Getting to work with Melissa Reeves (Jennifer) during Days of Our Lives’s emotional goodbye to John Black and his portrayer, Drake Hogestyn, was a welcome dose of the familiar for Matthew Ashford (Jack). After all, Ashford and his longtime leading lady have been making on-screen magic since they were first paired together on DAYS in 1989.
The duo last appeared as part of the sendoff for Doug Williams (Bill Hayes) in 2024. This time around, when they returned to the set, “We got to walk in and arrive [in Salem] together,” recounts Ashford. “So our communication had to work side-by-side in support of people who were really grieving. Julie is facing a lot of things alone, and that becomes a big concern and something that Jack and Jennifer are trying to deal with. They’re trying to be there for her. And there’s Chad coming and going, and the spirit of Abigail still permeates.”
Ashford says having Reeves by his side made it all feel effortless. “It was easier to do together,” notes the actor. “It was easier to do with Missy there. I was absolutely glad to have her back and playing opposite me, because she’s so comfortable with this world, what she sees, and what she wants to do with it.”
The Breakfast Club
Ashford and Reeves also got to spend some private time together away from the set during their return trip to the show. “We had a chance to meet for breakfast most mornings before we went to work,” shares Ashford. “She’s on East Coast time and I’m on Central time, which is pretty much the same thing. So we were waking up at 4:30 in the morning and going, ‘Okay, now what?’ So we’d get breakfast. We’d meet up and have a chance to talk over where we’re at and how her kids are and how her grandkids are and what’s going on with me and all that stuff. So it was good.”
The twosome couldn’t help but marvel over the fact that they’re still working together all these years later. “We were like, ‘At what point did something we did at that time and the people we hung out with at the studio suddenly become a life? I thought I was going to know you for a couple of years, but, my gosh, it’s been 36,’ ” says Ashford. “This is something you could only do in daytime, and you do become very philosophical about it.”
Ashford and Reeves share a similar familiarity and camaraderie with co-stars Stephen Nichols (Steve) and Mary Beth Evans (Kayla). “Stephen, Mary Beth, Missy and me… We are all of the same time,” explains Ashford. “So there’s a lot to share with kids and growing up and growing older and parents… Just realizing that life is rolling on.”
The foursome has a rich relationship, having known each other for decades. “We’ve gone through [so many life experiences] together, talking about where we were, what little kids we had or didn’t have yet, or thought we’d have,” rattles off Ashford. “When I started on the show, Mary Beth was pregnant. Her son now has children. But at that time she was pregnant, then Missy was pregnant, and I had a baby coming, and Stephen had little kids. Now we’re talking about grandparent things.”
Reminiscing about DAYS back in the ’80s and ’90s was part of the conversation between the actors, as well. “We were talking about those times, and it was just wonderful,” says Ashford. “We were doing that catching up, but we had to fit it in while we were getting our hair put on straight and getting our [makeup done].”
For that reason and many more, Ashford is always glad to return to DAYS when he receives a call from the show. “I’m just glad that they said we should have Jack and Jennifer back [for John’s farewell storyline],” delivers Ashford with a smile. “I’m glad it worked out, and I think Missy and I would both be interested in more of this in the future.”
