"Favorite" contacts list for messaging disappeared after Nougat update

[AC Question]

I had a handful of frequent messaging contacts at the top of my messaging screen (Galaxy S7), but after the Nougat update this past weekend, they no longer appear, and I can't find a way to add them. Did Google/Samsung get rid of this common-sense feature, or am I a Nimrod?

 

[Xavier Cruz Urbina]

Same here. Took me a while to figure out why I didn't like this update. This is one of the few things that are very disappointing.