DAYS OF OUR LIVES SPOILERS OCTOBER 31: RACHEL BLACK CORRUPTS GRIEVING THOMAS DIMERA — CHAD PAYS THE ULTIMATE PRICE
TL;DR: On October 31’s Days of Our Lives, Chad DiMera officially breaks up with Cat Greene after his son Thomas DiMera issued an ultimatum — dump Cat or I’m leaving Salem. The manipulation campaign, orchestrated by his cousin Rachel Black, has successfully destroyed Chad’s first chance at happiness since Abigail Deveraux’s murder.
The most disturbing storyline on Days right now? It’s not corporate espionage at DiMera Enterprises. It’s not even another possession plot.
It’s the systematic corruption of an innocent, grieving child.
Rachel Black has successfully transformed her vulnerable cousin Thomas DiMera into an emotional terrorist, coaching him on psychological warfare tactics that would make her imprisoned mother Kristen DiMera beam with twisted pride. And the casualty? Chad DiMera’s relationship with Cat Greene — his first real shot at moving forward after the devastating murder of his wife Abigail.
What Did Rachel Black Tell Thomas DiMera About Cat Greene?
Rachel Black weaponized information about Chad’s relationship with Cat Greene purely out of spite after losing a Monopoly game to Thomas during a Salem-wide blackout on September 29.
Let that sink in for a moment. A board game loss triggered a manipulation campaign that would destroy an entire family dynamic.
Rachel didn’t just casually mention that Chad was dating someone. She strategically revealed the most painful detail possible: that Cat Greene had previously impersonated Thomas’s murdered mother Abigail Deveraux under orders from serial killer Clyde Weston. This was information Chad had desperately tried to keep from his already traumatized son, knowing it would devastate him.
The cruelty of this reveal cannot be overstated. Thomas is a child still processing the violent death of his mother. He’s been working through grief, trauma, and the confusion of trying to understand why someone would hurt his family. And Rachel chose to tell him about Cat’s impersonation specifically because she knew it would cause maximum emotional damage.
But Rachel didn’t stop there. Oh no. That was just the opening move.
How Did Rachel Black Coach Thomas to Manipulate Chad?
Rachel didn’t just drop a bomb and walk away — she provided Thomas with a detailed instruction manual on emotional blackmail.
During the week of October 13-17, Rachel sat down with her grieving cousin and laid out her proven strategy for destroying her father Brady Black’s romantic relationships. She bragged about her “successes” in driving away women like Chloe Lane and Ava Vitali from Brady’s life, treating these manipulations like achievements to be proud of.
When Thomas expressed his wish that Cat would just go away, Rachel responded with a chillingly simple, “That’s easy.”
Easy. Like breaking up your father’s relationship is just another level in a video game.
Rachel then coached Thomas on exactly what to say and do to force Chad’s hand. She taught him to leverage his grief, to use his father’s guilt over Abigail’s death, and to issue an ultimatum that Chad couldn’t refuse: break up with Cat or I’m leaving Salem to live with Jack and Jennifer Deveraux in Boston.
This isn’t typical childhood acting out. This is calculated psychological manipulation that mirrors Kristen DiMera’s tactics almost exactly. Rachel has become her mother’s protégé, and Thomas has become her first successful test subject.
The transformation of Thomas from an innocent child grieving his mother to a kid threatening to abandon his father unless his demands are met didn’t happen overnight. It was engineered, step by strategic step, by his cousin.
Why Did Chad Break Up With Cat Greene?
Chad DiMera chose his son over his own happiness, breaking up with Cat Greene during the week of October 27-31 to prevent Thomas from leaving Salem.
The decision came after Thomas’s ultimatum created an impossible situation. Chad was already emotionally exhausted from single parenting two traumatized children while processing his own grief over Abigail’s murder. The threat of losing Thomas — of his son choosing to leave rather than accept Cat in their lives — was too much to bear.
Adding pressure to the situation was Jennifer Horton, who told Chad she would support Thomas moving to Boston unless Chad promised to “steer clear of Cat.” So Chad faced united family opposition to his relationship.
