Billy Flynn Opens Up About 'Bittersweet' Exit from “Days of Our Lives” After 10 Years: 'Don't Know What Else to Do'

It’s the end of an era for Billy Flynn.

The actor, 39, is saying goodbye to Days of Our Lives after 10 years playing Chad DiMera on the popular soap opera. He told Variety on Thursday, March 13, that while his exit feels "bittersweet," he is excited for his next move — joining The Young and the Restless.

“We do the best work we can despite the obstacles that we’ve faced as a show,” he shared. “Part of that move [to Y&R] I’m excited about is they move slower, and there’s more time to do stuff.”

“But I was trained like a warrior here!” he continued, referring to Days filming its episodes more than nine months ahead of the air date. “There’s a different pace [here], but it’s made me the actor and the person I am today.”

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When it came to deciding to leave his decade-long gig, Flynn said he knew he didn’t want to tie himself down to one role forever.

“I love acting, and I love stories, and I never imagined I would just tell one story for the rest of my life,” he explained. “The fact that I’ve been here 10 years and it’s gone by in the blink of an eye is amazing to me. I wasn’t a baby when I started here; I was 30. I didn’t start acting until I was 26. So it’s gone by really fast.”

“I think with this character, I’ve done everything I can with it,” he noted. “I’m looking forward to doing something new. I’m about to start a new journey and tell another story. It really is just that simple.”

Related: Days of Our Lives Marks 15,000 Episodes by Saying 'Goodbye' to Late Soap Legend Bill Hayes: 'It's Time' (Exclusive)

One of the benefits of carrying on the same part for so long is that Flynn was able to grow with his character. He told the outlet that despite their differences, he often found himself connecting to Chad DiMera.

“I’ve got to play this entire revolution,” he reflected. “I don’t know what else to do with him. He’s been as much of me as I think I probably will ever put into another part. There were some times when I was going through some really hard things in my life, and it just so happened that Chad was going through similar things: losing his wife, and I had lost somebody close to me. Things have all lined up with the character that made it [so] I put more of Billy into Chad than I probably would’ve otherwise. There were moments in it that became like a love letter to my own kind of life. It’s special in that way.”

Before landing Days, Flynn said he had “absolutely zero money” and was living on a sailboat. Now, he has a wife, two kids and a house.

“I mean, it’s changed my life,” he said. “The people that I work with here are close friends — I’ve experienced all sorts of ups and downs since I’ve started this job, and they’ve experienced them with me.”

“The outpouring of well-wishes and love since this came out has been humbling,” he added. “It’s been incredibly moving to me, and I’m gonna take that with me. I hope [fans] continue to watch Days and support Days and support whoever might come in and play Chad, if there ever is that case. I hope they do that and give somebody the same love they gave me. And I hope that they come with me on this journey that I’m on and support me doing that too.”

Related: The Young and the Restless Cast Celebrates 13,000 Episodes with Glitzy Event as They Reminisce Over the Iconic Soap

Because of the Days shooting schedule, viewers will see Flynn on both soaps into 2026 — although, "in a perfect world, that wouldn’t be the case,” he admitted.

“Only because you want people to suspend disbelief,” he explained. “It makes my job a little harder.”

Ultimately, Y&R isn’t too far from home for Flynn. The executive producer, Josh Griffith, actually wrote for Days when Flynn first started on the show.

“Josh wrote for me here, and he wrote amazing material with the Necktie Killer and the birth of Chad and Abigail’s love story in my reign,” he said. “And I trust that he’s gonna do that with this new character [on Y&R]. I’ll just be along for the ride. And luckily there’s so many talented people there that I’ll just riding their coattails the same way I rode everyone’s coattails here [at Days].”

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Days of Our Lives can be streamed on Peacock. The Young and the Restless airs weekdays at 12:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT on CBS.

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