Stefano first came to Salem in 1982.
Whilethe DiMera family treeis a complicated one, Stefano’s wild and twisty life is even more dramatic.
Marlena did everything she could to fight for her children and ended up shooting and killing Stefano.
Of course, Stefano never stayed dead for long.
He eventually made his way back to Salem and had John Black brainwashed to be his assassin.
He planned to get rid of his enemies by luring them to a remote island in the Bahamas.
However, his plan failed and he managed to escape on a helicopter before being captured.
Later, when Marlena disappeared John and Roman believed that Stefano may be behind it.
They tracked him to a Mayan temple, where he was again presumed dead only to return years later.
This time, Stefano had been diagnosed with a brain tumor before he faked his death yet again.
Stefano went to hide at a place called Maison Blanche (viaSoaps in Depth).
During this time he kidnapped John and used him to lure Marlena to him.
That night, the estate caught fire and Stefano managed to escape again.
At night, Stefano would sneak into Marlena’s home to hypnotize her into falling in love with him.
However, Stefano’s antics causedMarlena’s soul to be opened up for demonic possession, perDeadline.
Stefano kidnapped Marlena and faked a plane crash so that everyone would believe they were both dead.
Stefano took Marlena to Paris to hide her, but John Black eventually found them and brought her home.
However, during Marlena’s absence, John had fallen in love with Kristen DiMera.
When that plan backfired, John and Marlena rekindled their romance.
Stefano later learned that Chad DiMera (Billy Flynn) was his son.
Stefano bonded with EJ and Chad over the years and was finally taken down in 2016.
Bo came home to reunite with his family and friends, including his wife Hope Brady.
There were questions about whether Stefano was really dead this time.
However, ashocking plot twistanswered that question for good.
The NBC sudser skipped ahead a full year in the matter of a few episodes.
Fans were then left to find out what had happened during thatone-year time jumpalong with Jennifer, perTV Insider.
However, there was a huge twist.
Dr. Rolf had transferred Stefano’s essence onto a microchip before his body had died.
Although Stefano is gone, he surely hasn’t been forgotten.
