Departing ‘Days of our Lives’ Favorite Previews His Next Big Role

Days of our Lives fans don’t have much longer to enjoy Leo Howard‘s portrayal of college dropout turned fitness instructor Tate Black. The actor wrapped up filming his scenes this past winter, but due to DAYS’ long lead-time taping schedule, Tate is still on-air and involved in multiple stories.

However, Howard, who in real life is married to Natasha Hall, who briefly played DAYS’ Sloan Peterson, per IMDb, has moved on and is already working on his next project.

“A little window into my 1800s lifestyle….Any day that I get to stand on a set and do my job is a great day,” he wrote on Instagram. “And I’ve had a lot of great days in recent times. I am very grateful and proud to be working with such wonderful and talented people on Love Comes Softly.”

According to TV Line, Howard will be playing town doctor Richard Bain in a new Western series slated to premiere on UP Faith & Family next year. Love Comes Softly first became a TV movie in 2003, but has been reimagined for 2027. It’s based on the book Love Comes Softly by Janet Oke, who also wrote When Comes the Heart, which Hallmark developed into a hit series.

Howard’s on-screen DAYS dad, Eric Martsolf (Brady Black), commented on Howard’s post, simply stating, “You’re on a horse.” Howard replied, “It’s better than the horse being on me.”

While Howard works on Love Comes Softly, there is still no on-screen indication that Tate will be leaving the canvas. After the 2025 holiday break, Howard, Ashley Puzemis (Holly Jonas), Raven Bowens (Chanel DiMera), and Carson Boatman (Johnny DiMera) were informed they had been let go. Currently, Tate is acting as a support for his girlfriend, Holly, as usual, but they will soon have trouble when they learn that Rachel Boyd‘s Sophia Choi is still alive and back in Salem.