Photo Credit: JPI Studios Days of Our Lives’ Abigail Klein hints at why this isn’t just another reunion — it’s layered with history.

Jeremy’s return to Salem on Days of our Lives hasn’t exactly been a warm reunion for Stephanie. His visit already had her visibly uneasy, and for good reason — the last time Jeremy was in her orbit, it ended in violence. With that history hanging over their every interaction, Stephanie’s body language says it all. Off-screen, Abigail Klein opened up about revisiting this tense storyline and why it’s important not to ignore what happened in the past.

Key Takeaways

• Jeremy’s return to Salem immediately rattles Stephanie, whose past with him is rooted in violence and fear.
• Abigail Klein revisited the infamous hot tub scene before filming to fully understand Stephanie’s mistrust.
• She described the contrast between Jeremy’s dark past and Michael Roark’s kind personality as both challenging and fascinating to play.
• Klein and Roark were intentional about honoring their characters’ history rather than rewriting it.
• Klein stressed that no woman would trust someone like Jeremy so easily in real life.
• 

Facing the Past

Klein spoke with Soap Opera Network about what it was like to step into a story that predates her time on the show, but casts a long shadow over Stephanie. Before filming, she looked up the infamous hot tub scene where Jeremy held Stephanie’s head underwater — a moment that has never fully gone away. “I watched that before we started filming everything, and I was like, that’s all I needed to see,” she said. “Now I know how Stephanie feels about this guy.”

She admitted that playing out those moments with newcomer Michael Roark was a bit of a mind twist. Jeremy may have a violent past, but the actor who plays him is, as Klein put it, “such a sweetheart, such an angel.” That contrast actually made it harder to maintain that tension on set. “I was like, how do I have this tension with you? You’re so wonderful,” she said with a laugh.

But they found the balance. She stated that both she and Roark tried to honor what their characters had done in the past. They don’t want to rewrite anything, just acknowledge what happened between them and let it shape what’s to come.

Keeping Stephanie Smart

When it came time to shoot their first scene together, Klein was determined not to allow Stephanie to simply “let him in.” The script called for her to invite him into the apartment and close the door, but she and the director made a choice that changed the tone entirely. They decided to keep the door open, subtly letting the audience feel Stephanie’s guard was still up.

After reviewing the previous scenes, she hilariously remarked, “If that ever happens to you in real life, run and stay away.” She explained that no real-world woman would trust Jeremy after everything he did. She reflected on his recent return, noting, “If this were to happen to me in real life, I would not invite him in.”

She further explained that Steph purposely left the door open so that Jada (Elia Cantu), who’s now across the hall, might hear if anything awful happened. She also pointed out that some fans who don’t know Stephanie and Jeremy’s history are rooting for them to get together. That’s something the show may address head-on.