Days of Our Lives Comings & Goings Shocker: Four Actors Fired In Major Cast Shakeup

2026 is kicking off in dramatic fashion behind the scenes at Days of Our Lives, where a major cast shakeup is underway. Soap Opera Digest can confirm the news, first reported by The Daily Mail, that the show is saying good-bye to four contract players.

Exit Strategy

The four actors who will be leaving the show are Carson Boatman (Johnny), Raven Bowens (Chanel), Ashley Puzemis (Holly) and Leo Howard (Tate), who returned from the show’s holiday hiatus to the news of their firing. As a result, fans should brace themselves to lose two popular couplings: Johnny and Chanel, Tate and Holly. But, due to the show’s advance production schedule, the departures of the stars won’t take place on-screen until late 2026 or early 2027.

Of the four actors, Bowens has the longest tenure on the show, having made her debut as Chanel in March 2021 after she was tapped to succeed the role of Paulina’s (Jackée Harry) daughter from Precious Way. Boatman joined the Salem ranks shortly thereafter, with his first episode as the son of Sami (Alison Sweeney) and EJ (Dan Feuerriegel) airing on August 18, 2021. Puzemis has played Nicole’s (Arianne Zucker) daughter, Holly, since October 2023, and in April 2024, Leo Howard debuted as Brady’s (Eric Martsolf) son, assuming the part from Jamie Martin Mann. Johnny, Holly and Tate are all legacy characters who were born on-screen and rapidly aged.

Bowens and Boatman’s on-screen love story as Chanel and Johnny is a popular one. The characters were first married in 2021, and after a split, they tied the knot again on Valentine’s Day in 2024. Since then, they have expanded their family to include adopted son Trey, and the duo recently learned that Chanel is pregnant.

Meanwhile, Holly and Tate have emerged as the show’s most popular young lovebirds. They were first paired in 2023, surviving obstacles ranging from Holly’s overdose to the manipulations of Sophia (Rachel Boyd), who convinced Tate that he was the father of her baby boy.

There is no word yet on how the characters will be written out, but viewers can expect dramatic storylines for all four in the many months leading up to their departures.