Truths are laid bare in The Bold and the Beautiful, and once they’re out in the open it’s hard to ignore them — no matter how hard you try.
Separation is killing Finn (Tanner Novlan) and Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood). He wants her to come home, but she’s not willing to go home until Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) is out of their lives. He’s not worried about Sheila because Steffy is more important to him than anything and right now the bigger problem is Liam (Scott Clifton).
Speaking of Liam, Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) is at Spencer Publications checking in on Liam. Ridge tells him that he knows about his divorce with Hope (Annika Noelle), and that Hope suspects Steffy is a big part of their marriage falling apart. That’s why he needs to know exactly how Liam feels about his daughter.
RJ (Joshua Hoffman) arrives at Forrester Creations as Hope finishes fitting a new dress on the model. The model flirts with RJ before leaving the room, and he flirts right back. He wants to know about Hope and Thomas and what’s going on between them. RJ can’t believe how much has happened since Rome, but Hope remains evasive about Thomas. He tells her he knows about what happened in Rome and just wants to be sure she’s ok.
Ridge doesn’t want to put pressure on Liam, but he’s a concerned father, too. He knows Finn is having trouble with Sheila, and now Steffy has moved out, and now… Liam fills in the thought: Ridge wants to know Liam’s intentions.
Finn tells Steffy not to let Liam come between them. She moved out because of Sheila, but honestly it’s Liam who is driving a wedge into their relationship. Finn begs her to not let that happen.
Hope says there’s nothing left between her and Liam. They signed the papers. RJ tells her she can still tear them up. She blames Liam for not wanting to fight for their relationship, and for his feelings for Steffy. That’s probably never going to change.
Ridge pours himself a drink and tells Liam he’s only trying to protect his daughter. Liam says he’s after the same thing. Liam says he can’t believe Finn invited Sheila back into their lives. Prior to the hug, he never had a problem with Finn. Ridge presses him: now that she left Finn, does he want her back?
Steffy reminds Finn that he’s the one who said he has a connection Sheila, a woman who shot her, shot Finn and almost left her kids without parents. “Sheila is a threat to our family,” she tells him. That’s why she had to leave. The children are her first priority, and they always will be.
RJ can’t believe there’s no chance for Liam and Hope to repair their marriage, especially now that Steffy has left Finn.
Liam tells Ridge that he’s angry with Finn for putting Steffy in this position. Ridge presses him by asking if he loves her. Liam says he does, and he’s told her as much. Recently. This surprises Ridge, but when Liam admits that he loves Steffy, Ridge says Finn won’t like it. Liam agrees, because he’s already told Finn the same thing. “I don’t know how the hell I ever let her go,” Liam says. Ridge smiles.
Finn says it kills him that Steffy thinks he’d put the kids in danger. She’s so full of anxiety because of Sheila, and he says he feels the same thing about losing her. She asks if Finn has seen Sheila since the beach, and he says no, he hasn’t. He agrees that Sheila cannot be in their lives and he begs her to forgive him.
Ridge can easily tell Liam how he let Steffy go. Liam says Steffy changed his life, and taught him so much throughout his life. “It was like we could see the life we wanted in each other. It was intoxicating to be so desperately in love that nothing else mattered.” But then they learned what it was like to be hurt by someone you love. Liam admits he made mistakes, but walking away was the biggest one. He tells Ridge he doesn’t know what happens from here, but he’ll never make that mistake again. “Okay,” Ridge says, finishing his drink and walking away.
Once Ridge leaves, Liam has a memory of sitting with Steffy on the beach. Then they’re in the snowy mountains. Then they’re getting married. They’re in Sydney. They’re… together. He’s overcome with emotions at the thought of her.
Finn vows to spend the rest of his life making up for what happened. Steffy hates causing Finn pain, but she didn’t feel safe at home. Finn says she was right to make him see how wrong it was to make Sheila out to be some kind of hero. He breaks down in tears because of what happened to Kelly. It haunts him. Steffy doesn’t let up on questioning him about the hug. Finn believes she needs to be in prison, but he was overcome in that moment and it will never happen again. “You’re the love of my life,” he tells her. His world was empty before she came along. He begs her to come home.
Both Liam and Finn have both laid bare their souls, but will anything come of it? Steffy looks like she’s on the brink of taking Finn back while Ridge’s non-response to Liam’s admission is… puzzling. And then there’s Hope, who seems like she might have moved on from Liam — and Thomas?
Interestingly, Ridge has had a heart-to-heart with everyone (except Thomas) and he’s forming opinions of his own. He knows Finn blames Liam, Liam blames Finn, Hope blames Liam and Steffy blames Finn and Sheila.
While her father forms his own opinions, Steffy can see how much this is torturing Finn. She hasn’t forgiven him yet, but it really seems like she’s about to make a decision.
If she didn’t want him in her life, she could have filed divorce papers like Hope did. She still hasn’t told him about the kisses, but maybe if she forgives him she won’t have to. Now that he has wept, groveled and begged her to forgive him, Steffy needs to make a decision and at the end of the day it looks like she wants to mend her marriage to Finn. It’s time for her to let him back into her life, perhaps slowly, but back in nonetheless.
The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS and the following day on Paramount Plus. Check your local listings to see when it comes on where you are.
