The July 29 episode of Days of our Lives marked the bittersweet day Ericole fans have been waiting for, as the Salem supercouple finally got their happy ending. However, that happy ending came with Eric and Nicole leaving Salem to start a new life in Paris with their son, Jude.
Nicole's departure marked Arianne Zucker's last airdate as Nicole after contract negotiations came to an impasse. The actress was let go in January. However, there had been no word about Vaughan's official status on the soap.
On the evening of July 29, Vaughan's on-screen mom, Deidre Hall (Marlena Evans), posted a goodbye to the actor on Instagram, but was it a permanent goodbye?
"Sad day, saying goodbye to this kind, caring beautiful man," she shared, along with a selfie of herself and Vaughan outside the Brady Pub. "It was a delight to get to know him well in our time together. In addition to his many gifts, I found his profound commitment and devotion to his family the most endearing."
Soap Opera Digest reported that a source told them that Vaughan's exit is only temporary, and Eric will be seen again soon. However, Vaughan seemed to counter that in his Instagram stories. The actor posted a screenshot of the SOD story, along with another image simply saying, "I didn't leave by choice. I never had a choice."
Does that mean Eric and Nicole's happily ever after is real, or will Eric still return? The couple met back in 1998 when Nicole was Eric's server at a Salem Place eatery. They quickly fell in love, but life got in the way of their happiness. Eric, who was played by Jensen Ackles at the time, left Salem in 2000. When he returned in 2012, played by Vaughan, Eric was a priest.
Despite taking a vow of celibacy, Eric was instantly attracted to Nicole once again, but he was determined to stay true to God. Over the years, Eric has left the priesthood and returned multiple times. He and Nicole finally married in 2020, but Eric's need to help others took him to Africa within weeks.
A lonely Nicole ended up having a drunken one-night stand with Xander Cook, and the truth about the night came out at her and Eric's first-anniversary party. The pair divorced. However, one morning in bed, when they were high on tainted Sweet Bits biscuits, they had sex, which produced a son named Jude. However, things weren't so simple. Nicole was married to E.J. DiMera, and Eric was with Sloan Peterson, who had miscarried Eric's baby. Fearing that Eric would leave her for Nicole, Sloan took DNA from herself for a paternity test, ensuring that Eric would not be a match, leading Nicole and E.J. to believe the baby was theirs. Later, when Nicole gave birth on the side of a road after an accident, baby Jude fell into Sloan's lap, and she "adopted" the child as hers and Eric's, never letting on that Eric was the child's father.
As happens on soaps, the baby mystery was eventually solved. Now that Eric and Nicole know that Eric, not E.J. DiMera, is Jude's dad, they have flown off to Paris, where Eric has a job. If Vaughan does indeed return to DAYS, it looks like it will be without Nicole, so their happily ever after might not be so happy, after all.
Will Eric and Nicole live happily ever after? Would you want one back without the other? 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.
