Bill Hayes Makes His Final Appearance on “Days of Our Lives” in Emotional Episode Airing 6 Months After His Death

The late actor's final episode aired Thursday, July 11, and saw Bill sharing a sweet moment with his real-life and fictional wife, Susan Seaforth Hayes

Days of Our Lives fans are seeing the last of Bill Hayes as his character’s storyline comes to an end.

Six months after his death, the late actor’s final scenes on Days of Our Lives aired Thursday, July 11. Hayes first took on the role of Doug Williams in 1970 and continued on the soap opera throughout his life, filming for the last time alongside his wife and costar Susan Seaforth Hayes.

In the episode, the fictional couple discovered their daughter Abigail may still be alive and reflected on their own time together.

“First time I set eyes on you, I was lost,” Julie Williams (Susan) told her husband Doug (Bill) in the episode. “Then, all the trials we had, all those missed connections, and then I finally won the gold ring. And all your songs were for me. All your passionate kisses were mine.”

Related: Days of Our Lives Star Bill Hayes Dead at 98: His 'Indelible Legacy Will Live On in Our Hearts'

Doug replied: “I had become a new man. I had to change to deserve you.”’

Julie went on to tell Doug that he brought out the best in her, complimenting his time as both a husband and a father.

“You’re a wonderful father,” she reminisced. “You know, for a guy who grew up in an orphanage, you’re quite a family man. You never let anyone in this family down, not ever. You showed me the whole world, every continent. And after we had our little adventures, saw all the beauty of the earth, our love outlasted time."

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The scene, which ended in a sweet kiss between the two, tugged at fans’ heartstrings, as they watched the goodbye between on and offscreen lovers they watched for so long.

Bill will not appear on the daytime show again, but later this year, an episode will show the town of Salem gathering for his memorial.

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In January, a rep for Bill — whose full name is William Foster Hayes III — announced his death at the age of 98. A few days later, Susan, 81, posted a message on Instagram thanking fans for their love.

“To all of you who honored my Billy with a word of remembrance, a sense of personal loss, or even a tear- I thank you,” she wrote alongside a series of photo booth clippings of the pair when they were young. “You touched my heart by seeing in him the goodness and joy I experienced every moment of our wonderful marriage."

Related: Bill Hayes' Wife Susan Remembers Late Days of Our Lives Star: 'May We All Embrace Life with the Gusto of Bill'

She added: “May we all embrace life with the gusto of Bill Hayes- and enrich it with grace and love ♥️ xx Susan”

The couple’s love story began on the set of Days of Our Lives when they shared an on-screen kiss in July 1970. Four years later, in 1974, they tied the knot in real life, and in 1976, their characters did too.

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