Days of Our Lives (DOOL) spoilers recap for Tuesday, December 17, reveals that Stephanie Johnson (Abigail Klein) walked in the Body & Soul office and overheard something about Alex Kiriakis (Robert Scott Wilson) sleeping with Joy Wesley (AlexAnn Hopkins).

Alex was tempted to come clean about covering for Johnny DiMera (Carson Boatman), but he ultimately kept up his deception and just tried to convince Stephanie it was a one-time deal that meant nothing.

Stephanie acted like Alex was free to do what he wanted and took off looking upset, so Alex ripped into Johnny over the problems he’d created.

Johnny was apologetic, but Alex warned him to stay out of his way from now on.

Outside the pub on Tuesday’s Days episode, Chanel Dupree DiMera (Raven Bowens) cornered Joy and said she knew what Joy did.

Joy pushed for clarification, so Chanel insisted this was about her hookup.

Once Joy realized Chanel meant her fake one-night stand with Alex, she downplayed it as no big deal.

Joy said it was something she regretted since she wanted to keep her personal life and professional life separate.

In fact, Joy didn’t think it was a good idea to be friends with Chanel and Johnny outside of work anymore.

After Joy suggested she was more of an obligation than a pal anyway, Chanel insisted they were real friends and pushed her to stay in their lives.

Once Joy caved in, Chanel gave her a hug and made things even more awkward.

In the town square on Tuesday’s DOOL show, Joy ran into Stephanie and sought her help with Christmas shopping.

Since Joy didn’t have a gift for Alex yet, she asked Stephanie for advice.

Stephanie admitted she knew about Joy’s hookup with Alex, but Joy was quick to point out they weren’t in a relationship.

However, Stephanie suggested Alex was a great guy if Joy wanted to go for it.

After Stephanie pretended to have a conference call to get to, she took off in a hurry.

Alex ran into Joy later, so she filled him in on her encounter with Stephanie and how much she seemed to care about him.

In the hearing room on Tuesday’s Days episode, Belle Black (Martha Madison) kept pushing Sarah Kiriakis (Linsey Godfrey) to admit Xander Kiriakis (Paul Telfer) plotted to eliminate Brady Black (Eric Martsolf) permanently.

Justin Kiriakis (Wally Kurth) objected multiple times as Belle kept rephrasing the question and making Xander look bad each time.

Judge Dabney (Karole Foreman) finally took a short recess to decide if she’d let Belle pursue this line of questioning.

Belle admitted to Philip Kiriakis (John-Paul Lavoisier) that she was hoping to force Xander’s hand.

There was a chance Xander might drop the case to avoid letting Sarah perjure herself.

Meanwhile, Justin scolded Xander and Sarah since he was just now finding out about this Brady ordeal.

Sarah was stuck in a tough situation since she didn’t want to lie under oath, but she also didn’t want to tank Xander’s case and open the door to criminal charges.

In the end, Judge Dabney ruled that Belle could indeed ask Sarah about Xander’s alleged crime, but Sarah invoked her spousal privilege and refused to testify against her husband.

Belle still felt like that was a win since Judge Dabney had to assume Xander was guilty.

It wasn’t a slam dunk, but Belle gave Philip a pep talk about their chances while they waited on Judge Dabney’s ruling.

Soon after, Judge Dabney made a fast decision, so Belle warned Philip to be prepared since it could mean the judge wasn’t persuaded.

In the end, Judge Dabney told Xander and Philip that she’d decided to split Titan Industries – giving 50 percent to Xander and 50 percent to Philip.

That effectively made Philip and Xander co-CEOs who would have to share power.

Philip suggested putting all the drama behind them and extended his hand to Xander, who refused to shake it and left with Sarah.

At the Kiriakis mansion, Xander refused to work in harmony with his brother and vowed to oust Philip if it was the last thing he did!

In Philip’s suite on Tuesday’s Days episode, he gave Stephanie good news since 50 percent of Titan was still a victory.

Stephanie was happy for Philip and embraced him, but he took it a step further by pulling her into a kiss that she reciprocated.

Back with Chanel, she gave Johnny updates on her earlier conversation with Joy.

Chanel thought Joy’s hookup with Alex really messed with her head and felt it was important for them to be there for her as friends.

Chanel mentioned Joy’s “ridiculous” idea of ending her friendship with Chanel and Johnny, but she said she talked Joy out of it.

Johnny suggested that was too bad since Joy might be right about needing distance.

After Chanel chuckled over Johnny being both smart and clueless, she maintained that Joy needed them right now.

Days of Our Lives spoilers say Johnny, Joy and Alex will continue to deal with a mess that keeps getting messier, so we’ll pass along more predictions on all the turmoil.

CDL will have other sizzling Days of Our Lives spoilers, predictions, updates and news, so make us your favorite DOOL source.