How Melissa Reeves brought Matthew Ashford to tears on the Days of our Lives set

When Matthew Ashford and Melissa Reeves make their Days of our Lives returns, it's for a somber occasion full of memories.

Days of our Lives stars old and new gathered on set on April 11 as the show taped its 15,000th episode, which will also be the day Salem says goodbye to Doug Williams, played by the late Bill Hayes. Among some of the returning stars were Matthew Ashford and Melissa Reeves, who have played Jack and Jennifer (Horton) Deveraux off and on since the 1990s.

Reeves was last seen as Jennifer in 2022, and Ashford just last year in 2023, but when both were approached to return to pay tribute to Hayes, they couldn't say no.

"I am honored," Reeves told Michael Fairman TV. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but to be here for Bill. He was like my real-life dance partner. He taught me how to ballroom dance. And to be here for Susan, of course, who's just been our sweet hero this whole week. We're just following her lead."

When it came time to tape some of their scenes, Reeves quickly brought tears to Ashford's eyes, and they weren't even on set together.

"Melissa was out on set doing a scene yesterday on the phone talking to a stage manager; as she was telling some really tough news on the phone. I'm like crying in the background, literally, I'm off-stage crying," Ashford said.

The actor played Jack for a while with a different Jennifer, as Cady McClain was a fill-in Jennifer on a recurring basis for a few years. However, he admitted that Reeves was missed.

"Every time I come here to Days of our Lives, they ask, 'Where's Missy? How's Missy?' Everybody backstage says, 'I miss her.' All of the crew is asking about her and saying, '"It would be nice to see Missy. Nothing wrong with you Matt, but ...' They said, 'Where is she?' I said, 'She wants to come!'"

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Now that we can expect to see both performers back in December for Doug's memorial, will they eventually return for good? Time will tell.

Are you glad Reeves and Ashford are returning for the tribute to Bill Hayes? Do you want to see Jack and Jennifer back for good? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.

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