Days Of Our Lives Relationship Timeline: Will And Sonny
Soap operas are built on super couples, and "Days of Our Lives" is no exception. The long-running NBC sudser has created many fan-favorite pairings over the years, which include iconic couples such as Tom and Alice Horton, Doug and Julie Williams, Steve Johnson and Kayla Brady, Jack Deveraux and Jennifer Horton, John Black and Marlena Evans, Bo and Hope Brady, and so many more (via Soap Hub). As the years roll on, a new generation of super couples has been born on the show. Pairings such as Abigail Deveraux and Chad DiMera, Eli and Lani Grant, and Ben Weston and Ciara Brady have taken Salem by storm.
Of course, there is one ground-breaking super couple that changed "Days of Our Lives" forever. Will Horton and Sonny Kiriakis became the soap's first-ever gay couple (via Chicago Tribune). Will is a legacy character, meaning that he steams from the show's two most prominent families, the Bradys and the Hortons. Will is the son of Sami Brady and Lucas Horton (via Soaps in Depth). The character has been at the center of many storylines over the years, including a cheating scandal and serial killer plot. Meanwhile, Sonny is the son of iconic "DOOL" couple Justin and Adrienne Kiriakis (via Soaps in Depth).
Will and Sonny have had so many ups and downs over the years and given fans some of the best moments to ever appear on the show.
Will and Sonny became DOOL's first-ever same-sex couple in 2011
Will Horton (Chandler Massey) first met Sonny Kiriakis (Freddie Smith) back in 2011. At the time, Will was trying to come to terms with his sexuality after dating his high school sweetheart, Gabi Hernandez (Camila Banus). Sonny was openly gay at the time and helped Will eventually gather enough strength to come out to his friends and family members (via She Knows Soaps). The pair eventually struck up a romance just as it was revealed that Gabi was pregnant with Will's child. Even though drama surrounded the couple's early relationship they eventually figured it out and Will and Sonny became fathers to Gabi's daughter, Arianna. The three have remained a solid co-parenting unit since that time.
A few years later, Massey opted to leave the soap. However, because Will and Sonny were such a popular couple the show decided to recast the role with actor Guy Wilson. During this time, Will and Sonny, sweetly nicknamed "WilSon" by fans, became engaged and eventually took part in the show's first same-sex wedding.
Trouble in paradise
Not long into their marriage, "Days of Our Lives" fans watched the demise of Will and Sonny. The couple went through a rough time when Will decided to leave Salem and move to California with his mother, Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney), per She Knows Soaps. The distance didn't work for the couple and things began to fall apart. When Will finally returned to Salem things with Sonny were already strained. Will then tried his hand at writing for the local newspaper when he was given the assignment to interview former professional baseball player Paul Narita. Will and Paul had an instant attraction to each other which led to Will cheating on Sonny. Later, it was revealed that Paul and Sonny had previously had a relationship before Sonny met and fell in love with Will. Sonny eventually had enough of the rocky romance with Will and decided to move to Paris.
Will was unable to win Sonny back, and sadly it seemed to be too late for the couple when "Days of Our Lives" shockingly killed off the character of Will Horton during the necktie killer storyline in 2015, per Soaps in Depth. Viewers watched as Ben Weston (Robert Scott Wilson) strangled Will to death, leaving Sonny to return home devastated by the loss.
Back from the dead
After a period of mourning the loss of his husband, Sonny moved on and began dating his former boyfriend Paul. "Days of Our Lives" fans geared up for Sonny and Paul's wedding in 2017 when Ben Weston crashed their wedding and revealed that Will was still alive. The ceremony ended abruptly and Sonny and Paul jetted off to see if they could find Will.
Upon finding Will alive (with Chandler Massey back in the role), Sonny and Paul split. Sadly, Will remembered nothing about his life in Salem or his love for Sonny. Instead, Will found himself falling for Paul. Sonny eventually agreed to a divorce and Will and Paul were free to explore their relationship. However, Will's memories finally came rushing back to him in 2018, as well as his love for Sonny, leaving Paul in the cold (via She Knows Soaps). Paul eventually left Salem after his heartbreak with both Will and Sonny, clearing the way for the fan-favorite couple to get their happily ever after.
An emotional second wedding
In 2019, Will was diagnosed with cancer and the prognosis wasn't good. Will didn't want to live the rest of his life without his partner and proposed to Sonny from his hospital bed. The two were married by Will's grandmother, Dr. Marlena Evans, from their hospital room. Although it looked like the end for Will, he was eventually saved by a successful surgery to remove his brain tumor, per She Knows Soaps.
Will and Sonny suffered through a few more ups and downs over the years, including Will going to prison (via Soaps in Depth), before they eventually exited the soap. The couple moved to Arizona to start a business with Sonny's brother and the couple took their daughter, Arianna, and left Salem.
Only time will tell what the future has in store for the iconic couple, but "Days of Our Lives" fans can't wait for a time when the Horton-Kiriakis family will return to Salem for good.