Days Recap: Days of our Lives Recap, July 7, 2025: Gwen returns to Salem

On Days of our Lives today, Monday, July 7, 2025, Xander and Sarah spar, Chad and Cat bond, Tate is happily oblivious, and the missing necklace – along with its new owner -- arrive on Julie’s doorstep.

What Happened on Days of our Lives

Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) saw something that put a damper on her night out. \Image: Peacock

In Horton Town Square, Sarah and Holly browsed the shops for a “girls’ night out.” Holly told Sarah about her reunion with Tate and her acceptance at the Sorbonne in Paris. Sarah was excited for Holly but understood Holly’s uncertainty about her path going forward. When Holly spotted Xander, she tried to get Sarah to leave. Sarah turned around, saw her husband, and affirmed she needed to face him.

Across the square, Cat and Felicity dined on ice cream as Felicity lamented her boyfriend being out of town for a week. Cat was less-than-pleased when Xander approached with the stuffed dog he’d gotten for Victoria. He handed the plush to Felicity as a peace offering and said he was sorry for taking so long to speak with her. Cat snarked about Xander being “detained” and was amused when Felicity labeled Xander an “ableist jerk.” Xander sat down and offered a more sincere apology, which Felicity eventually accepted.

Felicity gave him back the stuffed animal, however, pronouncing she was “too old” for it. Before she left with Cat, Felicity offered Xander a glow-stick and a “Happy Fourth.” Sarah caught Xander’s attention after she made a joke about his failed attempts to offload the stuffed dog. Xander admitted he’d acted like an “ass” toward Felicity, and he was truly sorry for it. He was surprised when Sarah acknowledged Xander could be “kind and empathetic,” but both agreed those instances had become “rare.”

Sarah offered to take “Rover” – as she called the stuffed dog – to the hospital for the children there. The gesture seemed to thaw relations between her and Xander because they agreed to join each other for dinner to discuss an arrangement for Victoria. Sarah departed briefly to fill Holly in on her plans.

Later, Sarah and Xander went to the Bistro for their dinner. With a smile, Sarah relayed a story that Maggie had told her about Victoria making a mess of the bathroom with toothpaste. As Xander and she shared a moment looking at pictures of their daughter, Sarah pondered how they were going to make co-parenting work when they couldn’t live with or without each other. Xander proposed an even 50/50 custody arrangement, with a nanny assuming childcare responsibilities when he was at work. Things grew tense after Sarah expressed reticence regarding Victoria picking up the wrong ideas about how to handle her emotions from Xander.

Xander shot back that Victoria also needed to learn “honesty and loyalty.” Sarah ignored the comment and asked Xander to pledge that he was sorry for what he had done to Philip and to vow that he would never take such an extreme action again. The conversation went further downhill when Xander again played dumb about Philip’s attack and again brought up Sarah’s lies. Sarah said she couldn’t reason with someone who believed lies were the biggest issue in the marriage. Xander threatened that the two of them would have to do things “the hard way.”

Sarah got angry at the veiled threat and stormed out. Shortly thereafter, Melinda arrived at the restaurant. Xander told her Sarah had forced his hand, so he wanted to proceed with a hardball strategy.

In Sophia’s bedroom, Sophia tried out her pregnancy pad. She quickly covered it up when she heard a knock at her door. It was Tate. He came inside and explained he’d brought Sophia glow-sticks since she couldn’t go out for any festivities. Sophia deemed the gesture sweet, but panic exerted itself when Tate made a motion to feel her stomach. After Sophia flinched, Tate apologized for overstepping.

Sophia wrote her reaction off as frustration at people always wanting to touch her stomach. She thanked Tate for the glow-sticks and declined his invitation to watch fireworks with his family. Tate urged Sophia to get in touch with him if she had any more contractions or needed anything. After Tate left, a distressed Sophia read an article on her laptop about a newborn baby being left at the firehouse.

Sophia made a call to Melinda and told her about the interaction with Tate. Melinda was relieved that Tate hadn’t suspected anything and that she and Sophia could go forward with their plan. Melinda indicated she could make it happen by the weekend. Sophia worried about Tate or her mom finding out the truth before then. Melinda wondered if Sophia was having second thoughts, but Sophia reassured Melinda -- and herself -- she had made the right decision.

Sophia did ask about writing a letter to her son that would explain to him the decision she had made. Melinda said she could arrange to have the correspondence delivered to the firehouse. Melinda also confirmed with Sophia that they would be traveling to Chicago as part of their plan. Sophia was concerned about Tate wanting to come along, but Melinda believed Sophia could devise a way to keep Tate at bay.

Later, Sophia watched the fireworks from her window. She lit a glow-stick and declared, “Happy Independence Day to me.”

Meanwhile, Tate met with Holly at the Brady Pub. The couple firmed up plans to grab a quick meal before going to see the fireworks. Once inside the pub, they ate fries and talked about fate bringing them together that night. Tate also looked forward to the lake trip but fretted about Sophia’s reaction. Holly reminded Tate he would be within easy reach if something happened with Sophia.

As Tate and Holly left the pub, fireworks lit up the sky. The teens enjoyed the show and marked the occasion with a kiss.

At the Horton house, Chad declined Julie’s invitation to attend a classical music concert with her and the kids for the Fourth of July. Julie tried to sell him on the merits of the music, but Chad explained he was going to Sweet Bits to get treats for Charlotte and Thomas. As he left, someone watched him from the bushes.

Back in the house, Julie called Hope for an update on the necklace. Hope informed her the necklace would be arriving the next day, which made Julie impatient. She wondered who had acquired the jewelry. Later, Julie returned with the kids from the concert. The mystery person spied on her with binoculars.

Back in Horton Town Square, Cat and Felicity encountered Chad on his way to Sweet Bits. Felicity left to retrieve the cupcakes she’d made for Chad. Cat and Chad smiled at each other, then settled on a bench to talk about their holiday plans. When Chad mentioned Felicity’s supposed gymnastics accident, Cat requested he not bring the incident up to her sister. Chad agreed and turned the subject to their upcoming date with Felicity.

Chad lightly bantered about Cat’s affinity for clowns and skydiving until Felicity returned with an empty cupcake box. She explained that Chanel had mistakenly assumed the cupcakes were for her and had taken them home. Felicity insisted on making another batch, which she promised she could do within the hour. After Felicity went back to the bakery, Chad invited Cat for a drink.

Later, Chad and Cat took their drinks to a nearby table and discussed the music concert the kids were attending, which prompted Cat to reveal her ill-fated stint in the school band. As the two shared a laugh, Felicity came back with the box of cupcakes. Chad bid the sisters goodbye and left for home, but not before stopping for a second glance at Cat.

Cat, meanwhile, figured out that Felicity had set her and Chad up for some alone time. Felicity revealed she hadn't actually needed to make another batch of cupcakes.

Back at the Horton House, Chad arrived with cupcakes in hand. He chatted briefly with Julie, but their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. As Julie wondered who could be visiting at the late hour, Chad went to answer the door. “You're not gonna believe who’s here,” he called to Julie.