As Eric sobbed over the loss of baby Jude on Days of our Lives, stepdad John shared that he knew how Eric felt. For years, John (as Roman) raised Carrie, Sami, and Eric. But when the real Roman returned, John was forced to step back from the kids he’d loved as his own. He isn’t the only one. It should make Eric feel better to hear how many parents have gone through the exact same heartbreak. Here’s just a small sampling.
You Were There
Most recently, Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) had taken care of little Mackenzie “Mickey” for almost a year, thinking the little girl was the one she’d given birth to before the truth came out that she was actually Rachel (Finley Rose Slater), Kristen (Stacy Haiduk) and Brady’s (Eric Martsolf) presumed dead child. Eric (Greg Vaughan) thought he was Mickey’s father, too. So why is he so torn up over Jude? This isn’t his first time at the rodeo!
Possession is Nine-Tenths of the Law
Kristen may have been Rachel’s rightful mother, but a few years earlier, she stole unborn Tate (Leo Howard) straight out of Theresa’s (Emily O’Brien) womb and raised him for months as her darling “Christopher.” She still thinks of Tate as “hers.” This may not be the creepiest thing about her…but it isn’t a great one, either.
Duped Date
Before he was Theo’s dad, Abe (James Reynolds) and his wife Lexie adopted a tot they named Isaac. Isaac turned out to be the biological child of Hope (Kristian Alfonso) and Bo (Peter Reckell), who swapped with JT, the boy Abe and Lexie were originally planning to adopt. Once the truth came out, JT’s biological father sued for custody and got him back, while Abe and Lexie surrendered Isaac to Hope and Bo, who renamed him Zach.
Temporary Custody
Back when Kayla (Mary Beth Evans) was going through her brief deaf period, she and Steve (Stephen Nichols) learned enough sign language to take in a tiny, deaf orphan boy named Benjy, whom they just happened to run into on their honeymoon. But Benjy turned out to be Stefano’s (Joseph Mascolo) biological son and to keep him from the evil villain, Kayla, and Patch let Benjy’s maternal grandfather take him far away from Salem.
Similarly, Rafe (Galen Gering) was happy to play foster dad to little David, the son of his crazy ex-girlfriend, Jordan (Chrishell Strauss). But then David’s biological dad turned up, and it was bye-bye David.
Legal Custody
Finally, Marlena (Diedre Hall) was forced to surrender her foster son, Johnny, and Maggie lost her adopted daughter, Janice, when their biological mothers returned and announced they now felt like taking care of their offspring again, no matter how much the kids cried and clung to their surrogate parents.
If there is one thing we know about Salem, it’s that children are now more than belongings to be passed from one adult to another, and their needs aren’t nearly as important as those of the grown-ups for whom it’s a matter of winning and losing.