Days of Our Lives News: Jen Lilley Shares Why She Left DOOL

In 2013, viewers were thrilled when Jen Lilley joined Days of Our Lives as Theresa Donovan. Her character, which she described as “a mess of gorgeous chaos,” easily became a fan favorite. Fans easily got drawn to her charms and impeccable performance, which is why many were left devastated when she announced her decision to leave the show.

Can’t Keep Up With What’s Expected Of Her

Back in 2016, she attributed her choice to leave to the “time and the sacrifices required to keep Theresa on the front burner. Given the demanding production schedule a soap requires, that just wasn’t possible with the other commitments and opportunities I wanted to pursue.”

In a recent interview with Forbes, she revealed that the main reason why she had to leave was for her to have more time to spend with her family. A lot of things have happened to Lilley since she left. At the moment, the actress is happy being a foster mom and a children’s rights advocate.

Jen Lilley Wanted To Become A Foster Mom

Lilley admitted that she really wanted to become a foster parent. She knew that she won’t be able to give the love and attention that kids deserve is she remains on the show.

“I think that if you want to take care of children in a really dedicated manner, especially children who are in foster care who really need a lot of love and attention, and they need a lot of consistency, then I would not have been able to successfully do the show at the same time…”

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— SOS/CTS/HH (@SoapOperaSpy) September 4, 2019

Choosing Between The Soap and Family

She explained that she had to choose between the soap and becoming a foster mom.

“Something had to give. It was either I was going to do a good job on the soap and maybe not give these children the love that they deserve or I was going to be a fantastic foster mom, and just flounder in my acting.”

Lilley didn’t leave show business totally. After exiting Days of Our Lives, she still managed to take on other projects that gave her more flexibility. She’s worked with Hallmark Channel and starred in movies like “Mingle All the Way,” “Winter Love Story,” and “Love Unleashed.”

During that period, she took in two foster children. Back in June, she announced that she and her husband officially adopted their oldest foster son. On July 30, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Julie Evangeline Wayne. Apart from that, Lilley became a celebrity ambassador of various organizations like Childhelp, ECPAT, and The Dave Thomas Foundation.

Stay tuned to Days of Our Lives and keep checking DOOL spoilers frequently for all the latest news, updates and developments!