman named Britta and ended up getting into a knife fight over her, which is how Steve lost his eye.

Steve came to Salem to work for Victor Kiriakis and the Kiriakis crime family. He fell in love with Kayla Brady and hooked up with her briefly. Then, he had to fake his death to escape his own boss, Victor. Steve went on the run with Kayla, and the two only returned when the threat was alleviated.

Steve and Kayla went through a tough period when Jack Deveraux entered their story. After a dramatic confrontation where Kayla had to get surgery for speech loss, Steve asked her to marry him. A few years down the line, Kayla also got pregnant with Steve's child. Their daughter Stephanie had to be raised solely by Steve after Kayla was declared guilty and jailed for the murder of Steve's ex-wife Marina. Thankfully, she was soon cleared of the murder conviction and the family was reunited.

At this point, Steve decided to take over the job post of a police officer in Salem. Unfortunately, he suffered from a coma after investigating a major explosion on the docks.

Steve reappeared 16 years later on Days of Our Lives, suffering from severe amnesia and calling himself Nick. He was discovered by Jack Devereaux, who took him back to Salem, taking Kayla by surprise. She tried her best to make Steve remember his past. After regaining his memories and finding out that his downfall was part of a DiMera scheme, Steve joined the ISA as an undercover agent.

During his tenure at the ISA, Steve was barely seen on screen on Days of Our Lives. He returned in 2o15 and worked on mending his relationship with Kayla and his own family. Steve also partnered with John Black to start a new private investigation business.

Steve went through multiple marriage issues with Kayla, especially in the situation where his ex Ava came to Salem. However, the couple always found their way back to each other, even remarrying on Valentine's Day in 2021.

Currently, Steve has been caught up in suspicion about the new Abigail in town. He believes she is not who she says she is, and is just pretending to be Abigail to get close to Chad. After a conversation with Kayla, Steve now wants to administer his DNA test to verify whether "Abigail" is telling the truth about her identity.

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Audiences can watch Days of Our Lives streaming online via Peacock. New episodes of the soap are released on all weekdays.