Oh Joy! AlexAnn Hopkins Is Bringing Joy Wesley Back to DAYS…and Rumor Has It, She’s Returning With A Special Surprise For Alex! 

ALEXANN HOPKINS’ JOY WESLEY IS BACK AND HER RETURN COULD FURTHER DETONATE ALEX’S MARRIAGE

TL;DR: AlexAnn Hopkins returns as Joy Wesley on Days of Our Lives beginning Friday, April 24, 2026. Joy left Salem over a year ago – secretly pregnant with Alex Kiriakis’s baby – and now that Alex has married Stephanie Johnson, her return with a child in tow could detonate their brand new marriage from the inside out.

Joy Wesley Left Salem With a Secret and Now She Is Coming Back to Blow Up a Marriage

Days of Our Lives has confirmed that AlexAnn Hopkins is returning as Joy Wesley beginning Friday, April 24, and if you think the marriage of Alex Kiriakis and Stephanie Johnson can survive what is about to walk through the door, you have not been paying attention.

Joy left Salem on March 19, 2025, after discovering she was pregnant with Alex’s baby. She lied to both Alex and Stephanie, told them her test was negative, quit her brand new job at Titan after one day, and fled to New York. She has been gone for over a year. That is more than enough time to have had a baby. And Robert Scott Wilson, who plays Alex, commented on the show’s Instagram announcement with “She baaaack” and a cigarette emoji. That tells you everything about how much trouble is headed for Salem.

Do you think Joy is coming back to cause trouble to Alex and Stephanie? Email your hottest takes to [email protected]!

The Wesley Family Is One of Salem’s Most Chaotic Legacies

For anyone who needs a refresher on who Joy Wesley is and where she comes from, buckle up. Joy is the daughter of Dr. Craig Wesley and Nancy Wesley, two of Salem’s most legendarily scheming power players from the late 1990s. Craig and Nancy arrived in town and immediately plotted to take down Dr. Mike Horton so Craig could steal his Chief of Staff position. They were devious, entertaining, and ride-or-die for each other for over thirty years.

Joy was born on screen in 2003 under extraordinary circumstances. Her big sister Chloe Lane had leukemia and desperately needed a bone marrow transplant. Craig and Nancy conceived Joy hoping she would be a match, and she was. Joy saved Chloe’s life. The Wesley family left Salem in 2005 and Joy was not seen again until she returned as an adult in October 2024, played by Hopkins.

The family took a seismic hit in 2022 when Craig came out as gay and revealed he had been having an affair with Leo Stark. Nancy was devastated, and the couple divorced after decades of marriage. Nancy briefly dated Clyde Weston before discovering his criminal ties to Abigail Deveraux’s murder. Craig and Nancy eventually made peace, but the family was permanently changed.

Joy Wesley Walked Into Salem and Immediately Chose Chaos

When Joy Wesley returned to Salem in 2024, she wasted no time finding trouble. She spent the night with Johnny DiMera, who was directing the soap opera Body and Soul. The problem was that Johnny was married to Chanel Dupree DiMera, who happened to be Joy’s costar. When the truth came out at a New Year’s party, Johnny insisted he and Joy never actually had sex. Instead, Joy left the party with Alex and they slept together. But Alex was already falling for Stephanie, so when Joy realized she was pregnant, she hid it and disappeared.

Now Alex and Stephanie are married. They eloped in Chicago and she’s currently trying to survive being kidnapped by Owen Kent ever since. Their marriage barely had time to breathe. And Joy is about to show up to cause further chaos.

Why Is Joy Coming Back Now and What Does This Mean for Alex and Stephanie?

The timing could not be more destructive. Spoilers indicate Alex and Stephanie will survive the terror of Owen. They are supposed to be settling into their life together. And now the woman Alex slept with over a year ago is returning to Salem, most likely carrying his child.

If Joy shows up with a baby, Alex will have to explain to his new wife that the woman he swore meant nothing has given him something permanent. Stephanie already had to navigate the Joy situation once before when Joy was in Salem and the pregnancy scare first surfaced. If Stephanie finds out Joy really was pregnant and Alex has a child he knew nothing about, it could shatter their lives.

There is also the question of what Joy actually wants. Does she want Alex? Does she want to co-parent? Or does she want to drop a bomb and watch it explode? The show’s Instagram account asked what trouble Joy will be getting into this time, and that phrasing is not accidental. Joy has never been the type to do anything quietly, and her return is going to test every bond Alex and Stephanie have built.

Salem better brace itself. Joy is back, and she does not live up to her name.

Will Joy’s return destroy Alex and Stephanie’s marriage on Days of Our Lives? Sound off in the comments below!

WATCH THIS: As if Alex and Stephanie don’t have enough drama in their lives…

@soapoperamag Owen literally hallucinated Stephanie climbing out of the resurrection tube to give him relationship advice. She told him to kill Jeremy with drugs because there's "less cleanup." This man is taking orders from figments of his imagination now. He's not just a stalker anymore. He's GONE. #DAYS ♬ original sound – Soap Opera Magazine