B&B’s popular star, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy), is leaving the show. “Jacqueline MacInnes Wood is taking a short break, as she has done in the past, from B&B,” confirms a spokesperson for the No. 2 soap. “She remains as the character of Steffy Forrester and is continuing to tape, currently with episodes airing through July of 2013 and then beyond.” Digest learned the actress had wrapped filming and was sent flowers on her last day; turns out, she is taping again this Friday. For the full story, check out the new issue of Digest, on newsstands Friday.

Nominations for the 40th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced this morning. THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS leads with 23 total nominations, followed closely by GENERAL HOSPITAL with 19. DAYS OF OUR LIVES earned 17 nods and THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL garnered 15. ONE LIFE TO LIVE, which was eligible for the few episodes that aired at the beginning of 2012 even managed to pick up 3 nominations for itself, including Outstanding Drama Series! The Daytime Emmys will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA and broadcast on HLN on Sunday, June 16. The full list of nominees is after the jump!

OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTRESS
Kristen Alderson (Starr, GH)
Hunter King (Summer, Y&R)
Jacqueline MacInness Wood (Steffy, B&B)
Lindsey Morgan (Kristina, GH)

MICHAEL:

Steffy has had such a great sense of loss. Perhaps holding on to Liam, is important to her because she does not want to lose one more thing in her life, even though there is all this back and forth between Hope, Liam and Steffy.

JACQUELINE:

It’s hard for her to say goodbye and hard for her to leave. She likes to be alone, but she really doesn’t like to be alone, you know what I mean? She wants somebody there but she is very broken inside. But as far as for me, I get it. I sometimes think, well can’t she just walk away? However, when you love somebody, and I am sure there are people out there who can say different, and there are a lot of people out there who would agree, that yeah, I had this guy and he walked all over me, and I couldn’t leave because there was just whatever it is that kept them together. Whether that be the passion, or that, “There is just something about him that I can’t walk away from.”

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