The Real Reason Greg Vaughan Keeps Taking Breaks From Days Of Our Lives

"Days of Our Lives" viewers watched Eric Brady and Nicole Walker's marriage disintegrate while he was in Africa. Nicole began feeling lonely, and started to lean into her friendship with Rafe Hernandez (Galen Gering). One night during a moment of weakness, Nicole fell into the arms of Xander Cook Kiriakis (Paul Telfer), per Soaps in Depth. After the one night stand, Eric's sister, Sami Brady, found out about the indiscretion and decided that her brother needed to know what his wife had done. When Eric returned from Africa to surprise Nicole for their wedding anniversary, things took a dark turn. Sami spilled the beans about Nicole's night with Xander and Eric was furious. He decided he wanted a divorce from Nicole and headed back to Africa (via Soaps).

Eric later returned to Salem to find that Nicole was dating Rafe. Although he was saddened by the fact that Nicole had moved on, he understood her need to be with Rafe. Nicole and Rafe eventually married, and Eric opted to stay in Salem near his family. He also began dating and started a fling with new police officer Jada Hunter (via Daytime Confidential).

It has been a wild ride for Eric, as he's been coming in and out of Salem quite a bit over the past few years, and actor Greg Vaughan hasn't been shy about revealing the thought process behind leaving the show.