Why Galen Gering Was Once Fired From Days Of Our Lives

"Days of Our Lives" fans have seen a revolving door of cast members over the years. While some characters such as Maggie Horton (Suzanne Rogers), Julie Williams (Susan Seaforth Hayes), and Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) appear to be lifers on the sudser (via Fame 10), others have come and gone, much to the disappointment of viewers. Over the years, some fan-favorite characters like Steve Johnson (Stephen Nichols), Bo Brady (Peter Reckell), Eric Brady (Greg Vaughan), and EJ DiMera (Dan Feuerriegel) have all been written off the show for extended periods of time — while others simply disappeared forever.

While many viewers may look at "Days of Our Lives" as a family, it can sometimes be hard to remember that it's also a business that is always in flux. In fact, in 2019, the entire cast of the show was released from their contracts while the show went on hiatus and negotiated a renewal. Eventually, actors were hired back with new contracts that were better fitting the production. However, others were lost along the way, per Celebrating The Soaps.

In 2020, shortly after the announced hiatus, the cast was shaken up with fan-favorite actors like Freddie Smith (ex-Sonny Kiriakis), Chandler Massey (Will Horton), and Galen Gering (Rafe Hernandez) were fired from the soap opera, per TVLine.

In February 2020, Galen Gering confirmed to fans that he was leaving "Days of Our Lives." The actor took to social media to share the news. "I've always seen birthdays as a day of reflection, an opportunity to look back at where I've been and where I'm going. So, it's oddly befitting that today also happens to be my last day at Days," he wrote. "Man ... I have such great memories from the last 10 years," Gering continued. "And offscreen, I've made friendships that I will have for a lifetime. Thanks for the memories Days of Our Lives," he added.

Gering's exit from the soap opera came just days after Freddie Smith and Chandler Massey were also axed from the show. "It was not our choice," Smith said of their exit (via TVLine). "We were looking forward to staying on and keeping the story going, but I do understand there is a lot happening with Days of Our Lives [at the moment]." Smith's comments alluded to the mass contract dump that the show had recently gone through and the show's renewal as being the reason behind the casting shakeup.

Although Gering was fired from the sudser in early 2020, it wasn't long before he was back to work on the show. In August 2020, the actor returned to reprise the role of Rafe Hernandez, per Entertainment Weekly and fans were happy to learn that Rafe was sticking around Salem, where he belongs.

Galen Gering was already a seasoned soap actor when he stepped into the role of Rafe Hernandez on "Days of Our Lives" in 2008. The actor had previously portrayed the character of Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald on the NBC supernatural sudser "Passions," and he was a very familiar face to viewers, per Soaps. Rafe was first introduced to Salem as an FBI agent that was tasked with guarding a rather difficult Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney) while she was in the witness protection program.

Sami and Rafe soon began to have feelings for each other and eventually tied the knot. However, they couldn't make it work, and after that Rafe had a string of failed relationships with women such as Jordan Ridgeway and Hope Brady (via Soap Central). Over the years, Rafe has been involved in some big storylines and fans have come to love the character. However, viewers were disheartened when it was announced that Gering had been fired from the show in 2020, per TV Fanatic. 

He, however, was quickly brought back. Unfortunately, Kristian Alfonso (who played Brady) would not return. In a statement (via Entertainment Weekly), she said, "I feel blessed and honored to have been invited into people's homes for over three decades ... However, it is now time for me to write my next chapter."