The Young and the Restless' Beth Maitland on Traci and Cane's abrupt ending

Fans aren't the only ones lamenting the sudden stop of the potential Traci and Cane romance on The Young and the Restless; portrayer Beth Maitland is also saddened by the storyline's abrupt ending.

You win some, you lose some. And it looks like fans of the brewing (if mostly one-sided) romance between The Young and the Restless' Traci and Cane are on the losing side. After months of buildup in which Traci (Beth Maitland) developed a crush on Cane (Daniel Goddard) and expressed her feelings via the pages of her new novel, the powers that be decided to wrap the story with a somewhat lackluster-in-comparison ending.

Fans who tuned in to the Thursday, July 18, episode of the CBS soap opera were somewhat surprised when, after Cane showed an interest in exploring things with Traci, she turned him down and said that they should remain friends. Viewers who couldn't get behind the connection between the unlikely pair were relieved, many having already taken to social media to express their displeasure with the storyline. Meanwhile, for those who quite enjoyed the unique storyline, the ending was a letdown, especially after having invested months into the budding connection between the characters.

There's no denying the story was divisive, with fans either hating it or loving it. Maitland was on the latter end of that equation, expressing on social media that like many of her fans, she was disheartened with how Traci and Cane's adventure came to an end. In response to one fan's lament about the storyline direction, she wrote, "I am [disappointed] too. Sometimes the fuss and meanness gets to win. Makes me so sad."

Soon after Matiland posted the comment, fans began questioning whether it was truly the slew of mean, negative social media comments about the storyline that convinced the writers to scrap the Traci and Cane romance. In response, the actress clarified that while nasty comments and opinions may have played a part in the decision, many other factors contributed.

"To be clear, this was not all fan meanness. So much more always involved," she wrote. "This was not writers backing down. Many factors. This happens. Let's all look forward to what's next!"

So what is next for Y&R's Traci? Unfortunately for fans who love spoilers, the CBS soap opera is pretty good at keeping upcoming storylines under wraps, so viewers will have to wait and see. However, Maitland's costar Eric Braeden (Victor Newman) is pretty sure that the actress will be kept busy in the future, no matter what's in store for her in Genoa City.

"You are a wonderful actress and great person," he wrote in response to her social media posts about the end of Traci and Cane's storyline. "You are one of the most secure people I have met in this business."

As for Daniel Goddard's take on the end of the Traci and Cane storyline, he hasn't shared a direct opinion on his social media feeds. However, he did post a thought-provoking question on June 17 that may be alluding to the end of the pair's potential romance.

"Is it better to have loved and lost... or to have never loved at all?" he wrote.

Maitland originated the role of Traci Ann Abbott in 1982 and played the character on contract until 1996. She has been in a recurring status since that time, with a notable return in 2018 to help play out the story of Dina Mergeron's (Marla Adams) Alzheimer's diagnosis. Goddard joined Y&R in 2007 and spent most of that time in an on-screen romance with Christel Khalil's Lily. However, when Khalil dropped down to recurring status on the soap last year, Cane was left without a romantic partner and wide-open storyline potential, which the writers decided to fill with his close friendship to Traci.

What do you think about the way Y&R wrapped up the Traci and Cane storyline? How would you answer Daniel Goddard's question about loving and losing? Has social media affected the way you watch and react to soap opera storylines? Did you enjoy watching soaps more before social media came into play? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.