Alfonso and Peter Reckell — better known as Hope and Bo on Days of Our Lives — spoke to Swooon in a video published May 23 about their on-screen alter egos’ long relationship, including their characters’ 40th wedding anniversary.

The actress explained that she and Reckell first realized how strongly fans were reacting to them when they went to Louisiana to shoot on location in 1984.  “We were on the plane, we landed in New Orleans, and I heard music before deplaning, and I was like, ‘Pete, they’re playing our theme song… Can you believe it?’ ” Alfonso said. Days of Our Lives used “Tonight I Celebrate My Love,” a duet by Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson, as the couple’s theme.

“When we got off the jetway, there were thousands, thousands of people…. There were more people than when The Beatles arrived [in New York City in 1964], if you can even believe that,” she continued.

As for the couple’s connection and why viewers adored it so much, Reckell said, “The love in that relationship was always there. No matter what was happening underneath, when we looked at each other — and lots of audience members say that — when we looked into each other’s eyes, you could see the love that was just ever-present.”

“Good producers and writers, they lean into whatever you’re bringing,” Reckell said of how their chemistry was translated into storylines. “You look back on that time, and what they gave us was just incredible. The support they gave us, the writing they gave us, we were just so extremely fortunate to have this whole Days of Our Lives holding us up.”

Bo and Hope married for the first time in 1985 in a “royal wedding” given to them by a British royal named Lady Joanna in thanks for their help saving her life. The wedding’s exteriors were filmed on location in England, and the moment is considered one of the most expensive soap opera weddings ever.

Reflecting on the 40 years since the wedding, Alfonso told Swooon, “It feels like we blinked, and here we are. I’m at a loss for words, shockingly. It’s incredible, it’s just incredible, that we are still involved with Days of Our Lives and still a part of it.”

The wedding itself was stressful for the pair, they explained. “For some reason, the two of us basically hung on each other because that was the only thing that was a safe place,” Reckell said. “There was so much pressure on that one moment.”