The couple was originally portrayed by Chandler Massey as Will and Freddie Smith as Sonny, who brought acclaimed popularity to the pairing.

Despite Days executive producer Ken Corday saying that characters who die "are dead",[16] it was announced in May 2017 that Chandler Massey was returning to the role of Will.

[18] In June 2011, on the day of his high-school graduation, Will meets the openly gay Sonny through their mutual cousin, Abigail Deveraux.

While working with Will in an effort to prove that Will's boss EJ DiMera is being framed for the shooting, Sonny admits to Will's dad Lucas that he has feelings for Will.

Will feels insecure because Sonny has had past relationships while he hasn't; they overcome this issue and make love for the first time on November 14, 2012.

Nick tries to win back Gabi, working without her knowledge to secure her a modeling job in New York City, where he is also planning to move.

Upon receiving the offer, she initially plans to take the job and Sonny and Will decide to move with her in order to continue raising Arianna together.

Sami and Will's grandma Kate Roberts witness the fight and convince Gabi to dispose of the body in the river.

Sonny proposes to Will (now played by Guy Wilson); Will initially declines in favor of waiting for the right time, but he soon accepts.

Will suggests they formalize a custody arrangement; at Nick's direction, Aiden Jennings draws up an agreement that would severely limit Will's parental rights, and sets up an immediate hearing.

But Nick is shot and killed, at which point Gabi cancels the hearing and instead hires EJ to write up a new agreement that is fair to everyone involved in raising Arianna.

She also confesses to her involvement in Melanie's kidnapping; Will learns Sonny knew of this, but understands his reasons for keeping the secret.

He learns that she is methodically destroying EJ's and Abigail's lives after discovering their affair; outraged by his mother's behavior, he writes the article as a hit piece against her.

Will's personal life is also rocked by the article, after his editor Zoe adds Abigail's name, obtained from Sami, to the published version.

Will's infidelity with Paul is not initially common knowledge; Adrienne slaps Will when she learns of it, and a tabloid later publicizes the affair.

John discovers that Will, after being strangled, was abducted by Susan Banks, who made Will believe he was her son, telling him he had lost his memory after being "shot".

When she confesses, and Will realizes his life in Memphis has been a lie, he decides to return to Salem with his newly-found family, to find out who he really is.

Will's aunt Belle inadvertently lets slip that Will once made a "huge mistake", and Will presses her to reveal what it was – and she tells him that he cheated on Sonny with Paul.

Sonny later hears of the kiss, but his heart is resolved on Will, and he goes to Will with the intent of re-building their relationship, saying "I want my husband back".

[24] Soap journalist Michael Fairman[25] praised Will and Sonny's wedding, saying it was "beautifully acted", with "inspired writing" and "touching speeches".

[26] Hollywood reporter Greg Hernandez[27] called the wedding "great stuff", and said he was "wiping away tears left and right".

He confessed, "I used to get lost in fantasy as a teenager that I would marry a guy" and explained how his imagined festivities were very much like Will and Sonny's wedding.

[32] Digest criticized the writing,[31] and complained that Will "inexplicably succumbed" to Paul's advances and that it added "insult to injury" when it was subsequently revealed that Will had had a previous episode of infidelity when off the show.

[34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] Soap Opera Digest called it "sick and violent",[43] and James Lott Jr[44] of AfterBuzz TV said Will's murder was a "jump the shark moment", and the "biggest mistake" the show could make.

[45] Hollywood reporter Greg Hernandez was "disgusted that such an important character would be killed off in such a dark and quick way after the journey viewers had been on with him the past five years or so", saying it was "disrespectful" and "unforgivable really".

[47][48][49] In an article entitled "Sonny Kiriakis & Will Horton Had the Most Important Relationship in TV", and subtitled "WilSon need to be a thing again" Kristyn Burtt of SheKnows said: "The return of Chandler Massey to Days of Our Lives this fall has been a huge watershed moment for NBC.

The character of Will Horton and his love story with Sonny Kiriakis, played by Freddie Smith, was a groundbreaking one on television.

Let's hope so because Days threw away one of their most impactful relationships in soap history for a salacious serial killer storyline.

"[47] The story event of Will regaining his life's memories and his love for Sonny attracted praise for both actors, the writing, and the staging.

[51] In 2020, Charlie Mason from Soaps She Knows placed Will and Sonny jointly at #24 on a list of the 35 most memorable characters from Days of Our Lives, commenting "Judge us if you must for making Freddie Smith and Chandler Massey's gay supercouple share an entry.