With Stefan out of the picture on Days of Our Lives, Gabi has been left to figure out how to move forward without him. Her cousin Javi is in Salem with her and getting

involved with Leo, much to Gabi’s chagrin, and her brother Rafe is back on his feet. With this new direction Gabi’s taking, Cherie Jimenez opened up about where that will

take her character.

New Directions

Jimenez had a discussion with Soap Opera Digest in which she revealed that since she started playing Gabi, there hasn’t been a lot to be happy about. However, with the new writers Paula Cwikly and Jeanne Marie Ford, she feels optimistic about Gabi’s future. “I am excited for everyone to see the next chapter of Gabi’s life,” she said, adding, “because I feel like her being able to close that door and move in a new direction is going to allow for new things to come into her life.”

The downbeat turn Gabi’s life took involved getting divorced from Stefan (Brandon Barash), along with other schemes including EJ’s (Dan Feuerriegel) misdeeds, having Javi (Al Calderon) come onto the canvas is a welcome breath of fresh air, and signals Gabi’s new direction. She remarked, “New relationships and new people in her life are going to bring out different parts of Gabi. So there’s more opportunity for her, over time, to smile.”

Career and Family Are Key

No longer having to deal with the pain of Stefan cheating on her with Ava (Tamara Braun), Jimenez stated that Gabi will be focused on her career as well as her life and what she wants to make of it. “There’s going to be a very career-driven Gabi,” she remarked, further noting that family would soon take precedence for Gabi. (Find out how Ava became an unwilling drug lord.)

Jimenez is thrilled with the direction the writers are sending her character in and looks forward to the audience’s reaction. “I feel like her being able to close that door and move in a new direction is going to allow for new things to come into her life,” she exclaimed.