On Days of our Lives, Jennifer hasn’t been shy about calling out Chad for his latest romantic choices — particularly when it comes to Cat. But off-screen, Melissa Reeves has been reflecting on a very different kind of love story. After 40 years on the soap, the long-time fan favorite recently opened up about the journey she’s shared with her husband, Scott Reeves, as they celebrate 35 years of marriage.

Key Takeaways

• Melissa Reeves has been celebrating a real-life love story of her own.
• She reflected on 35 years of marriage with Scott Reeves, which began when they met on the DAYS set in 1988.
• After a couple of setbacks, they married in March 1990 and have been together ever since.
• Reeves credited their shared faith as the foundation that’s helped them weather challenges over the years.
• Their two children now have families of their own, and Reeves finds inspiration in their faith and example.
• Surrounded by their grandchildren, Reeves says she and her husband are best friends who are enjoying this chapter of their lives together.

A Soap Beginning With a Real-Life Twist

Speaking with Swooon, Reeves shared how her love story began on the same set that made Jennifer Horton a household name. In 1988, Scott joined the show playing Jake Hogansen. He and Melissa had no idea that a simple workday would become the start of something life-changing. “I met him on [DAYS],” she recalled. “The day I was supposed to work with him, he got violently ill with the flu.”

Once he recovered, their first hangout happened the old-fashioned way — at a house party. From there, things moved fast. Just a month later, Scott proposed during a romantic night at Stanley Park in Canada, hiding the ring in his leather jacket pocket. “We went out onto this one point called Lions Gate Bridge, and he proposed to me outside at night. It was so beautiful,” she stated.

Life didn’t make the road to the altar easy. Scott’s sudden health issues delayed their wedding date, and Melissa’s filming schedule on DAYS made the big day its own kind of soap-worthy scramble. But despite the bumps, they made it down the aisle in March 1990 — and they’ve been in it together ever since.

Building a Life That Lasts

Three and a half decades later, Reeves is the first to admit that longevity takes work. “Marriage is hard, and I don’t even know how people make it without God in their life,” she reflected. Their shared faith became their anchor through every season — good, bad, and everything in between.

They also raised two children who now each have families of their own, and Reeves said she finds that incredibly wonderful. And she found the faith their kids have to be inspiring. “Scott and I are inspired by our children’s faith,” she proudly said, adding, “To watch them get married young and have these children and just seek the Lord first in their marriages, you go, ‘Oh, what an example, even for us oldies.’”

And now, surrounded by their grandkids, she’s savoring the sweet rewards of the life they built. She explained that she and her husband are best friends, and remarked, “We laugh, and now we’re traveling together and enjoying all these grandbabies and just having the time of our life.” (Find out how DAYS shaped Reeves’ path.)