Steven Bergman/AFF-USA.COM / MEGA
A few months after taking over the role of Gabi Hernandez DiMera on Days of our Lives, Gabi and Stefan’s tenuous relationship came to an abrupt ending when Vivian and Ivan made it look like Stefan skipped down, prompting Gabi to sign divorce papers and officially terminate their marriage. The swift turn of events not only caught Gabi off guard, but it also threw her portrayer, actress Cherie Jimenez, for a loop. Jimenez spoke to Soap Opera Digest about saying good-bye to Brandon Barash (ex-Stefan) and the end of Stefan and Gabi.
Soap Opera Digest: What are your feelings regarding seeing this romance, one you really didn’t get to play very long, crash and burn so quickly?
Cherie Jimenez: Obviously, there is some sadness on a personal level, because Brandon has just been so wonderful and I started this experience with him from the day of my screen test. But with every storyline I get, I trust that the writers know what’s best and are taking it in the direction that they’re taking it, because it’s going to turn into something that is going to lead somewhere else. So at the end of the day, that’s that. With that said, me personally, I feel like I only got so much time to really grow within [the Stefan-Gabi] relationship. As our chemistry started to flow really well, they kind of took it away. They ended it. So I was like, “No, no, no.”
Digest: It was over just as it started to jell for you.
Jimenez: At the beginning, I came into an existing relationship [that Barash had established with Camila Banus, the former Gabi], but obviously I was getting my bearings and starting to drop my shoulders and feel comfortable within this role. I started to really settle into the relationship of what “Stabi” was with our chemistry and what we brought to it together, which was very different from what Brandon and the previous Gabi brought in together. Then I found out that they were basically just ending our relationship and that I was sleeping with EJ… [Brandon] being gone is tough, because I miss him. I loved working with him so much, but you never know what’s going to happen within this soap world and they obviously left the door open.
Digest: What was it like filming your last scenes with Brandon?
Jimenez: Our last scenes were where we had our first scene and our screen test, the DiMera mansion. So it was definitely a sad day. A lot of the emotion that came through was so beautiful. The scene broke my heart. And like I said, the chemistry and the relationship that we began to develop through our version of “Stabi”… It was just so beautiful towards the end there especially. So [Stefan and Gabi] stopping and ending was heartbreaking. We didn’t get a chance to really grow, you know? I was looking forward to this relationship flourishing and seeing [where it would go]. That was definitely an emotional day on and off camera.
Digest: It sounds like you were quite pleased with how it turned out.
Jimenez: I was so happy with those scenes, because I thought they played so beautifully. We really brought a lot of what we had developed into that day, knowing that it was going to be our last scene together. I felt like you could really feel the connection and everything that he allowed for me to bring to Gabi within our relationship on the show. That’s a beautiful thing. And so I’m very grateful with whatever happens. Whether or not we work together again in the future, whatever the future holds, I feel grateful and honored to have worked alongside Brandon. He’s an incredible actor. He’s so professional and his work ethic… He was basically my introduction into this world. He taught me so much and really helped me [acclimate to this] crazy world of daytime.
Digest: Are you still in touch with Brandon?
Jimenez: Yeah, every so often. Obviously we keep in touch over social media. It’s so beautiful to just see his son, his wife and his family and all their adventures. The last time I reached out was his birthday. I know a couple of the guys [from DAYS] went on a wonderful, awesome birthday trip to a private island. I was like, “Oh my goodness. Good for you.”
Digest: Did you get to say a special good-bye to Brandon on his last day at DAYS?
Jimenez: A couple of the cast members that were working that day went to Forman’s [Whiskey Tavern], which is a little bar down the street. So he had a little good-bye party. It was nice to get together with some of the cast, have some drinks, celebrate him and his time here, and wish him well off into everything. We did have a good-bye after [our last scene together]. I didn’t expect to cry, but all the emotions just came rushing in. Afterwards I had to gather myself, because I still felt all those emotions. A lot of it was not just Gabi and Stefan. It was also, “Wow. This is wild. You’re leaving.” I said, “You never know what the future holds, but it was beautiful.” I thanked him for everything that he did, and I wished him well. And I was like, “You know, if the universe brings you back this way, I look forward to seeing where ‘Stabi’ goes in the future. And if it doesn’t, then that’s okay. I wish you the best.” He’s such a talented actor that whether or not he comes back here or ends up somewhere else, I don’t doubt that he’s going to do amazing.
