Days of Our Lives’ Mary Beth Evans Celebrates Her Years With Stephen Nichols as Her Leading Man: ’What a Ride It’s Been!’

There are a whole lotta real-life marriages that don’t last as long as the on-screen partnership between Mary Beth Evans and Stephen Nichols. When Days of Our Lives cast him as “Patch” Johnson back in 1985, neither he nor his leading lady could have guessed that his character and her Kayla Brady would go on to strike supercouple gold. But that they did — to the point that, during a break from the soap, General Hospital re-paired them as Stefan Cassadine and Katherine Bell.

Over the years, the actors have become the best of friends, too. (Working so closely together, that seems like a must, right?) So needless to say, Evans wasn’t going to let her longtime castmate’s anniversary pass without acknowledging the milestone. It’s been “39 years since this amazingly talented, sweet, hardworking and hilarious guy walked into Salem!” she marveled on Instagram. “What a ride it’s been, my Patchman! Here’s to 39 more!”

Of course, if the pals are going to get even one more, first Steve will have to cheat death once again and survive the gunshot wound he received courtesy of Konstantin… and the looming threat that is posed by, ironically, his bestie John, aka the Pawn.