Days of Our Lives Spoilers: Chad DiMera Walks Away from Salem and Leaves the DiMeras in Ruins

TL;DR: Chad DiMera packs up Thomas and Charlotte and heads to Arizona on Days of Our Lives, and February 17 marks the last airdate for Billy Flynn and both child actors. This isn’t just a goodbye. It’s the end of an era that leaves the DiMera family without a moral center.

The Last Good DiMera Is Walking Out the Door

There’s no sugarcoating this one. Chad DiMera is leaving Salem, and he’s taking his kids with him.

Tuesday’s Days of Our Lives delivers the gut punch fans have been dreading. Chad, Thomas, and Charlotte DiMera are headed to Phoenix, Arizona, and this isn’t some open-ended “we’ll be back in a few weeks” situation. Billy Flynn’s final episode as Chad airs February 17, along with Cary Christopher (Thomas) and Autumn Gendron (Charlotte). Three actors. One episode. Done.

Let that sink in for a second.

The decision didn’t come out of nowhere. Tony DiMera was actually the one who planted the seed, suggesting Arizona because Will Horton and Sonny Kiriakis already live there. A built-in support system far away from the wreckage Salem created. Smart move? Probably. But it still stings watching the only DiMera with a functioning moral compass pack his bags while EJ DiMera is busy crowning himself the next Stefano.

If Chad DiMera’s heartbreaking goodbye has you feeling some type of way, we want to hear about it. Write to the editor at [email protected] and let us know your thoughts!

A Father Broken by His Own Choices

Here’s the thing about Chad DiMera that makes this exit so painful. He did this to himself. Not entirely, not without help from about six other people who made everything worse, but the domino that started the fall? That was all Chad.

When Cat Greene showed up pretending to be Abigail Deveraux, Chad wanted to believe it so badly that he suspended every ounce of common sense he had. And when the truth came out? When the ISA confirmed that Cat was an agent coerced into the impersonation? Chad didn’t just walk away. He caught feelings for the woman who wore his dead wife’s face. He actually pursued a romance with Cat Greene after knowing who she really was.

Thomas found out. And that was the end.

A kid discovering his father is dating the woman who pretended to be his dead mother… there is no therapy session on earth that fixes that overnight. Thomas fled to the Horton House and refused to come home. Jennifer Deveraux, Abigail’s mother and Thomas’s grandmother, stepped in with a custody agreement that basically told Chad DiMera to choose: his children or Cat Greene. Never both. Chad signed. He kept his kids. But the father-son relationship? Shattered.

A Grave Visit That Will Wreck You

The February 17 episode reportedly features Chad standing at Abigail’s grave for one final conversation. A monologue. A promise to carry her with him. If you’ve been watching Billy Flynn play this role for over a decade, you already know this scene is going to require tissues. Possibly an entire box.

After the grave visit, Chad gathers Thomas and Charlotte for a farewell at the Horton House with Jack Deveraux, Jennifer, and Julie Williams. Three generations of Hortons saying goodbye to two DiMera children who are half Horton by blood. The emotional weight of that scene is enormous. These kids lost their mother. Now they’re losing Salem too.

The Vacuum EJ Has Been Waiting For

And while Chad DiMera prepares to leave? EJ DiMera is already making his move.

EJ recently accepted Stefano’s original Phoenix ring from Dr. Wilhelm Rolf. That ring isn’t just jewelry. It’s a declaration. EJ is done playing the morally grey anti-hero. He’s going full patriarch, full villain, full “Stefano 2.0.” With Chad gone, there’s nobody inside the DiMera family with the credibility or the courage to push back against EJ’s worst impulses.

That’s not speculation. That’s just math.

For years, Chad functioned as the internal conscience of the DiMera empire. He was the one who challenged EJ, who questioned Kristen, who tried to steer the family name away from its criminal legacy. Without him? The inmates are running the asylum. And EJ looks thrilled about it.

What Comes Next (Because Salem Never Lets Go)

Here’s what makes this exit fascinating instead of just sad. Conner Floyd, known to Young and the Restless fans as Chance Chancellor, takes over the role of Chad DiMera starting April 21. Thomas and Charlotte will almost certainly be aged up when they return, likely into the 14-16 range. Which means the angry, traumatized little boy who couldn’t forgive his father could come back as an angry, traumatized teenager who STILL can’t forgive his father.

Something tells me Arizona won’t fix everything. Don’t be surprised if Chad returns to a Salem that barely recognizes him, with an EJ who has zero intention of sharing the throne and kids who’ve had months to stew in their resentment. This goodbye might be heartbreaking, but the reunion? That could be even worse.

What do you think, fans? Did Salem push Chad out, or did he earn this exit with his own terrible decisions? Drop your hottest take in the comments below!

WATCH THIS:

@soapoperamag Is EJ turning to the dark side? Stefano's ring how powers and secrets…and now it's on his son's finger. How do YOU see this playing out? #DaysofOurlives ♬ original sound – Soap Opera Magazine