Days of our Lives: Nicole Faces Heartbreaking Eric Split – Bitter Showdown Coming?

Days of Our Lives sees Eric Brady (Greg Vaughan) and Nicole Walker (Arianne Zucker) in town for the Salem High School graduation ceremony, but of course, we only got to see Eric. But based on some big hints that are dropped, it looks like Nicole and Eric are headed for a split. And the next time that we have Greg Vaughan back to Days, we should see Eric single and maybe ready to mingle.

Let’s dive into why it looks like Nicole and Eric happily ever after is about to crash and burn and what that means for future storylines.

Days of Our Lives: Trouble in Paradise for Eric and Nicole?

So, we heard from Holly Jonas (Ashley Puzemis) that her stepdad Eric and her mom Nicole were at her graduation. But Holly Jonas (Ashley Puzemis) told Aaron Greene (Louis Tomeo) they were sitting on opposite sides of the auditorium and not even talking. Plus, Nicole took off right after Holly got her diploma because little Jude was back in Paris with his au pair and he had fallen ill.

But Eric stayed in town instead of heading back with Nicole to check on their son. And later, Eric confirmed on a recent Days of Our Lives episode, he and Nicole are not getting along right now. But you know what’s the deal with that? Is it big stuff? Is it little stuff?

Days of Our Lives: Eric’s Return

After going through the whole ordeal with Eric raising his and Nicole’s son, Jude with toxic Sloan Petersen (Jessica Serfaty) as an adopted baby, you know, Eric and Nicole finally found out the truth about Jude. They left town together as a happy little family unit. And since then, Eric has returned briefly, like when Brady Black (Eric Martsolf) was going through the ordeal of thinking he ran over Sarah Horton (Linsey Godfrey) and paralyzed her while he was driving drunk.

But then Eric left town again to go back to be with his true love, Nicole. But now she and Eric seem to be on the outs. And I mean to be fair, they are a longtime on-again off-again couple, but they did seem so happy last year when Nicole and Eric said goodbye to family and friends, left Salem, headed to Paris, France with baby Jude.

Is the Eric and Nicole Era on Days of Our Lives Finally Over?

So, now we’re at this point where we have to ask, is the Eric and Nicole era finally over for good on Days of Our Lives? So, some recent episodes of Days definitely tell us there’s an estrangement building between Eric and Nicole and soon it could get much, much worse. You know, first, Eric showed up by himself after John Black (Drake Hogestyn) was injured in the explosion and ultimately died, but no Nicole not being there to support her husband.

And former priest Eric officiated at his stepfather’s funeral, stuck around for his stepdaughter Holly’s graduation, and he also officiated Paul Narita (Christopher Sean), and Andrew Donovan’s (Colton Little) wedding with no word about why Nicole didn’t attend any event except for the graduation. You know, they could have said she was sitting off to the side or they could have done something to make it look like she was there with just offscreen mentions. And Holly and Eric both told people that Nicole wasn’t sitting with Eric at Holly’s graduation ceremony. So, it’s words getting around.

Ari Zucker’s Lawsuit and the Future of Nicole on Days of Our Lives

And the thing is, there’s just probably no hope for Nicole’s return to Days of Our Lives unless they recast the role. By now, unless you are living under the proverbial rock, you probably know Ari Zucker is suing Days of Our Lives. She filed the lawsuit. Gosh, it was like February last year or was it the year before? So, she’s suing NBC, several executives, the executive producer, a former producer and director, and it’s all about alleged harassment and inappropriate behavior behind the scenes. Many of these allegations related to now fired producer and director Albert Alarr.

However, the lawsuit also accuses the powers that be and I think Sony’s part of it basically of having no HR, having no intimacy coordinators to protect actors, ignoring accusations about behind-the-scenes behavior and especially behavior that resulted in allegedly poor treatment of the soap opera’s actresses. And we know a lot of them got cut in just a firing fit that again was allegedly tied back to Albert Alarr.

And all these are allegations, but because of the lawsuit, they’re not going to bring back Ari Zucker as Nicole. TV shows do not contract with actors that are actively suing them. Right or wrong, they just don’t. And they don’t even hire actors that have sued other networks in the past. If an actor sues, that can kill their career opportunities everywhere. And producer Ken Corday is a named defendant in the suit that Ari Zucker filed.

Will Days of Our Lives Recast Nicole or Break Up Eric and Nicole?

So, barring some divine intervention, like a literal miracle, Ari is not going to be playing the role of Nicole again. And that means that these mentions of trouble with Eric are likely foreshadowing an Eric and Nicole split because I think they would handle it differently if a recast was coming.

I’m not even sure the fandom would accept a recast of Nicole given the outrage over the backstage harassment allegations that already got one producer fired. I’ve seen a lot of comments on soap social media debating this whether they should recast, but most people seem to be against it. So, the simpler solution obviously is breaking up Eric and Nicole so he can come and go and pursue other love interests.

Days of our Lives:

It’s not something new for Eric and Nicole to make up and then break up. Those two have been up and down for many, many years. But then Eric and Nicole finally got their miracle baby, thanks to drugged biscuits from Chanel Dupree’s (Raven Bowens) bakery, Sweet Bits, and cheating on their respective partners. And then the whole divorce situation with Sloan and Eric and then EJ DiMera (Dan Feuerriegel) and Nicole, that was a rough road because they were just being very difficult about it.

And for a while, EJ flat-out refused to give Nicole the divorce. So, in the end, Eric got this great job offer to be a photographer in Paris, so he and Nicole took off. Holly visited them a couple of times. We’ve got plenty of off-screen mentions, and now those mentions have turned into the happy couple not being so happy.

Days of Our Lives 60th Anniversary: What’s Next for Eric?

Also, it looks like Eric may be in Salem more frequently now. He is part of the big Days of Our Lives 60th anniversary celebration airing in November. So, is that the point we’re going to find out they broke up? Maybe one of them had an affair. St. Eric is generally pretty loyal to the women in his life, but Nicole has a history of flings and infidelity.

So, she’s also always felt like she wasn’t quite good enough for Eric, so maybe there’s more serious things happening and that’s why Nicole wasn’t sitting with Eric at the graduation because Holly could have said they were together at her big day and then Nicole had to fly back to Paris for the sick baby. They didn’t have to make anything about a potential breakup.

So, Eric’s been pretty tight-lipped, but maybe he’ll confide in Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) why he and Nicole are having issues, or Holly could tell Tate and Aaron about what she knows about their fractured relationship.

I know that a lot of fans would just like to see Eric and Nicolel be happy, even if it’s offscreen. But other fans think that if Eric’s going to keep coming back that Nicole should either be recast or them broken up. Ari Zucker is the only woman who’s ever played the role of Nicole. And that’s why I just don’t think we’re going to get a recast and we’re definitely not going to get Ari back.

Potential Love Interests for Eric on Days of Our Lives

And don’t forget Sarah’s split from Xander Cook (Paul Telfer) right now. She and Eric once adored each other. So, they could push Sarah to Eric at least until she and Xander reconcile, which seems inevitable. Eric’s other ex, Jada Hunter (Elia Cantu), is currently single, but in the 60th anniversary photo shoot, she was doing pictures with Shawn Brady (Brandon Beemer).

So, a Jada Eric thing doesn’t seem likely. I do love Greg Vaughn. I would love to see Eric back to Days of Our Lives on a more regular basis, even a full-time basis, even if Nicole’s not going to be with him. So, drop your comments. Do you want them to recast Nicole or just let this breakup thing with Eric happen since clearly Ari is not going to be back days?

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