How Many Children Does Maggie On Days Of Our Lives Really Have?
"Days of Our Lives" fans have watched Maggie Horton's story develop for decades. The character is a huge part of the NBC soap opera and one of the longest-running characters on "Days of Our Lives." Some fans may even remember Maggie making her debut in 1973 with actress Suzanne Rogers in the role (via Soap Central). Over the years, Maggie has been through many ups and downs, including being paralyzed as the result of a car accident; dealing with alcohol addiction; losing the love of her life, husband Mickey Horton; being presumed dead after getting attacked by The Salem Stalker; and so much more, per Soaps in Depth.
Although Maggie has had to deal with her share of troubles and trauma, she's overcome everything that life has thrown at her and continued to fight for happiness. She's become such an important mother figure to so many people in Salem such as Brady Black, Xander Kiriakis, and Jennifer Horton. Of course, Maggie has a large brood of her own, but her family connections can get a bit confusing for those fans who haven't been watching "Days of Our Lives" for many years.
Maggie adopted Janice Barnes in 1976
"Days of Our Lives" viewers know Mickey and Maggie Horton as one of the greatest couples to ever appear on the show. They had a strong love connection and although they had their fair share of problems, they always found their way back to each other. One of the biggest issues in their marriage was the fact that they were unable to have a biological child together, per Fame 10. Mickey had found out that he was unable to have biological children, which prompted the couple to adopt (via Soap Central).
In 1976 the pair adopted Janice Barnes (Martha Nix), but Janice's biological mother Joanne would stop at nothing to get her daughter back. Joanne moved to Salem to be near Janice, and their relationship was hard for Maggie to deal with. Maggie began to develop an alcohol addiction and was later arrested when she crashed her car while intoxicated. To make matters worse Janice was in the vehicle, per Soaps in Depth.
Maggie vowed to stop drinking, but her mistake came back to haunt her when Joanne attempted to get custody of Janice. Maggie began to panic about the custody hearing and fell off the wagon. She eventually kidnapped Janice but was later brought home to Salem. Eventually, Joanne won custody of Janice.
Sadly, Janice's story had a tragic end when she was murdered by the Riverfront Knifer in 1988 (via Soaps).
Maggie got pregnant with Sarah through artificial insemination
Following the drama with Janice, Maggie Horton opted to be a surrogate for an anonymous donor. She became pregnant through artificial insemination and agreed to give the child to her biological father and his wife, per Soap Central. However, Maggie decided that she wanted to keep the baby girl, whom she named Sarah. Following the child's birth, a man named Evan Whyland claimed to be Sarah Horton's biological father and demanded custody of the little girl. Evan and Maggie battled over Sarah until Evan was killed in a car accident. Maggie then raised Sarah with her husband, Mickey Horton.
It was later discovered that Evan was not Sarah's father and that Dr. Neil Curtis fathered Sarah. Neil was the doctor who performed Maggie's insemination and eventually confessed to using his own specimen to impregnate Maggie. This led to Maggie and Neil growing closer and even carrying on an affair until Sarah caught them and told Mickey the shocking news. Maggie and Mickey eventually worked things out and Sarah went to live in Nashville, per Soaps in Depth. She returned to Salem in 2018 and has been a big part of Maggie's life since that time (via Soaps).
Maggie adopted Melissa shortly after giving birth to Sarah
According to Soaps in Depth, Mickey and Maggie Horton continued their adoption journey just one year after Sarah's birth. The pair decided to take custody of a young woman named Melissa Anderson after she ran away from her biological mother. Melissa began working at a local restaurant. Later, Melissa's biological mother, Linda, came to Salem. The two battled over stocks in a business that had been gifted to her. Melissa sold the stock, and her mother looked to retaliate by interfering in her romantic relationship (via Soap Central).
In 1986, Melissa realized her dream of becoming a dancer when she got offered a stop in Lars Englund's Dance Company. That same year she and her longtime love, Pete, got married in a double ceremony with her adoptive parents, Mickey and Maggie. However, after it was discovered that Melissa had an affair with Lars her life fell apart. She was left without a career following an injury to her leg (via Soaps) and Pete opted to divorce her and leave Salem.
Melissa eventually moved to Nashville with her sister, Sarah, and tried her hand at a singing career. However, she did come back to visit Salem and her mother from time to time. It was also revealed that she had a son named Nathan off-screen. She returned for the funeral of her father, Mickey, in 2010.
Maggie was revealed to be the biological mother of Daniel Jonas
Just when "Days of Our Lives" viewers thought that they knew all there was about Maggie Horton's past, Dr. Daniel Jonas (Shawn Christian) came to Salem. Daniel first debuted on the soap opera in 2008 when his godfather, Victor Kiriakis (John Aniston) brought him to Salem to help treat Bo Brady (Peter Reckell), who was suffering from liver disease. He was offered a permanent job at Salem University Hospital and decided to stick around town for a while. During his time in Salem, he learned that he and Carly Manning shared a daughter, Melanie. Daniel and Melanie began to build a bond, but he was even more shocked when he learned that his mother was also living in Salem.
Daniel learned that his parents had used an egg donor to conceive him and that those eggs belonged to Maggie, per Soap Central. However, the eggs were revealed to be stolen and Maggie was thrilled to learn that Daniel was her son. The two quickly grew close and immediately began to build their mother and son relationship. Maggie was heartbroken when Daniel was killed in a car accident caused by Eric Brady on New Year's Eve 2016 (via Soaps). Daniel's heart was donated following his passing and saved the life of Brady Black in the process, per Soap Opera Spy.
At the time of his death, Daniel was engaged to Nicole Walker (Arianne Zucker). Their daughter, Holly Jonas, was later born thanks to surrogate Chloe Lane (Nadia Bjorlin).
Maggie has a complicated relationship with long, lost daughter Summer Townsend
After Brady Black's life was saved by Daniel Jonas' heart, he began to have strange dreams of a woman in California. The dreams were so vivid that he thought Daniel was trying to tell him something. So, he went looking for the mystery woman. He discovered that her name was Summer Townsend (via Soaps). Brady learned that Summer and Daniel had once been close friends. Over the years, Daniel had told Summer that he thought they may be siblings, both children of Maggie Horton. Summer eventually came to Salem and took a DNA test and discovered that she was Maggie's daughter.
Maggie was then forced to admit that she had become pregnant with Summer at a very young age when she had a fling with a young farmhand named Noah. Because of Maggie's previous health issues, she didn't think she could raise Summer and gave her up for adoption. Summer and Maggie began to bond, but Summer's infatuation with Brady and greed took over. She ended up being revealed as a con artist and even took money to kidnap Brady's son (via Monsters and Critics). However, she didn't go through with it.
Since that time, Maggie and Summer haven't had a great relationship. Summer was last seen in Salem blaming her mother for her own issues with alcohol, per Soaps in Depth.
Maggie's parenting journey hasn't always been easy, but she had made her family a priority, even during her darkest times.