Days of our Lives: Alex’s Controlling Behavior Pushes Stephanie Away – Is Their Marriage Over?

Days of Our Lives has Alex Kiriakis (Robert Scott Wilson) trying to keep his new wife Stephanie Johnson (Abigail Klein) happy and safe, but she thinks Alex is meddling and treating her like a kid. So, will Stephanie walk away for good because he’s too controlling? And we’re going to talk about this because it’s not the first time.

And of course, we know Alex is worried sick about Stephanie after her kidnapping ordeal with Owen Kent (Wes Ramsey). But Alex is failing miserably at making Stephanie happy and their marriage may wind up over and done soon because of a pattern of his behavior. Let’s get into it!

Stephanie’s PTSD After Kidnapping on Days of Our Lives

So, Alex and Stephanie are having a really rough time. She has serious PTSD after being kidnapped by creepy Owen and held captive in that hospital storage room. And the only person who gets it is Jeremy Horton (Michael Roark). Everybody else sympathizes, but Stephanie and Jeremy have a trauma bond.

They went through this together. And you know, Stephanie did suspect him of stalking. And of course, Alex and Steve Johnson falsely accused Jeremy. Yet, even in the face of all that, he still risked his life for her. He followed Owen to find Stephanie and then Jeremy wound up attacked and captured as well.

And right now, even though it’s not fair, Stephanie feels like Alex didn’t protect her from Owen. I mean, that’s cruel to think, much less say, because Alex did everything he could to keep Stephanie safe.

He even let her dad Steve move into their tiny apartment to help protect her. And even though Steve, Alex, and Jada Hunter (Elia Cantu) were on the lookout for the stalker, Stephanie was still taken by Owen, basically because they had their eyes on Jeremy. They were looking the wrong way. Credit where it’s due though. Owen did an impressive job of framing Jeremy Horton as an obsessive stalker.

Stephanie Trying to Heal on DOOL

So now Stephanie is reeling from the aftermath of Owen holding her captive. The same creep who kept her in a morgue drawer all those years ago. As Stephanie’s been having nightmares, she can’t stand to be touched. She wants a gun. She’s keeping the front door deadbolted all the time.

Meanwhile, Alex is trying his level best to make her feel better, but Stephanie won’t let him in. And Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) encouraged Stephanie to talk to Alex, and Stephanie also opened up to Chanel Dupree DiMera (Raven Bowens) about her anxiety. But Stephanie didn’t tell Alex and sort of blames him for Owen grabbing her.

Alex Meddling In Stephanie’s Business on Days

And Stephanie’s also upset when she found out that Alex was prying things out of Chanel that she told her in confidence. So, it’s more than just the kidnapping that has Stephanie so riled up with her husband. It’s the meddling. Alex told his cousin Philip Kiriakis (John-Paul Lavoisier) that Stephanie wanted to give back the advance. She doesn’t want to be an author anymore, at least for now.

Which is it’s all accurate info that Alex gave Philip, but he was talking out of school. The problem is Stephanie wanted to talk to Philip and Kate Roberts (Lauren Koslow) herself. She didn’t need Alex taking care of her professional obligations for her. That is Stephanie’s responsibility and her right. And it’s her agency. And this isn’t the first time Alex has tried to limit Stephanie’s autonomy, saying that he was protecting her.

If you recall, a few years ago, before Stephanie and Alex were dating, he stepped in as interim CEO of Titan after Sonny Kiriakis (Zach Tinker) was stabbed. And back then, Alex used his position to get closer to Stephanie, who was doing PR for Titan, and she basically was forced to collaborate with Alex. And that was back when he had been a playboy doing threesomes, and then decided Stephanie was who he was meant to be with.

Alex’s Pattern of Controlling Behavior on Days of Our Lives

Also, if you remember, Alex acted out because he was jealous that she was dating Chad DiMera (previously Billy Flynn). And then when he got a chance with her, Alex did a bad thing. That was when Kayla Johnson (Mary Beth Evans) was sick and Alex turned off Stephanie’s phone when they were about to make love.

And that’s because Alex saw Chad’s name on the caller ID. And he was calling Stephanie to tell her that her mom, Kayla, was about to die. So, Stephanie missed being at her deathbed because of Alex being controlling. Now, fortunately, Kayla came back from the dead, as one does in Salem.

But that was a devastating betrayal for Stephanie and a huge mistake on Alex’s part. And a lot of fans saw him being really controlling back then because he basically prioritized getting Stephanie into bed over respecting a family emergency.

Days of our Lives: Alex’s Pushy Behavior Causes Problems

And let’s not forget how Alex pushed Stephanie when she was writing One Stormy Night. She was reluctant to have her book published at all, but Alex pushed it forward and then he promised to make sure the mile high sexy scene was cut from the book, but it stayed in and that’s how Jeremy ended up in the book and he realized Stephanie was Anastasia Sans.

So, Alex basically pushed Stephanie to publish and then he dropped the ball on the important edit that she wanted because Alex was fast-tracking the project. He was prioritizing its success over Stephanie’s need to remain anonymous.

And of course, we know EJ DiMera (Dan Feuerriegel) was the one who told Leo Stark (Greg Rikaart) she was Anastasia and it wasn’t Jeremy. But if Alex had listened to Stephanie and cut that scene, she and Jeremy wouldn’t have even been on Owen’s radar in the first place.

The Canceled Book Tour on DOOL

And then, of course, we have the canceled book tour. Alex interfered with Stephanie’s book tour. And basically, Alex canceled the dates without checking with Stephanie first. Again, Alex insisted he was protecting her and it was in her best interest because of the stalker.

And maybe it was, but again, he took her agency. He took Stephanie’s decisions away from her. The bottom line is Alex oversteps a lot. And he makes decisions for Stephanie instead of with Stephanie. And that was even before they were married on Days of our Lives.

All of this, plus then Alex went all alpha macho psycho when Stephanie told him about the trauma that she experienced while she and Jeremy were dating because Alex threatened Jeremy. He was looming. He was, you know, being pretty much psycho. But that’s not what Stephanie wanted.

She told Alex to share something from her past, not so he could go out being toxic on her behalf. And after Jeremy literally saved Stephanie, then Alex told Jeremy, “Stay away from Stephanie and leave Salem again” without a conversation with her to find out where Stephanie’s head was about that.

Will Alex Freak Out This Week on Days of Our Lives?

So, this week, spoilers say that Alex is going to freak out. And it may be because he sees Stephanie in Jeremy’s arms. So, Stephanie just stormed out on Alex after she found out he basically quit on her behalf at Titan. So, she felt foolish in hindsight because she was giving Philip info he already had.

And after Stephanie ran out on Alex, she runs into Jeremy and she’s crying on his shoulder and he’s holding her right there in town square. I expect Alex will go ballistic if he walks up on Jeremy comforting Stephanie after she raged and walked out on him. Basically, Alex refuses to accept that Stephanie has forgiven Jeremy for their messy past.

And she is grateful to Jeremy for being there during the kidnap ordeal when nobody else was. And Alex doesn’t think that’s okay. It’s not his choice. It’s Stephanie. And Alex does love Stephanie, but there is a thin line between being protective and being controlling. And he has crossed it as far as Stephanie is concerned.

So, the question is, are we about to see Alex and Stephanie’s marriage implode and it’s over before it really starts? Plus, of course, there’s still the issue that Stephanie doesn’t want kids, and Alex does, and he’s soon going to find out he already has one when Joy Wesley (AlexAnn Hopkins) comes back to town next week.