Linsey Godfrey Not Returning to ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ Anytime Soon

After being dropped to recurring status last year, followed by a prolonged absence from CBS’ drama The Bold and the Beautiful, fan favorite Linsey Godfrey has revealed she doesn’t know if or when Caroline will be seen again.

In a statement to Soap Opera Digest, Godfrey addressed her fans and status, “It’s with a heavy heart that I say Caroline isn’t coming back in the near future. I really enjoyed my time over at [Bold and the Beautiful], and I’m so grateful for the opportunities that being on the show gave me, and for the family that I made over there, and they will always be my family. I’m grateful for the time that I got to play Caroline.”

Linsey Godfrey originated the role of Bill Spencer’s niece Caroline, the namesake of his late-sister, the original Caroline Spencer, in the spring of 2012. Godfrey’s portrayal quickly earned her a fan following that grew following her involvement in some of the show’s biggest triangles over the years. Caroline’s first story involved her relationship with her same-sex mothers Karen and Danielle. Later story lines involved romances with Thomas and Rick Forrester, the latter spawning a rivalry with model Maya Avant. Caroline and Rick’s fairytale marriage would end in scandal after Caroline had an affair with Rick’s intermittent stepfather and rival Ridge. Their relationship would also become scandalous when, after their relationship became strained due to disagreements over having a family, Caroline would become pregnant after a drunken one-night stand with Thomas.  Though Ridge and Caroline married and attempted to raise the child on their own, the truth came out and the couple divorced. Caroline is currently living in New York with her son Douglas.

Godfrey earned her first Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2015. She remained on contract until December 2016. Her last appearance on the soap was on October 31, 2016.

Head writer and executive producer Brad Bell addressed Caroline’s disappearance from storylines in a March interview with Soap Opera Digest. “With Caroline Spencer, if you look back in the history of the show, very often we tell stories that end with the birth of a child. That changes the dynamics of the character and the story. It was really a question of, at this point in time, did I want to play Thomas as a father all of the time? I really wanted to take the character in a different direction. He is a father, and he and Caroline share this child, and I suspect that we’ll be seeing Caroline back on the show in the future.”

If Caroline does pop up in the future, but it doesn’t look like it’ll be with Linsey Godfrey in the part. The actress is currently auditioning for future projects.

Editor’s POV: This is beyond infuriating. Linsey Godfrey is as talented and charismatic as she is beautiful Caroline became an integral part of the canvas since her debut, and is the young, vibrant kind of leading lady this genre desperately needs. To write off  Caroline due to short-sighted creative decisions is a major head-scratcher. Bell should have thought about Thomas’ future viability before deciding on him being the father of Caroline’s baby. We have some ideas on where we want to see Godfrey land next. Stay tuned for a casting feature.