How The Bold And The Beautiful Has Changed Over The Years
When "The Bold and the Beautiful" premiered in 1987, it was one of the first soaps set in a fictional version of a real-life town, showing off a fictionalized version of the Los Angeles fashion scene. While fashion and Forrester Creations are still focal points on this soap celebrating 35 years on the air in 2022, it has changed in a myriad of ways. In fact, some fans may find the soap to be unrecognizable from its original iteration.
However, there are also some things that remain the same. The Forresters are still the main family and own the fashion house, Forrester Creations. Eric Forrester (John McCook) still lives in his luxury mansion and remains the patriarch of the clan. Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) still makes poor choices in life. And Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye) is still torn between Brooke and someone else. The more things change, the more they stay the same on "B&B" — but that doesn't mean the soap has not evolved into something different and new over the years.
The fashion shows are no more
There was a time when elaborate fashion shows were the hallmark of "The Bold and the Beautiful," as the soap often went on exotic location shoots all around the world to film them. Fashion shows were taped in locations like Aspen, Lake Como, and Italy. Typically, the original Sally Spectra (Darlene Conley) would crash the Forrester shows with her own designs, and fans got to enjoy some flashbacks of that time back in 2020 when the soap was forced to air rerun episodes due to no new filming at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The last Forrester fashion show was in 2017 when the second Sally Spectra (Courtney Hope), niece of the original, tried to get her own knock off designs on the runway. In early 2022, Soap Hub asked fans what they would like to see for "B&B"'s 35th anniversary, and nearly a third of all who responded said they want to see the fashion shows make a comeback.
No more Stephanie Forrester
From 1987 until 2012, the real person ruling the roost in the Forrester house was matriarch Stephanie Forrester. Sure, she and Eric divorced and remarried more than once, but she was a take-no-prisoners matriarch who was the heart of "The Bold and the Beautiful." Her rivalry with Brooke Logan was unmatched and her love for Eric and her children was fierce.
In fact, some would say that Stephanie and Brooke loved each other more than they hated one another as when Stephanie (Susan Flannery) died from cancer, she did so in Brooke's arms with Brooke singing to her. For now, a picture of Quinn Fuller (Rena Sofer) sits above the Forrester mansion as she is the younger woman married to Eric, but when she and Eric have been on the outs, Stephanie's portrait often appears and sometimes seems to be watching everyone around her, even from the grave. The portrait even seems to have a life of its own as it spontaneously fell from the wall when Eric brought Quinn home as his bride. However, it was Brooke who purposely hung Stephanie's portrait temporarily so that her old rival could watch her as she wed Stephanie's son, Ridge Forrester, once again.
A brand new Ridge and Taylor
For decades, the triangle between Brooke Logan, Ridge Forrester, and Taylor Hayes reigned supreme on "The Bold and the Beautiful," driving storylines over and over again. While Brooke has remained a constant presence in Ridge's life, Taylor has come and gone. Now, all three are on the canvas again but they don't look quite the same. Ronn Moss originated the role of Ridge in 1987 and played him until 2012 when Thorsten Kaye took over the role. Hunter Tylo played Taylor Hayes from 1990 until 2019, with Krista Allen assuming the role in 2021.
Even all these decades later, Brooke still wants Ridge, Taylor still wants Ridge, and each woman is ready to fight to the finish in order to have him. As of this writing, Brooke just kissed another man as she is apt to do when married to Ridge and Taylor learned the truth and is ready to pick up the pieces of Ridge's broken heart, as she has always done when Brooke does him wrong.
A different Bill Spencer
When "The Bold and the Beautiful" first began, Ridge Forrester was in love with Caroline Spencer (Joanna Johnson), the daughter of publishing mogul Bill Spencer. Played by Jim Storm, Bill appeared on the show off and on for years as the Spencer patriarch. Fans even learned Caroline had a twin named Karen, which meant that Bill had a long-lost daughter. He made frequent trips to visit the Forresters until 2003, but by 2009, we learned he also had a long-lost son named Bill Spencer Jr., who now runs Spencer Publications.
Bill Spencer Jr. is much like his father in that he has two long-lost children, Liam Spencer and Wyatt Spencer. However, Bill Jr. is much more of a playboy than Bill Sr. and has managed to be with his son's wife when he slept with Steffy while she was married to Liam, as well as his wife's sister, when he slept with Brooke Logan while married to Katie Logan (Heather Tom).