Summer, Kyle wedding Y&R
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

Talk about rubbing salt into an open wound!

It ain’t easy being a fan of The Young and the Restless‘ Summer and Kyle. The two have been circling one another for years and just when they were finally getting their happily ever after, portrayers Hunter King and Michael Mealor left the show after being unable to hammer out new contracts. But then came news that they’d be returning for a few episodes… and yet again, shippers dared to dream.

Might the pair be returning for Victoria and Ashland’s wedding, they wondered? Some — including us — even went so far as to speculate that at the end of the day, it would be Kyle and Summer who wound up tying the knot, finally giving fans both a payoff and a bit of closure.

What they got instead was Victor and Nikki gleefully sharing the news of Kyle and Summer’s wedding, even going so far as to describe the bride’s beautiful gown and reveal that Harrison had served as the most adorable ring-bearer ever… or so we can only assume, given that we didn’t actually get to see the ceremony.

Kyle, Theo, Summer, Lola quadrangle Y&R

Above: Summer’s not the only one who got a migraine thinking about what she and Kyle went through with Lola and Theo.

Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

More: What will happen at the big wedding?

No, you didn’t miss an episode, so don’t go cursing out your DVR. Turns out, the highly-anticipated wedding took place entirely off-screen.

Go ahead and shout a few obscenities or bang your head into the table, whatever helps to vent your frustration. Because the thing is… it didn’t need to be this way.

King and Mealor reportedly will be appearing all next week so that their alter egos can — irony alert! — attend the big Victoria/Ashland wedding. How incredibly easy would it have been for the show to throw Skyle fans a bone by allowing them to have a wedding, too?

It didn’t have to be splashy. In fact, how uber romantic would it have been if they’d simply said to their friends and family, “Listen, since you’re all here, we’d really love to share our special moment with you.” Victoria could get a little huffy — as is sometimes her way — about the spotlight being stolen, even temporarily, and then find herself feeling a tiny bit jealous about the complete lack of drama surrounding her niece’s nuptials, unlike her own.

Victoria introduces Ashland to her kids at home Y&R

Above: Annoyed as she was at her husband-to-be, Victoria had to give him credit for quipping, “At least I’m not marrying you in exchange for a kidney.”

Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

More: Will Summer and Kyle return to Genoa City for good?

Another option? At the inevitable Ashtoria wedding reception, Kyle and Summer could have quietly asked the officiant to join them in both the hallway (so as not to take anything away from Victoria’s big moment) and holy matrimony. A simple, romantic moment, with spontaneous vows about how they don’t need all the hoopla of a big wedding as long as they have one another.

Heck, the show could have just put some of the actors in different costumes, taken them to another set and done a photo shoot, allowing Victor and Nikki to share some of the 800 pictures she claimed to have taken at the event.

Instead of giving Kyle and Summer fans — of whom, trust us, there are many — the payoff they deserved, the show violated one of the cardinal rules of soap opera: Show us, don’t tell us. Were Mealor and King not already slated to visit, the affront might not seem as egregious. In fact, under those circumstances, Skyle lovers probably would have been thrilled with the update. But with the popular stars attending next week’s big shindig, the show’s decision to have them wed off camera is downright befuddling.

What do you think, Young & Restless fans? Should Kyle and Summer have been given a proper wedding? Sound off in the comments section below, then peruse the photo gallery below to remind yourself of everything they’ve been through in the past… proving, at least to us, why they (and fans) deserved better!