Inside Rafe's Failed Love Life On Days Of Our Lives
It's hard to imagine a time when Rafe Hernandez (Galen Gering) wasn't in Salem. However, the good guy was introduced to "Days of Our Lives" fans back in 2008, per Soaps in Depth. When viewers first met Rafe, he was a no nonsense FBI agent who had come to town to help guard Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney) while she was in the witness protection program. After that time, Rafe opted to stay in Salem, and has been working at the local police department ever since.
Rafe has been a constant at the Salem PD and has helped investigate many crimes in the fictional midwestern town. Over the years, Rafe has been an FBI agent, a detective, a commander, a private investigator, club manager, and even a construction worker, per Soap Central. Although Rafe has hopped around to different jobs with different titles, his love life has been just as chaotic. The beloved character has had many relationships since moving to Salem, but he's been mostly unlucky in love along the way.
Rafe Hernandez was previously married to Sami Brady
Not long after Rafe Hernandez first came to Salem, he met Sami Brady. The two butted heads at first, but eventually became good friends. Since Rafe was assigned to protect Sami during her time in the witness protection program, Sami let Rafe in on a big secret. She was pregnant with EJ DiMera's baby and scared to raise another child with the DiMera heir (via Soap Central). Rafe also admitted to Sami that he had a fiancée named Emily Hudson, who had died.
Rafe agreed to help Sami hide the pregnancy, and when Sami gave birth he loved her baby girl like his own. However, the baby sadly died, and it was later revealed that she wasn't Sami's biological child, but that Nicole Walker had switched the baby at birth, causing even more bad blood between Sami and Nicole (via Soaps).
Sami and Rafe fell head over heels in love, but their relationship seemed to have a shadow cast over it due to Sami's involvement with EJ. One night when Sami snapped, she shot EJ in the head, per Soap Opera News. When Rafe learned about her crime he suggested that they get married so that he wouldn't have to testify against her if she was caught. The couple tied the knot, but they didn't live happily ever after. Eventually, Sami and EJ reconnected and slept together. When Rafe found out that Sami had cheated on him, he ended their marriage and the couple divorced, but remained friends.
Rafe Hernandez had flings with Carrie Brady and Kate Roberts
During Rafe Hernandez's marriage to Sami Brady, "Days of Our Lives" fans watched things get tough for the pair. When Sami's older sister Carrie Brady and her husband Austin Reed came home to Salem the drama was heightened, per Soap Central. Soon after Carrie and Austin's arrival, John Black (Drake Hogestyn) was arrested, and Carrie offered to be his lawyer.
When Rafe found out that there was a secret witness in the case, he tipped off Carrie and ended up losing his job because of it. Carrie felt terrible about the situation and offered Rafe a job working for her as a private investigator. The pair began working closely together, and even started to develop feelings for one another. One day the two gave into their feelings and kissed (via Soaps). Rafe and Sami ended up splitting not long after, and Carrie went back to Austin.
According to Soaps in Depth, after his failed romance with Carrie, "Days of Our Lives" fans were surprised when Rafe had a brief fling with Kate Roberts (Lauren Koslow). During a drunken night, Rafe and Kate ended up in bed together, and continued their intimate relationship. Later, Rafe was attacked and brutally beaten. He fell into a coma, which lasted for months (via TV Insider) and when he woke up, he had a long road ahead of him.
Rafe Hernandez later moved on with Jordan Ridgeway
"Days of Our Lives" viewers watched Rafe Hernandez fight for his life while he was in a coma, and when he finally woke up he had to put a lot of effort into getting back on his feet — enduring physical therapy was just a piece of the struggle. However, Rafe didn't seem to mind the therapy much due to his therapist, Jordan Ridgeway (Chrishell Stause).
Rafe and Jordan quickly hit it off, much to Kate Robert's disapproval. Rafe developed feelings for Jordan during their time together, but she refused to date one of her patients. Rafe eventually hired a new therapist and began dating Jordan (via Soap Central).
Eventually, Kate got so jealous that she began looking into Jordan's past and uncovered some dark family secrets, per Soaps in Depth. Kate's research on Jordan led her to a man named Clyde Weston, who claimed to be her father. It was later explained that Clyde wasn't Jordan's biological father, and that he was abusive towards her and her brother, Ben Weston. So, Jordan stole money from him and the siblings ran away.
Jordan was uncomfortable by Clyde's presence in Salem, and after her romance with Rafe fizzled out, she left town and accepted a job out of state, per Soap Opera News.
Rafe Hernandez's marriage to Hope Brady didn't end well
Eventually, Rafe Hernandez was able to go back to work at the Salem Police Department, and he was partnered up with Hope Brady (Kristian Alfonso). The duo grew close and became good friends, and "Days of Our Lives" fans watched as Rafe developed feelings for Hope. However, things changed after Hope's husband Bo Brady (Peter Reckell) returned to Salem with a shocking story of being held prisoner.
Bo reunited with Hope, but was soon diagnosed with a brain tumor (via Soap Hub). Bo knew his time was limited and asked Rafe to look after Hope when he was gone and gave him his blessing (via Soaps in Depth). Bo later died in Hope's arms.
As Hope mourned the loss of Bo, she looked to get revenge on Stefano DiMera — who had been behind many plots against the Brady family in the past. Hope blamed Stefano for Bo's death and eventually shot and killed him. She later called Rafe to help her cover up the murder, per Soap Opera Spy. Hope eventually spent some time in jail for shooting Stefano, and after being released she agreed to start dating Rafe. The two fell in love and the couple eventually got married (via IB Times).
However, Rafe was keeping a terrible secret from Hope. He had betrayed his wife by having a one-night stand with his ex-wife, Sami Brady. Hope eventually found out that Rafe cheated on her. The two eventually tried to work things out, but the damage was done and they later ended their marriage.
Rafe Hernandez dated Ava Vitali before marrying Nicole Walker
"Days of Our Lives" viewers watched Rafe Hernandez move on from Hope Brady and put the pieces of his life back together. Eventually, he began dating again and got romantic with Ava Vitali (Tamara Braun). The two even lived together. However, their romance never had a chance to really take off, as Ava always felt there was something going on between Rafe and his close friend, Nicole Walker (Arianne Zucker), per TV Soap Videos.
Ava questioned Rafe about it many times, but he denied having feelings for Nicole. However, Rafe and Nicole really did have feelings for one another, and they eventually gave into those emotions.
Nicole and Rafe tried to stay away from each other, but they couldn't seem to hide their feelings. The pair ultimately ended up getting intimate and having an affair, which Ava found out about, per Cheat Sheet.
Rafe and Ava ended their relationship, and Rafe quickly moved on to Nicole. The couple had a whirlwind romance, and quickly got engaged. The two even had a quickie wedding at the courthouse (via Soaps). However, it appears that Nicole still has feelings for her ex-husband, Eric Brady (Greg Vaughan), which could leave Rafe out in the cold yet again.
Rafe has definitely been unlucky in love on "Days of Our Lives," but fans are still holding out hope that he'll find his happy ending.