Plus what’s next for Holly—and why she’s Team Holly and Tate all the way
With Sophia once again sewing discord between Tate and Holly on Days of Our Lives, Ashley Puzemis talks to Woman’s World about playing Nicole and Daniel’s daughter and creating the romance with leading man Leo Howard. The 2025 Daytime Emmy-nominee also reveals how onscreen nemesis Rachel Boyd has her feeling sympathy for the schemer who’s trying to steal her character’s man—even as Sophia’s blackout machinations threaten to pull Holly and Johnny into that scandal portrayer Carson Boatman teased last month!
As a self-proclaimed “uncool” 23-year-old, Puzemis exposes her Gen Z secret weapon for making sure Holly’s slang fits the times and tells us what she gets into when Days of Our Lives goes dark.
Plus, we have everything you need to know about next month’s 52nd Annual Daytime Emmys celebration!
Ashley Puzemis says ‘Sophia’s back to her old ways’
Days of Our Lives lovebirds Holly and Tate have not exactly had an easy go of it. First, she overdosed and let him take the fall for it, and then Sophia bedded him during their “break” and announced she was knocked up.
“It’s Holly’s turn to be understanding, since Tate was so understanding when he went to prison and rehab for her essentially lying about the overdose,” Ashley Puzemis maintains. “She can Tates he’s hurting. He’s struggling with not ever being able to meet his baby, and not knowing officially what happened. She wants to be there to support him through all of it.”
There’s only one problem—and it’s a familiar one.
“Sophia’s back to her old ways,” Puzemis says. “We’re back to cat fighting, but Holly’s laying the grounds and claiming Tate as hers. She’s not going to let Sophia manipulate him and try to win him back just because she had a baby with him!”
She can’t help but ‘feel bad for’ Rachel Boyd’s Sophia
Unfortunately, Sophia’s not one to give up. On the heels of tricking Holly into believing she slept with Tate again, she’s now pulled Johnny into her schemes. The poor guy is finally reclaiming his life and hoping to adopt (her baby… but that’s another story!), but today, Sophia reports him for having an affair with a student and spikes Holly’s drink to get compromising photos to back up her claim!
Even though this is not likely to go well for Holly or Johnny, Puzemis admits she’s been feeling a bit differently about her onscreen rival since Rachel Boyd assumed the role created by Madelyn Kientz and has gotten to play out Sophia’s unwanted pregnancy and convoluted adoption story.
“Holly’s whole relationship with Madi’s Sophia was very passive aggressive and catty,” she explains. “Rachel brings a whole different depth to Sophia. With the emotions and vulnerability, you just feel bad for her. She’s going through so much, and dealing with it all on her own.”
Her plea to ‘Days’ scribes – let Holly & Tate be ‘end game’
While she can empathize with the troublemaker, she’s certainly not rooting for Sophia.
“I’m so protective over Holly that I want to keep her with Tate, because they’ve worked so hard to build this relationship,” Puzemis says. “I mean, it’s not a show without drama and ups and downs… But I’m like, ‘Please, writers, don’t mess it up. Let us be the one couple that’s end game, and just keep us happy on the show.’
Whatever’s to come, the actress gets why Holly keeps fighting the odds that can’t seem to stop stacking against her and Tate.
“This is her first love,” she says. “And with that first love, you’re going to try everything you possibly can to make it work—even through the struggles. They’re also young, and maybe they don’t know the difference between what can be toxic and what is just really strong emotion.
“Holly’s also seen a lot of different dads,” Puzemis adds with a laugh. “As much as she loves her mom and supports her choices, she doesn’t want to make the same mistakes, go through men, or be in bad relationships the way Nicole has.”
On why Holly keeps fighting for Tate
If she’s being honest, Puzemis is also Team Tate & Holly because adores working with her leading man—even if some Days fans comment on how much older Tate looks since the more manly Leo Howard, 28, took over for college kid Jamie Martin Mann last year.
“At the start, the pressure was all on me because Jamie looked so young,” she recalls with a laugh. “The fans were all were like, ‘Holly looks way too old for Tate.’ Then, I passed over the baton to Leo!”
While her leading man has a few years on her, the 23-year-old has no complaints.
“Whenever I have scenes with Leo, I’m like, ‘No matter what I’m saying, what we’re doing, or how crazy this is, at least I’m doing it with Leo!’” Puzemis shares. “It’s easy, because I feel so comfortable around him. And offset, we can create chemistry and then just bring that into Holly and Tate’s relationship. Any scenes we have, it just feels safe. I love my job!”
Her secret weapon for playing a Gen Z college kid
The actress adds that she has a secret weapon for keeping Holly sounding like a real college kid.
“Occasionally, the writers will add some Gen Z slang,” she sets up. “I’m still young, but so out of touch from that! Thankfully, I have a younger sister who is 19, so sometimes I’ll send a little screenshot, ‘Do people say this?’ And she’s like, ‘No,’ so I’ll pitch it to writers: ‘Instead of this, this is what they say.’”
Unlike many in her generation, Puzemis also isn’t big on social media. She’s not on Facebook and has barely posted on Instagram, but everyone once in a while, she’ll see fan messages come in through DM.
“Usually, it is a lot of positive feedback,” she says. “There was a lot with the whole Doug storyline. Fans were loving Doug and Holly together and loving the chemistry! It’s always surprising hearing stuff like that when you don’t know how the fans are going to take it.”
On her downtime from ‘Days’ – ‘I want to travel everywhere!’
When Puzemis is not getting into Holly’s drama on Days of Our Lives, the cat mom leaves Venom and Dracula with a sitter and hits the road.
“I travel quite a bit,” she says. “One of my friends goes like, everywhere. She’s always texting me, ‘Hey, let’s go to Croatia next month.’ I usually don’t have the right days off, but when I do, wherever she’s going, we’ll go. Recently, we went to Mexico City.
“I love to eat, explore, and go out with friends to discover a place,” she adds. “And I want to travel everywhere!”
Everything you need to know about the 52nd Annual Daytime Emmys 2025
Puzemis’ next big trip will be to the Daytime Emmy Awards—where she’s nominated for Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series, alongside her Days of Our Lives costar AnnaLynne McCord, The Bay’s Olivia d’Abo, and The Bold and the Beautiful’s Christian Weissmann and Lisa Yamada.
“I’m so incredibly honored for this nomination and thank you, Days of Our Lives, for trusting me with Holly,” Puzemis shares via Instagram. “And to all the other talented nominees I get to work with every day, I’m SO freaking proud. And this one’s for you, Mom. I love you. So much.”
With Mario Lopez tapped to host the Daytime Emmys on October 17, starting at 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT, and General Hospital icon Jane Elliot the 2025 Gold Circle Inductee, the celebration won’t be televised this year.
