Billy Flynn Marks 10 Years of DAYS Drama As Chad DiMera

Howard Wise/jpistudios.com; John Paschal/jpistudios.com; Chris Haston/NBC

Then And Now: Billy Flynn and his character have both evolved during the actor's 10-year run as DAYS's Chad.

On September 12, 2014, Billy Flynn took over the pivotal Days of our Lives role of Chad DiMera , the long-lost son of legendary supervillain Stefano DiMera. Both the character and his portrayer have grown up a lot over the last 10 years; as Flynn told TV Insider , "you can see my evolution in Chad’s evolution," admitting, "I remember during the scenes when they thought Abigail was dead when Kate [Mansi, ex-Abigail] left [in 2016] and I had all this dark stuff to play, I was going through a dark period in my life, battling addiction and depression and all this other stuff. And then Chad found happiness and peace, though I don’t know if you call it happiness on a soap opera, and I figured things out and I got healthy. Chad had kids and then I had kids and it’s been fascinating to me how the things in my life and the things that Chad’s going through, have always kind of mirrored each other." There is no question that during his decade as the complex scion, Flynn has made the character his own, embodying Chad with a pitch-perfect blend of confidence, edginess and sensitivity. To help celebrate Flynn's 10th anniversary with the soap, here's a look back at all the drama he's played out on the show.

Flynn entered Salem with a bang as Chad returned to town after nearly a year away (coinciding with the departure of the role's originator, Casey Deidrick) and slugged EJ, having learned that his big brother had had an affair with Chad's former girlfriend, Abigail, while he was away. Jealous that Abigail was seeing Ben, Chad countered by dating Ben’s sister, Jordan, but the relationship quickly fizzled.

Unable to fight their feelings, Chad and Abigail had sex in the DiMera gardens in 2015 — while she was still dating Ben, who was on a secret rampage as The Necktie Killer. Afterward, Chad told Abigail that he had used her to get revenge for her affair with EJ. In truth, he loved her but wanted to protect her from his father, Stefano. By the time Chad confessed his true feelings, Abigail announced that it was too late; she was pregnant with Ben’s child. (In actuality, the child was Chad’s, but Clyde switched the paternity test results.)

JPI

Love Is A Battlefield: Ben (Robert Scott Wilson) was a dangerous obstacle for Chad and Abigail (Kate Mansi) to overcome.

After framing Chad for his murder spree, Ben kidnapped Abigail, who gave birth in a remote cabin in 2016. Although Chad rescued Abigail and her baby and later learned that Thomas was his son, he also struggled with the loss of Stefano, the man he’d constantly been at odds with upon discovering he was his father, when it appeared that Stefano had been murdered. Chad and Abigail eventually married, but Abigail was haunted by hallucinations of Ben and was sent to a mental institution. She escaped and faked her death so Chad could move on, leaving him heartbroken. The new “widower” began connecting with Gabi — just as Abigail resurfaced.

Although Abigail pushed Chad towards Gabi, he reunited with his wife. But after Chad and Gabi were kidnapped by Deimos in 2017, Chad confessed he’d kissed Gabi while in captivity. Taken aback, Abigail proceeded with plans to re-marry Chad, but couldn’t go through with the nuptials. Chad reconciled with Gabi after Abigail filed for divorce and married Gabi's brother Dario, who conned her into believing he was being deported. Dario’s duplicity was ultimately exposed, and Abigail had their marriage annulled, and rewed Chad.

In 2018, Chad became the CEO of Titan. Chad’s relationship with Abigail was tested when she developed D.I.D. and one of her personalities, "Gabby," had sex with Stefan and turned up pregnant. Gabi swapped paternity test results to name Stefan as the child’s father. Abigail divorced Chad and married Stefan, who promised not to have her committed, but Stefan reneged in exchange for “his" daughter Charlotte upon her birth. Once freed, Abigail divorced Stefan and learned Chad was Charlotte’s true biological father. The pair remarried in February 2019 and moved to Paris.

JPI

French Connection: Chad and Abigail enjoyed their Parisian respite from the drama of Salem.

Chad and Abigail returned to Salem and faced a new obstacle: Steve, who had Stefano’s intel implanted in his brain via a chip. “Stevano” hypnotized Chad into doing his bidding, including attempting to murder Kate and Gabi, until Abigail managed to free him from his evil grasp. With “Stevano” neutralized, Abigail’s vengeful half sister, Gwen, arrived in town and plotted to destroy her life in 2020. Li Shin, meanwhile, appointed Chad as the CEO of DiMera Enterprises. After convincing Chad that she saw Stefan and Abigail kissing, Gwen lured him to the Salem Inn. She plied Chad with alcohol and they had sex. When Gwen turned up pregnant, it almost destroyed Chad and Abigail’s marriage. But they slowly found their back to each other after Gwen miscarried in 2021.

Early in 2022, Chad was ousted as CEO of DiMera. Finally living his happily-ever-after on the domestic front with Abigail, Chad was shattered when he discovered his wife brutally stabbed in the DiMera mansion and later pronounced dead.

XJJohnson/jpistudios.com

Tragedy Strikes: Abigail's (Marci Miller) brutal murder devastated Chad.

As Chad struggled to move on, he struck up a friendship with Stephanie when they began working together. Before long he was involved in a triangle for her affections with Alex. Chad "got the girl" and he and Stephanie moved in together, but when her ex, Everett, arrived in town, Chad's jealousy reared its ugly head. He purchased The Spectator so he could fire Everett, who had landed a job as a reporter there. His efforts turned out to be for naught, because Chad soon realized he wasn't ready to move on romantically. He and Stephanie ended their relationship in December 2023.

Chad found peace in raising his two children, Thomas and Charlotte, in 2024. That is, until Clyde announced that Abigail wasn’t really dead. After having her grave dug up and finding it empty, Chad and Jack followed clues that led them to a mystery woman with no recollection of her past and a new face, courtesy of an accident. Chad brought her back to Salem, where DNA tests confirmed she was Abigail. However, the woman is actually an impostor playing a twisted game with his heart.