Shocking news, Days of Our Lives fans:

Long-time stars Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn are the first casualties of the show's huge budget cuts

"The couple will be happily reunited after a long period of angst and separation and will be off-screen after January for an unknown period of time. It was a very tough decision to make," Executive Producer Ken Corday told Soap Opera Digest.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.