Fandom when ships collide...

I've been in a fandom of a lovely ship from a Spanish telenovela for a year and a half now. There is this couple, Marta and Fina, who fell in love, and their story was written in a very romantic way, with both of them proclaiming eternal love for one another and saying that being without the other would be like living but dead inside. It's truly a wonder. But as things happen, at the beginning of the year, one of the actresses got pregnant and (most probably temporarily) left the show. So they wrote a dramatic exit in which Fina was blackmailed into leaving Marta without telling her she was being blackmailed or where she would go. She left a simple note with not much information, but asked Marta to go on with her life. Marta grieved for quite some time. The fandom fed on old clips and the hope of the actress's possible return. But then, a new character was introduced as what seems to be a temporary love interest. She flirted with Marta, but wasn't offering her an epic love story, just a new adventure that seemed casual at best, but one that could possibly be healing. Marta's reaction was one of attraction, but she was unable to dive into this yet because of her broken heart. And the fandom went insane. An ugly ship war erupted, where 'true fans' of Fina/Marta were saying nasty things about anyone liking the new character, the new (probably temporary) ship, and going as far as threatening the actress playing the new character. They only see Marta with one woman (Fina), and all else is a betrayal or corruption of their love story. As if the writers didn't separate them of necessity, and if the actress doesn't return, Marta should just be celibate and lonely for the rest of the duration of the show?

I see all that and am just dumbfounded. I enjoy the storyline with the new character, and don't see how that would make me less a fan of the original ship or make me miss them less. But apparently, such a thing cannot exist. I am cautious about what I say on Twitter, and even then, I lose followers just for reposting an image of the new character. It's insane. I have never experienced this. I remember Xena in the old days, and a lot of people shipped Ares with Xena. I never saw any of the Xena/Gab shippers attack them like this. Now, am I just very naive? Is this a new phenomenon? Does this always happen in fandoms? Does anyone have experience with anything like this?