Days Of Our Lives Stars Stephen Nichols And Steve Burton Look Back At Decades Of Same-Soap Encounters

In 1988, actor Steve Burton stepped into the soap opera world for the very first time as Harris Michaels on "Days of Our Lives" (via Soaps She Knows). There, he met Stephen Nichols who'd been carving out his own daytime niche as Steve "Patch" Johnson since 1985, per Soap Central. After a brief stint, Burton played Jason Quartermaine on "General Hospital" for several years until a car accident caused Jason to permanently lose his memory. He changed his name to Jason Morgan and began working as a mafia enforcer.

Patch, meanwhile, started off performing misdeeds for criminals such as Victor Kiriakis (John Aniston), but when he fell in love with Kayla Brady (Mary Beth Evans), the two got embroiled in several exciting adventures. In fact, Kayla and Steve soon became a fan-favorite couple. In 1997, Nichols moved over to "GH" to play Stefan Cassadine (via IMDb). Stefan tried to separate himself from his wicked family, eventually falling in love with Katherine Bell who funnily enough was played by his "DOOL" partner in crime, Evans. 

Stefan met his end when he battled Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) and fell off a cliff, per Soaps in Depth. Both men subsequently appeared on "The Young and the Restless," before returning to their respective shows. Burton left "GH" in 2021 and reprised his role as Harris on the digital series, "Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem," before joining the main show full-time. The two actors recently looked back on their soap history on social media.

Now that actor Steve Burton has left "General Hospital" and returned to his role as Harris Michaels on "Days of Our Lives," co-star Stephen Nichols took the opportunity to make a quick video of the two discussing how they first met. He posted it on Instagram, writing, "It's a small world! @1steveburton and I first crossed paths in Salem in 1987 (Was I here?! Of course I was ... I meant were you here?). Then again in Port Charles in 1996. And I think we just missed each other in Genoa City in 2013. Now, some 35 years later, we're here together in Salem again and working together. Daytime TV has been good to both of us."

The amount of fan love for the two Steves was overwhelming, with one gushing excitedly, "Love this ... been watching you both since the '80's on Days ... then GH ... and now again on Days!!" Another posted, "Sure hope to see many scenes between you and Steve in 2023!" The love continued to flow with one fan replying to the comment with "Omg I am so excited!!" while another commenter stated, "Can't wait to see this storyline with you both."

While the LA Times reported that some fans weren't happy that "DOOL" is now streaming full-time on Peacock, rather than on NBC, the long-running soap opera has been creating even more thrilling storylines. We can't wait to see the two Steves back in action together.