The Truth About This Days Of Our Lives Character's Big Sexuality Reveal

At one time, Craig and Nancy Wesley were one of "Days of Our Lives'" most popular pairs. They were also not your typical soap opera couple because Nancy was not your typical soap opera vixen. As played by Patrika Darbo on and off since 1998, Nancy has always been a plus-sized woman with a handsome doctor for a husband — played by Kevin Spirtas since 1997.

Married and faithful to each other for decades, Craig was always the devious doc and Nancy often acted as his partner in crime as the pair put on the charm to pull off a con to get ahead in life, per Soaps In Depth. They also had two daughters together, Chloe and Joy, and it seemed like nothing could break them apart. While they had been living off-screen in New York since 2005 with a few guest appearances here and there, they are now back on the Salem scene with a big storyline — and a shocking one nobody ever saw coming.

In January 2022, Chloe Lane was shocked to see her mother return to Salem. Nancy Wesley was angry and announced that her marriage was over after all these years because Craig was having an affair (via Youtube). Chloe could barely believe it and defended her father, which she continued to do when Craig later showed up in town insisting that he was not seeing another woman.

However, Chloe later overheard her father having a conversation on the phone that definitely made it sound like Nancy was right — Craig was indeed having an affair. He was then forced to admit it was true, revealing that he was having an affair with a man, not a woman. Per Soaps In Depth, Chloe was stunned by Craig's admission and made him tell Nancy, who was also left shocked, and wondering if her entire marriage was a lie. Craig confessed that he had just discovered who he truly was when he met this man and when Nancy asked him if he was bisexual or gay, he said he was indeed gay.

While many "Days of Our Lives" fans have applauded the soap for depicting this type of story, some have wondered if this was the right way to do it with this particular couple.

"I hate this Craig and Nancy story for So many reasons," one twitter user wrote. "Like it's not a good choice to do this to one of the truly real couples in daytime. I'm all for a late in life coming out. But not this one."

Another fan concurred, bringing up the positive image for women that Nancy always offered. "I hate this story for Nancy and Craig too. It reinforces the stereotype that men don't fall for larger women. It degrades their love story. It's so disappointing."

Meanwhile, another "DOOL" fan tweeted that the character of Nancy has made her feel better about herself. "I have zero issue w/ the story, I just hate who they're using. This couple stood for something greater for me," she wrote on Twitter. "They came around as I was coming out of an eating disorder & showed me I didn't have to be rail thin to be confident & desirable. This hits hard tbh."

While Craig has yet to reveal who the man is he has been seeing, there have been rumors that it is Leo Stark (played by Greg Rikaart), a gay character who has come and gone from the "Days of Our Lives" scene since 2018 (via IMDb). The last fans saw of Leo, he was a part of the spin-off movie special that streamed on Peacock, "Days of Our Lives: A Very Salem Christmas." 

At the time of publication, whether or not Leo is the mystery man Craig has fallen for remains to be seen, but actor Kevin Spirtas believes the story is a meaningful one. "I do know people who have experienced this scenario," Spirtas told Soap Hub. "I know someone in my family who has experienced this. There's truth to it."

He also reiterated that Craig indeed loves Nancy and can understand fan reaction. "The way they wrote this is that [Craig realizing he's gay] is not a surprise to Craig, but it is a surprise to Craig," Spirtas said. "Craig doesn't not love Nancy. He never meant to go out and maliciously hurt her ... They were in high school together. They set out to conquer life together. That's why they had so much fun. They loved each other, appreciated each other. I [do] think a lot of people are actually going to be disturbed about Craig and Nancy being pulled apart."