Days of Our Lives Recap August 12: EJ and Rita Take Down Devlin, Philip asks Gabi for $5 million

TL;DR: In today’s Days of our Lives recap for Wednesday, August 12th, 2026, Xander and Sarah grew closer, Rachel decided she was calmer without Kristen around, Philip asked Gabi for five million dollars to enter a poker game in Monte Carlo, Aaron kissed Ari, and EJ and Rita tranquilized Devlin St. John.

Days of our Lives Recap August 12

Holly and Ari went shopping while Tate and Aaron worked out at the gym. Holly told Ari that Mrs. Choi was dropping the charges. Ari gave her a pep talk on letting what happened with Sophia go and not carrying guilt forever.

Meanwhile, Aaron convinced Tate to go together to find the girls. They found them in the square, then Aaron pretended that he and Ari had to be at a thing. Holly and Tate wondered what they were up to as they ran off.

Aaron and Ari set up some chairs and a BBQ in the park for them all to hang out. They said it was like what they were going to do at the Horton cabin, but with a better ending. Later, Aaron took Ari aside, and they kissed.

Rachel Makes A Big Admission 

At Brady’s, Rachel was feeling down about Kristen. She recalled how, the previous year, her mom took her back to school shopping right before she went to prison, and now she was gone again.

Brady explained that Kristen didn’t go away because something was more important than her; she left to protect her. Rachel didn’t understand, but Brady tried to convince her that Kristen would return when she could.

Rachel said that she learned in Bayview that just because Kristen was her mom, she didn’t have to trust Kristen or want to be like her. She noted that something bad always seemed to happen when Kristen was around. 

It occurred to Rachel that her life was better when Kristen wasn’t there. Brady said he knew they loved one another, but now that she knew her mom would be okay, he hoped she could take a break and relax. He added that he knew Kristen would want her to feel calmer inside, too. Rachel cried in his arms as he comforted her.

Xander and Sarah Get Closer

At the Kiriaskis mansion, Sarah walked into the living room and overheard Xander on the phone, talking about selling the estate. He hung up and told her what was happening with EJ calling in the loan, and how they were going to lose everything.

Xander said he just told Maggie, and she told him she’d rather sell than hand the estate over to EJ. Xander and Sarah had a gentle conversation about their relationship and lack of trust. He pointed out it had to be restored before they could think about the future.

Sarah said that she couldn’t imagine anyone but the family in the mansion and said she worried about Xander. He told her the thing that upset him the most was no longer living with Sarah and Victoria. 

Xander asked Sarah to tell Brady what was happening, as he thought it might be better coming from her. They agreed she should tell him right away before he heard it from someone else.

Philip’s Five Million Dollar Idea

At Titan, Philip told Gabi that he’d been up all night and had come up with a way to get them out of their mess: a poker game. Gabi asked if he was good enough to win $200 million in a game.

Philip said he had wrangled himself into a high-stakes game in Monte Carlo next week. The problem was that there was a $5 million buy-in. Philip was willing to risk it to win $200 million back.

Philip told Gabi that he’d feel awful if she lost her investment to EJ. He pointed out that she was willing to risk her money on the stock market and asked her to give him the $5 million.

Philip explained that he had done a lot of stupid things in his life but playing poker was the one skill he still had confidence in. He asked Gabi to get him back in the game, and said he couldn’t do it without her. Gabi thought his request was crazy. 

As Philip was asking, Xander came in and asked what they were doing. Philip said they were coming up with ideas on how to save Titan but came up with nothing. 

Brady Finds Out About Titan

Sarah went to Brady’s and told him that the family was going to lose Titan and the Kiriakis estate. He was devastated by the news of Basic Black being gone. Sarah comforted him, but Brady said that when you put it all into perspective, his kids were turning their lives around, and that was all that mattered to him. 

Brady updated Sarah about how Kristen came there dressed as Susan Banks, and how Rachel said she was better off without Kristen in her life. When Rachel came out, she was happy to see Sarah and looked forward to going back-to-school shopping.

EJ and Rita Attack Devlin

At the DiMera mansion, Devlin told EJ they had an emergency public issue, and the Coriseal not only linked back to DiMera Pharma, but George blabbed about their huge cover-up. He said that EJ had been treating Smith Island like a waste bin, although EJ claimed to have no interest in it. 

Devlin thought that was interesting since he’d found an excavation that looked like it was dug by a frantic golden retriever, and it confirmed George’s story precisely. 

EJ didn’t see the relevance since the well had been remediated. Devlin said the arsenic could absorb into the water panel, which meant that one bad storm could spread it through town. “Nature doesn’t care about your posturing, Mr. DiMera,” he scolded.

Devlin asked if EJ really wanted it to get out what he’d done. EJ accused him of blackmail, but Devlin pulled out an itemized list of expenses that EJ would be accruing. EJ changed his description to hush money instead. EJ turned his back to Devlin and typed an SOS message to Rita.

Right on cue, Rita showed up with a tea tray. Devlin passed on drinking anything in the DiMera home, but EJ happily took a cup. Devlin said he was leaving, and EJ casually asked if he had a wife. When Devlin said no, EJ noted there was no one to notice if he didn’t return. He grabbed Devlin from behind and held him while Rita stabbed him with a needle.

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