Young & Restless has been experiencing a dry spell when it comes to sexy scandals lately, but the soapy skies may be about to open up… and fans are beyond ready!

While Audra’s attempt to pseudo-seduce Kyle failed to serve up any actual sex or significant scandal, the good news (for many) is that the scheme may have laid the groundwork for some actual cheating that will steam up our screens.

It’s been so long that it was almost tough to recall when we last had a super soapy sex scandal on Young & Restless. In fact, Abby and Devon getting caught in the act by Chance and Amanda may have been the last genuinely juicy affair — and that was in 2022! Adam and Chelsea hooked up in Baltimore more recently, but that played as sad and random as opposed to a salacious romp.

Happily, Young & Restless just teed up our best shot at another delightfully indecent diversion with Kyle’s woefully mistimed marriage proposal to Claire. After he failed to read the room repeatedly, Kyle’s lady love ran off into the night asking for “time” and “space”, which left things encouragingly ambiguous. Are they still together or, like Friends’ Ross and Rachel, on a break?

Either way, what happened next put all the pieces in place for Claire to lose her head and let loose. After running into Holden, who just happens to have abs to die for and a huge crush on her, Claire invited him to go and get drunk with her.

Admitting to the hottie that she’d never had one oo many, Claire, as she told Esther earlier, was feeling the urge to “live dangerously” after the disconcerting debacle with Kyle. We couldn’t have been more thrilled to hear it, given that she’ll almost certainly cross into said danger zone with Novak after hitting the bar.

We predicted this twist previously, and asked SOAPS readers for their opinion: While 47% of respondents thought that sex would be going too far, the majority, 53%, indicated that they were all for the soapy goodness, even if it was just one roll in the proverbial hay.

Frankly, we’re thirsty for some sexy scandal amid the desert of boring business drama on Young & Restless, and we hope to see Claire and Holden shake up the soap. Should they become an actual couple? Well, that, we’ll leave up to you. Vote!