What happened to Theresa Donovan on Days of Our Lives? Explained

Theresa Donovan is the daughter of Days of Our Lives supercouple Shane Donovan and Kimberley Brady. She was born on September 3, 1990, and played by various child actors such as Hannah Taylor Simmons, Emily and Alicia Pillatzke, Caitlin Wachs, and Gabriella Massari.

Theresa grew into an adult in 2013 and was played by Jen Lilley from 2013-2016 as well as appearances in 2018 and 2023. Also in 2023, Theresa was recast with Emily O'Brien.

Theresa is serving a six-month prison sentence after her husband, Alex Kiriakis, was revealed as a fraud by Fiona Cook in an attempt to get Xander Cook the inheritance to the Kiriakis family fortune. Her brother, Andrew Donovan, has been working out a plea deal for her.

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Theresa Donovan has had a turbulent history on Days of Our Lives

Theresa Donovan was involved with Brady Black for a considerable period. (Image via NBC)

Theresa Donovan has faced many turbulent story arcs throughout Days of Our Lives. While a teenager, Theresa encountered Mateo in Mexico, only to discover that the man was the son of a drug lord. Following this, she promptly left him and cut all ties.

Theresa then got involved with JJ Devereaux while struggling with a fixation on marijuana and developed a bitter enmity with his mother, Jennifer Horton. Furthermore, she even worked with Anne Milbauer to seduce Dr. Daniel Jonas in an effort to ruin Jennifer's love life.

Theresa began attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings in 2014 after an overdose caused her parents to intervene. However, she remained an addict while pursuing a romance with Brady Black.

Later, Theresa became pregnant with Brady's child, only for him to be stolen by Kristen DeMira. The boy, Christopher, was rescued by Brady Black and his old flame, Melanie Jones. Theresa renamed him, Tate, after getting him back and became possessive of Brady by trying to drive Melanie out of Salem.

After Brady catches on to her schemes and rejects her, Theresa seduces Xander Cook and accuses him of r*pe to get sympathy, and this time her ploy works.

Theresa subsequently butted heads with Victor Kiriakis after moving into the family mansion, resulting in her being kicked out for a time being. However, she ended up moving back into the mansion again after encountering a vengeful Xander who nearly killed her.

Eventually, Mateo tracked her down to Salem and demanded she come away with him. Deciding to expose Mateo from the inside, Theresa pushes Brady away and leaves Salem to go with Mateo, earning Victor's respect in the process.

Theresa Donovan subsequently returned in the 2018 run of Days of Our Lives where she continued her plot against Mateo and allied with Xander Cook for his assistance, in exchange for helping him get back into the Kiriakis family's good graces.

However, Theresa's return to Brady got complicated thanks to her deal with Xander, as well as Brady's relationship with Eve which he'd developed in Theresa's absence.

Theresa would eventually get involved in a succession battle between Alex and Xander. (Image via NBC)

By the time Theresa returned in the 2023 run of Days of Our Lives, Victor Kiriakis had passed away. This created a succession war over the Kiriakis family fortune, which Theresa got entangled in because of her new relationship with Alex Kiriakis.

This relationship blossomed thanks to her dynamic with Brady Black having cooled off, with Theresa making numerous futile attempts at reconciling with him before getting coldly rejected.

As a consequence, she opened up to Alex Kiriakis about her insecurities about being unlovable, only for him to reassure her that he truly did love her, causing them to get married.

However, with Fiona Cook's scheming landing Theresa in prison, it remains to be seen what the character will do next in Days of Our Lives.

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Days of Our Lives is streaming on NBC's Peacock.