Dominic's First Birthday Brings Mixed Feelings For The Young And The Restless Fans

On "The Young and the Restless," Abby Newman Chancellor (Melissa Ordway) has a lot to celebrate. Baby Dominic's first birthday came and went, and he was surrounded by so many people who love him. Abby was determined to give her son a memorable birthday, and despite the surprisingly limited guest list, managed to do exactly that by proposing everyone contribute to a time capsule for him to open in the future, per Celebrity Dirty Laundry.

As beautiful as the party was, it also raised a lot of questions amongst viewers on Twitter, including the lack of Newmans present to support Dominic's big day. But absent party goers aside, there was a lot of conversation surrounding Dominic's birth story, and "The Young and the Restless'" handling of the controversial storyline. Though Dominic is only one year old, he has been through a lot in that short amount of time, hence why Dominic's heritage is a hot button issue.

Abby and husband Chance Chancellor (Conner Floyd) are in love with their beautiful family, but getting there was far from easy. After facing infertility issues, Abby turned to Mariah Copeland (Camryn Grimes) in the hopes that she would become a surrogate for the couple, per Soaps in Depth. 

But in the world of soaps, when one problem is resolved, another arises — such as Chance finding out that his sperm count was too low and immediately being whisked away on an undercover mission, as reported by Soap Opera Spy. According to the soap outlet, Devon Hamilton (Bryton James) stepped in and offered to become their sperm donor and Abby agreed, grateful (all while Chance was missing).

Dominic's parentage seems straightforward, but soap experts know that nothing ever is on "Y&R." Fast forward to Chance presumed missing in action, Abby growing closer to Devon as a result, and a heavily pregnant Mariah being kidnapped by Abby's ex Ben "Stitch" Rayburn (Sean Carrigan) and giving birth in captivity . 

After Abby realized that Chance was actually alive and brought him home, the true battle began as Mariah understandably bonded with an unborn Dominic after her traumatic ordeal and no choice but to distance herself  — meanwhile Devon also came to love the little guy after he was left in his care while Abby convinced Chance to return and eventually demanded shared custody, per Soaps.com.

With his complicated birth history, it's no surprise that Dominic's first birthday drugged up a lot of feelings. Fans turned to Twitter to voice concerns over "The Young and the Restless" potentially sweeping his true history under the rug. In one tweet, a fan pointed out that Chance's body language was visibly distant when it came to holding Dominic, writing, "If Chance is the father why can't he hold the child? #yr I HATE this story."

In another tweet, one user lamented how the surrogacy storyline turned out for Mariah, writing, "Wow ... You actually remembered that it was Mariah that actually gave birth to Dom. Gee ... That must've hurt like a b**** for ya; not being able to re-write that particular history, huh?"

A fan also tweeted that the storyline shouldn't have happened and Mariah and her wife Tessa Porter (Cait Fairbanks) deserved better, writing, "All this reminds me of is how terribly offensive this surrogacy story was and how Teriah were robbed of all their firsts." It's clear fans have not forgotten Mariah's palpable grief over letting Dominic go after sharing a special bond with him after being kidnapped, and instead wished that the writers gave them a family of their own.