Forget Friday cliffhangers. Today's episode of The Bold and the Beautiful stopped viewers' hearts when Ashlyn Pearce's Aly Forrester tragically and unexpectedly died after a confrontation with Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood). But is the shocking storyline that fans witnessed for real?

Social media sites have been blowing up over today's airing of B&B, with many fans outraged (though admittedly seriously entertained) by Aly's sudden exit from the canvas. The girl has become increasingly unbalanced over the past few weeks, but this? It was a twist even the most passionate fans didn't see coming.

Soap operas have been known to tease fans with deaths that turned out to be fake, but is this one of those cases? A rep for B&B has yet to respond to Soap Central's request for more info, but Bold Insider posted this: "Please join us in giving a big round of (virtual) applause to @abpearce and @JacquelineMWood for their amazing performances #Boldand Beautiful."

Pearce first aired as Aly on November 19, 2013. If you are going through Aly withdrawal, check out the video below for an interview Soap Central's Dan J Kroll had with Ashlyn at this year's Daytime Emmys.