JPI
Gabi’s decision to sleep with EJ, the Days of our Lives brother-in-law she loathes, to get back at Stefan came as a complete shock to Cherie Jimenez. In fact, when she saw it in the script, she was like, “Oh no! Gabi, Gabi, Gabi,” recalls the actress with a laugh.
Mother Knows Best
According to Jimenez, there was someone who absolutely knew Gabi would bed EJ the minute Jimenez told her about her character’s revenge sex: her mother, Sandy. “It’s so funny, because after [Gabi found out about Stefan and Ava], everyone on set was trying to figure out, ‘Who is Gabi going to sleep with? Who is Gabi going to get back at Stefan with?” ” recounts Jimenez, who discussed the situation with her mother. “My mom was like, ‘Cherie, what if you sleep with EJ?’ I said, ‘No. Gabi’s not going to sleep with EJ. There is no way. They hate each other.’ And she was like, ‘I don’t know, Cherie. It’s his brother. That would be the one [that would hurt Stefan the most].’ ”
The next morning, Jimenez arrived at the studio, went into the hair and makeup room, and discovered that everyone was chattering about the imminent story twist. “They go, ‘So, do you know who you sleep with?’ ” recalls Jimenez. “I go, ‘Who?’ They go, ‘EJ!’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I couldn’t believe it, and my mom knew.”
Jimenez promptly called her mother and informed that her she was on target with EJ. “I tell her little bits [about what’s happening], but I don’t tell her too much,” notes Jimenez. “I know she’s watching, and I want her to be surprised. I don’t want to give it all away. But with something like that, of course, I told her. It’s so funny. When I was talking to her, she was like, ‘When is it airing? The fans are going to lose it.’ And I was like, ‘I know, I know!’ ”
Jimenez says that she was delighted by the opportunity to work more closely with EJ’s portrayer, Dan Feuerriegel. “I love him so much,” she enthuses. “I love working with all the actors on the show, but my absolute favorites would be Brandon [Barash, Stefan] and Dan. Dan is such an incredible actor, and I have felt incredibly comfortable working with him. I have had so much fun every time I’ve stepped on set with him. I always get so excited [when we have scenes together] because I know we’re going to have so much fun and because he’s such an awesome guy and has such a great personality. He gives so much [as an actor] that it really allows you to give right back and be so present. So I have enjoyed my scenes with him every single time.”
As far as the duo’s surprise pairing as bedmates, Jimenez thinks it was a terrific twist because it was “the unexpected choice. And Gabi and EJ both know that it was all about sticking it to Stefan. It was not romantic. It was not because they love each other or wanted to be together. It was hate sex, which made it even more exciting.”
