What Happened to Sarah on DAYS OF OUR LIVES
Sarah Horton on DAYS OF OUR LIVES has had quite a life in Salem over the years, so if you need a refresher, we’re happy to help! The character has been played by numerous actresses since her birth in 1981, including child stars, but Lisa Brinegar and Aimee Brooks played the role for the longest stints before Linsey Godfrey joined DAYS in 2018 to take over the role. Unfortunately, in March 2021, the actress confirmed she was exiting the soap. But by January 2022, Godfrey was back on screen to continue telling Sarah’s story. And while she left again in March 2023, the actress returned for more in May and continues to appear to this day.
Maggie Horton had agreed to act as a surrogate for an anonymous donor, so Sarah was conceived through artificial insemination. While it was originally believed that Evan Whyland was her father, it was later revealed that the babydaddy was actually Dr. Neil Curtis, who had performed the procedure! Although Sarah will always consider Mickey Horton to be her dad because he was the man who actually raised her after he and Maggie won the custody battle.
Sarah was hit by a car when Eve Donovan was driving drunk, and after her recovery, noticed that Mickey wasn’t around as much because he was working more. Sarah was shocked to learn that Maggie was having an affair with Neil and caught them in bed together. The young woman wanted to expose her to Micky, but Maggie revealed that Neil was her biological father. Sarah still told Micky about the affair, but thankfully, he and Maggie were able to work things out. In 1991, Sarah left town with her sister, Melissa, and they settled in Nashville.
Sarah returned home to her mother in Salem after working with Doctors Without Borders to share some great news. She and Rex Brady were engaged to be married! Unfortunately, she kicked Rex to the curb when she found out that Mimi Lockhart’s baby was actually his. Things got even worse when Rex also confessed to having slept with her sister, Noelle! Looking for revenge, Sarah threw herself at Rex’s brother, Eric Brady, but he turned her down. Drunk, she slept with Xander Kiriakis and immediately regretted it.
Rex managed to win Sarah back and they even walked down the aisle, but they ultimately split up as she was still in love with Eric. But then she had to break things off with Eric once his ex, Nicole Walker, came home not as dead as everyone had thought! Unfortunately, Sarah discovered that she was pregnant with Eric’s baby and tried to hide the truth from him. When Xander learned about it, she swore him to secrecy and he even accompanied her to get an abortion. But in the end, she didn’t go through with it and planned to leave town. But Eric found out about the baby and begged her to stay in Salem.
After a year passed in the blink of an eye, Sarah had given birth and Xander was claiming to be Mackenzie’s father to keep Eric from the truth. But Nicole told Eric about his daughter, and when Mickey had neuroblastoma, he went with Sarah to Boston so the infant could be treated. But what Sarah and Eric didn’t realize was that Mickey wasn’t their child at all. When Sarah had gone into labor, Adrienne Kiriakis was driving her to the hospital when they were run off the road by a drunk Maggie. Xander helped Sarah give birth and rushed them to the hospital, but the newborn died of complications. Desperate, Xander plotted with Victor Kiriakis to have the doctor switch Sarah and Eric’s baby with Kristen DiMera and Brady Black‘s healthy newborn.
When Mickey required a bone marrow transplant, Gabi Hernandez was the only match and was pressured into being the donor and saving the little girl’s life. Xander popped the question and Sarah accepted, not realizing what he had done. Nicole discovered the truth and despite Xander’s best efforts, it came out. Heartbroken, Sarah dumped Xander and ran away to Paris with Mackenzie but ultimately agreed to return the little girl to Kristen and Brady.
Xander continued trying to make amends with Sarah and while she pushed him away for a while, she ultimately found herself unable to resist her feelings. She warned him not to go back to his evil scheming ways, but then found herself helping him spy on Philip Kiriakis to find out what he was hiding. The two made such a great pair that they even proposed to each other at the same time!
Sadly, on the day of their wedding, Sarah discovered that Kristen had escaped from prison and was masquerading as Susan Banks! So to keep her secret, Kristen abducted Sarah and plotted to masquerade as Sarah to make Xander think that she was dumping him, leaving Salem never to return! Sarah found a syringe filled with Dr. Rolf’s serum that she tried to use to escape, but Kristen stabbed her with it instead and shipped her off to DiMera Island in a crate!
After Sarah disappeared in 2021, it wasn’t until the beginning of the following year that Xander began to ask questions about her whereabouts and realized something was fishy. Sarah returned to end things with Xander once and for all, but it was really Gwen Rizczech in a Sarah mask! The real Sarah was still being held prisoner by Kristen and after being drugged, believed herself to be Renee Dumonde. After being rescued and brought back to Salem, Sarah pursued Tony and ignored Xander’s urging to remember her real life.
Chad DiMera managed to convince Dr. Rolf to create an antidote which Anna DiMera eagerly injected Sarah with to keep her away from Tony. But what no one knew was that Gwen had swapped out the drugs and now Sarah returned to being herself… but as a little girl! A heartbroken Maggie decided to take Sarah to the clinic in Florida to see if anything could be done to restore her mind.
Eventually, Xander procured the antidote and Sarah returned to be injected. She regained her memories but believed her baby was still alive. After learning what really happened to Mickey, Sarah was heartbroken all over again and wanted nothing to do with Xander. But he persisted and once she recovered all her memories, they were finally reunited. Unfortunately, the drug left some lingering side effects where Sarah would have hallucinations of Kristen. This led her to become a suspect in Abigail’s murder after she was seen leaving the scene of the crime!
Thankfully, when Sarah was hypnotized, she remembered that Rex was her alibi. She and Xander worked together to find evidence of Gwen’s crimes and tied the knot. Xander tried the whole honesty thing but when he confessed to his fling with Nicole, Sarah dumped him and Maggie had to persuade her to take him back. Sarah refused to take Maggie’s money and she and Xander moved into the motel while he tried to find work. Unfortunately, his new job was just a lie to cover that he had helped Ava Vitali kidnap Susan Banks and Bonnie Lockhart… events which lead to Susan’s death! Furious, Sarah washed her hands of Xander and cried on Rex’s shoulders again. So when she discovered she was pregnant, she wasn’t sure who the babydaddy was. To avoid the potential drama, Sarah decided to accept Rex’s job offer at his hospital in Chicago.
When Bonnie visited them, she was stunned to see Sarah was pregnant, and the expectant mom begged her not to tell anyone Xander was the child’s father. Upon returning to Salem, she accepted Rex’s proposal and told Xander that the baby she was carrying was Rex’s. Maggie agreed to keep the secret but pressed Sarah to tell Xander the truth. Unfortunately, when she started to, she went into labor! After delivering a baby girl, Sarah named her Victoria Margaret. She then went ahead with marrying Rex though the union only lasted a month. Sarah also got her job back at the hospital to resume her life in Salem.
When Xander learned he was Victoria’s father, he and Sarah butted heads over the child, and when she refused to share custody, he threatened to pursue full custody himself, arguing she was an unfit mother. Thankfully, the two came to an understanding and even began rekindling their romantic feelings for each other. After sharing a kiss on New Year’s Eve, Sarah and Xander started 2024 by moving in together with their daughter.
Stay tuned to see what happens next!
