Days of our Lives star Susan Seaforth Hayes speaks out on Bill Hayes’ final appearance as Doug Williams

It’s the end of an era for Days of our Lives, as Bill Hayes’ final episodes as Doug Williams have aired.

The episode comes six months after Bill passed away at 98.

Bill played Doug for 54 years on the hit Peacock soap as one part of a supercouple for most of that time.

Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes) and Doug’s love story is legendary on Days, not just because of their characters.

In real life, Susan and Bill were married nearly 50 years after meeting on the show.

As her final scenes with her husband air, Susan has spoken out about what it was like to film them, and how she knew they were the last scenes they would do together.

Susan Seaforth Hayes opens up about Bill Hayes’ final episodes as Doug Williams on Days of our Lives

Speaking with TV Insider, Susan shared that the scenes were filmed last December, four weeks before Bill passed away.

“I knew it that day, and that was four weeks before he died,” Susan expressed.

The actress explained that Bill had lost his eyesight in the last few months, but he continued acting because “you rise to the occasion or you never get to have another occasion. And he always did.”

Susan shared that it was important to her that her final scenes with Bill were a love scene. It was a way to pay homage to their on and off-screen love that lasted over five decades.

“The last scene that Billy and I shot together, it was created as a love scene,” she told the outlet. “I was allowed to add some lines to the scene between ourselves. The last line I wrote for Billy was, ‘Give me another kiss.’ So that’s for the audience, and that’s from him.”

In an interesting turn of events, Bill’s last episode aired on Susan’s 81st birthday, and it’s pretty fitting considering their epic love story. Susan also revealed that Bill died the same day as their iconic Time magazine cover in 1976.

Susan remains grateful for the outpouring of love for her and her late husband in the months since his death.

When will Days pay tribute to Doug and Bill on screen?

Due to Days of our Lives’ advanced filming schedule, fans won’t see Doug pass away until December. Doug’s death serves as the backdrop for the soap’s 15,000th episode.

The powers that be are pulling out all the stops to ensure that Bill and Doug get the send-off they deserve.

A slew of fan-favorite characters, including Hope (Kristian Alfonso) and Jennifer (Melissa Reeves), are slated to return for the powerful storyline.

There’s no doubt that Doug’s funeral will be a tear-jerker filled with nostalgia, just like the Days when John Aniston died and Victor passed away on the show.

Days of our Lives airs weekdays on Peacock.