Young & Restless’ Beth Maitland Teases a Return to the ‘Sassy Days’ — and the Reawakening of a Timeless Feud?

Try, just try to watch the Young & Restless clip that Beth Maitland shared on social media on August 12 without saying, “Man, those were the days.” Back in 1984, Traci — Mrs. Danny Romalotti at the time — is singing with the pop star in concert… as is longtime tormentor Lauren. When the former offers the latter a little constructive criticism, well, let’s just say that it doesn’t go well. (Check it out below.)

Turns out, we weren’t the only ones struck by a serious case of nostalgia watching Traci stand her ground with Lauren. Maitland herself chimed in to say that “Tracey E. Bregman and I were just talking about these sassy days. Trying to come up with a storyline to get us back together again.”

New Man, Old Resentments

As luck would have it, there’s a ready-made plot just waiting to get twisted. All Young & Restless would have to do is have Alan open an office in Genoa City. And why wouldn’t he, since he’ll want to be spending more time there to be near his significant other? Then, among the shrink’s first clients could be…

Lauren. Yes, Lauren. Years into her and Michael’s marriage, she’s struggling with the fact that the heat has been turned down. They are happy. Comfortable. But where’s the excitement that they once shared? Is she wrong to expect their passion to set off fire alarms forever? That’s what she wants to figure out in therapy.

Lauren’s motives are entirely innocent. But Traci still has a knee-jerk reaction when she comes by Alan’s office and discovers Lauren leaving a session. “What are you doing here?” Traci asks.

“I… I had an appointment,” Lauren says. She’s reluctant to admit that she’s in therapy, lest it somehow reveal a problem in her marriage. But Traci reads Lauren’s hesitation as guilt of some kind.

Alone with Alan, Traci expresses her surprise that he didn’t mention his new “client.” He reminds her that, other than Ashley, he never discusses his patients with her; it would be unethical. “I just thought you might have mentioned that you were treating someone I knew,” Traci says.

“I didn’t know you knew her,” Alan replies, adding playfully. “As unethical as it might be, I’ll tell you that you are not the topic of our sessions.”

When next Traci bumps into Lauren at Society, she can’t help but remark on the coincidence that the redhead just happened to choose the therapist that she’s dating. Lauren shrugs it off at first but then senses that Traci is upset. “It is just a coincidence,” Lauren reassures her.

“I guess it just feels like the old days,” Traci says. “I thought we were past that. I thought I was, but… “

Lauren tries to make light of Traci’s worries. “I can’t help it if silver foxes find me irresistible,” she jokes.

Traci is not amused. “You know, I wanted to think that after all these years that you had changed, that you had matured,” she says. “But I guess some people never do.”

Lauren, taken aback, has a knee-jerk reaction of her own. Attacked, she strikes back. “I guess you’re right,” she snarks. “Some people are just born to be the opening act; others, the headliner.”

“Find another shrink,” Traci says flatly.

“I don’t think so,” Lauren says. “That would be crazy, considering I’m getting so very much out of Alan and my ‘sessions.’”

Lauren isn’t interested in Alan that way. Alan isn’t interested in her. But old habits die hard and old insecurities, even harder. Without either of them meaning to, Lauren and Traci have jump-started their old rivalry. Ironically, the friction that it creates adds just the spice to Lauren’s life that she wasn’t getting from her long and happy marriage to Michael.