Days of our Lives Recap July 24: Johnny Learns the Truth, Xander Has a Breakthrough, and EJ Targets Kristen

TL;DR: In today’s Days of our Lives recap for Friday, July 24, 2026, Johnny confronts EJ over planting pills in Holly’s bag, Xander realizes the hospital bag may hold the key to the truth, Gwen’s disappearance raises more suspicions, and EJ orders Rita to get rid of Kristen.

Days of our Lives Recap July 24

At the pub, Kayla told Steve she was concerned she couldn’t reach Gwen after Gwen had been so keen to buy the hospital. They both thought it was possible that EJ was involved. Steve told her that if she still hadn’t heard from her later that day, he’d message Shane and ask him to search her calls.

Brady took Kayla’s seat, and he and Steve talked about their research into Coriseal. Steve found out that DiMera Pharma likely cranked out a bunch of bad pills then got rid of them, burying the evidence to protect themselves.

Steve said whoever was behind it probably thought they were getting away with it — until he and Sarah started looking into it.

Johnny Confronts EJ

Johnny came to the DiMera mansion and accused EJ of planting the pills in Holly’s bag. EJ reluctantly admitted that he did it to throw Sarah and the others off the trail. “I did what I had to do for the company and for the family,” EJ said.

Johnny angrily told him that he understood his goals but was ashamed of his methods. EJ suggested that since they did share goals, he hoped he was still with him. “What choice do I have?” Johnny grimaced before leaving.

Sarah and Xander Talk About Holly

At the Kiriakis mansion, Sarah and Xander were both home, hanging out and talking. Xander promised that he would be there for her with her mom out of town. She said she didn’t tell her about the Titan crisis, and Xander hoped to have it all fixed before she needed to know.

Talk turned to Holly, and Sarah told Xander how they were fighting. Xander said he believed that EJ had dumped pills near the Horton cabin and it tainted the well. He didn’t know how pills got in Holly’s bag, but he wasn’t willing to give up figuring it out yet.

Sarah warned Xander to be careful as she didn’t want anything to happen to him. They had a moment of looking at one another, and Xander could tell that Sarah still cared about him.

Leo and Cat Search for Gwen

Leo tried to reach Gwen again, but she still wasn’t returning calls. He said the housekeeper went into her room and made up a reason to be there, claiming he’d come to borrow her hair gel. Once inside, he found a business card for her lawyer. He knew he was supposed to hear from him if something happened to her, and then he was to release the letter with the goods on EJ.

Meanwhile in the square, Cat had a call from Andrew, who said that Gwen hadn’t used her phone since the morning the day before. Leo approached her after she hung up, asking for her help.

Leo explained that Gwen had created a dead man’s switch on EJ. He said it had only been 24 hours, but he was supposed to wait 10 days. He showed her the business card and said he was going to storm into his office, demand the letter, and then throw the switch.

Leo said if Cat was ISA, maybe she could look into it instead. “Pretty pretty please?” he begged. Cat denied being ISA but promised not to tell EJ anything that he’d said.

Melinda Finds an Empty File

At Melinda’s office, EJ warned her to tell her client, Amy Choi, to back off of Holly, or there would be hell to pay. He said that she either dropped the case, or he’d countersue that Sophia tried to kill Holly, and that Amy was responsible for Sophia’s death through negligence. “Trust me, Melinda. Neither of you wants to fight me on this,” EJ told her.

EJ was leaving as Leo came looking for Gwen’s lawyer, CJ Richardson, but Melinda said he was on vacation. Melinda said that since EJ just threatened her, and for old time’s sake, she’d look into it. She had CJ’s files while he was away and, sure enough, found a file with his name on it. Leo pleaded with her to give him the letter. Melinda was going to, but when she opened it, the file was blank.

Steve and Brady Share Their Theories

Sarah went to work, and when she saw Kayla, she told her that Holly had requested a new doctor. Steve and Brady showed up and told them what they knew in their research of the Coriseal case.

Although they didn’t have proof, they were sure it all went back to EJ. Brady told Sarah privately that he may have rushed to judgment on thinking that Holly was using again. Sarah said if she was wrong she made a major mistake and felt awful already at the thought.

Meanwhile, Steve got confirmation from Shane that Gwen’s phone hadn’t been in use. He said he was calling the Salem PD and starting with a wellness check.

Xander Has a Breakthrough

At DiMera’s CEO office, Xander walked in as Johnny was raging. He asked if everything was alright, and noted that he knew his father put him in unfavorable positions.

Xander said he knew Johnny lied about the missing DiMera Pharmaceutical files. He said he just wanted to help Holly and needed to know whether she was really using. He begged Johnny to tell him the truth, and promised that he could tell him anything, and EJ would never know.

Xander said he could tell Johnny knew something. “Holly swears those pills aren’t hers. I believe her…do you?” Xander asked. Xander had a flashback to the bag he brought to the hospital and how he’d left it on the nurses’ desk while talking to Sarah.

“Oh my god, the bag!” Xander exclaimed. Johnny asked what he meant, but Xander bolted out of his office.

Cat Grows More Suspicious

In the square, Cat saw EJ and asked him whether there had been any movement on the hospital sale. EJ said no because apparently Gwen had disappeared off the face of the earth. Cat wondered if it was good fortune or good timing.

“Cat Greene. You wouldn’t be accusing me of something, would you?” EJ growled. Cat backtracked and apologized if it came out sounding that way. EJ also apologized for jumping to that conclusion and lashing out at her.

EJ told Cat that he didn’t know what he’d do if she wasn’t by his side. Cat told him that he didn’t need to worry about that, and he melted.

Later, Cat was on her laptop, with the “Give to Leo Stark” document folder open from the lawyer’s office server. The folder was marked “downloaded and deleted.” “Oh, EJ, what have you done now?” she sighed.

EJ Makes a Dangerous Decision

At home, EJ talked to his father’s portrait. He told Stefano that he taught him how to survive but not how to feel. EJ had many flashbacks to all the things he had been accused of lately – and done.

EJ told Stefano that Lexie was dying. He picked up the phone and called Rita, telling her that he had enough to deal with without worrying that Kristen was a threat to his children. “I want her gone,” he said.

Stay Tuned to The Soap Scene

Miss a day? Catch up with our daily recaps for Days of our Lives — or be the first to look ahead with our DOOL spoilers at The Soap Scene!

For the daily spoilers, casting updates, birthdays, and more, bookmark our Days of our Lives page at The Soap Scene — and be sure to get the up-to-the-minute news, spoilers, and more on our social accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and X/Twitter. 

We want to hear from you, so be sure to leave a comment or you are welcome to join our Facebook chat rooms!