Chad sacrificed his first genuine connection since Abigail’s death. Cat represented his attempt to move forward, to find some semblance of happiness again. Yes, their relationship was complicated by Cat’s history of impersonating Abigail under Clyde’s orders — but Chad had worked through those issues and genuinely cared for her.
But when your traumatized son issues an ultimatum, when your mother-in-law backs up that ultimatum, and when you’re still drowning in grief yourself — what choice do you really have?
Chad made the choice he felt he had to make. He ended things with Cat and prioritized Thomas’s fragile emotional state. Whether this was the right decision is something fans are fiercely debating online.
Where Is Thomas DiMera Going?
Thomas DiMera is leaving Salem, heading to Boston to live with his grandparents Jack and Jennifer Deveraux.
The storyline aligns perfectly with behind-the-scenes reality — actor Cary Christopher’s last airdate as Thomas was October 31, 2025, as he’s leaving Days to become a series regular on a new Amazon Prime series. The role will be recast, with a new actor scheduled to appear in April 2026.
This means Thomas’s departure is happening RIGHT NOW on our screens. His threat to leave wasn’t an empty one — Thomas is actually following through, despite Chad breaking up with Cat to try to prevent it.
The question becomes: Did Chad sacrifice his relationship for nothing? Did Rachel’s manipulation campaign succeed so completely that Thomas is leaving anyway?
And here’s the heartbreaking part — Chad won’t have his son around to rebuild their relationship. Thomas will be in Boston processing all of this trauma, influenced by Rachel’s toxic coaching, potentially becoming even more damaged during his time away.
What Happens to Rachel Black Next?
Rachel Black’s manipulation of Thomas isn’t happening in isolation — it’s connected to a much darker, suppressed narrative that Days is preparing to revisit.
Spoiler intelligence suggests that Rachel’s memories of shooting her uncle EJ DiMera will begin to resurface during the November sweeps period. Her current manipulative behavior toward Thomas appears to be a symptom of her own profound, unresolved trauma from that violent incident.
Dr. Marlena Evans, Rachel’s grandmother, will be forced to confront the possibility that her granddaughter is not just a troublemaker but a deeply damaged child who has been suppressing traumatic memories of pulling the trigger on EJ.
TV Insider’s Fall 2025 preview hinted that Rachel’s behavior will escalate beyond emotional manipulation into “life-threatening consequences.” Given her DiMera genetics and her mother Kristen’s history, the potential for Rachel to become genuinely dangerous is terrifyingly real.
The big question: Is Rachel actually suffering from trauma-induced amnesia about shooting EJ, or has she been consciously faking it this entire time? Given her demonstrated capacity for calculated manipulation, either scenario is plausible.
What’s Next for Thomas, Rachel, and Chad?
Could Thomas’s time in Boston make everything worse?
Don’t be surprised if Thomas returns to Salem in a few years as a troubled teenager, SORAS’d (Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome) and carrying resentment about this entire period of his life. The manipulation he experienced from Rachel, combined with being separated from his father during such a crucial developmental period, could create the next generation DiMera villain.
Given Rachel’s history and her capacity for manipulation, this likely leads to an intervention storyline. Brady will eventually have to confront that his daughter needs serious psychological help, not just gentle parenting. Marlena as Rachel’s grandmother and a psychiatrist will play a crucial role in this reckoning.
This has all the makings of a classic “sins of the parents” storyline. Rachel is becoming Kristen 2.0, while Thomas risks following the dark path of DiMera villains before him. The question is whether anyone can save these kids before the damage becomes permanent.
For Chad, losing Cat and Thomas in the same storyline represents his rock bottom. When Thomas returns in April 2026 (with both a new actor playing Thomas and a new actor, Conner Floyd, playing Chad), the relationship between father and son will need to be rebuilt from scratch.
The tragedy here is that Chad sacrificed everything to protect Thomas, and it might not have been enough. Sometimes love isn’t enough to fix trauma — especially when a predatory manipulator like Rachel Black gets involved.
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