The Truth About Hope And Steffy's Feud On The Bold And The Beautiful
There must be something about Liam Spencer (Scott Clifton) on "The Bold and the Beautiful" that has caused two beautiful women, who could have had any man in the world, spend more than a decade fighting over him. At the same time, there must be something about these two women that has had Liam bouncing back and forth between them for years as well.
Hope Logan (played by Kim Matula and Annika Noelle) and Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) grew up as off- and on-again stepsisters. Hope's mom, Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang), and Steffy's dad, Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye), have married and divorced so many times it could make any fan's head spin (via Soaps.com). However, when they both met a man named Liam they became fierce rivals who continue to keep giving it a go as friends as well. It seems they can't get Liam off their minds or out of their hearts.
Hope Logan met Liam Spencer before Steffy did
When Liam Spencer came into Hope's (then played by Kim Matula) life, she was smitten and thrilled when it turned out that Amber Moore's (Adrienne Frantz) baby wasn't his. That meant they were free to be together and Liam proposed. However, Hope wanted to wait till their wedding night to have sex and Liam had someone else with her eyes on him (via Soaps In Depth).
Steffy Forrester met Liam after he was already involved with Hope and decided she would go back to pursuing Liam's father, Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) instead. When Steffy realized Bill wasn't going to leave his wife, Katie Logan (Heather Tom), for her, all eyes went back to Liam. When Liam saved Steffy after she slipped and fell in her bathtub, the rivalry was on. Steffy wanted Hope's fiancé and was determined to have him (via Soaps In Depth).
Liam went back and forth between Hope and Steffy
For several years, Liam would bounce between Hope and Steffy, depending on whether Hope would dump him or not. When Hope would, Steffy would be right there waiting. One time when Liam was set to marry Hope, Steffy took him for a wild night on the town the evening before. When Liam showed up to the ceremony tattooed with a motorcycle jacket and black hair, Hope called things off.
Steffy managed to marry Liam before Hope did and she did this several times. Although Hope tried to stop the wedding, Liam and Steffy said "I do" while in Aspen and Steffy became pregnant. When she lost the baby after a motorcycle accident and learned she couldn't have children, she left Liam and moved to Europe. She told him to be with Hope because she could give him a family, according to Soaps In Depth. However, Liam never married Hope because his brother Wyatt (Darin Brooks) managed to do so first. After Hope lost Wyatt's baby, she also took off to Europe, but that was just when Steffy was returning.
Steffy married Liam and got pregnant again
When Steffy returned from Europe, she was thrilled that a new medical treatment meant she could indeed become a mom. She even got Liam to give up on Hope and want her. After a series of mishaps that resulted in Liam having temporary amnesia and Steffy marrying Wyatt for about a day, Steffy and Liam finally wed (via Soaps In Depth). However, after she learned he kissed Sally Spectra, she took comfort in Liam's dad's arms and slept with Bill. When Steffy learned she was pregnant, she secretly had a paternity test done to confirm Liam was the dad. However, Liam later found the tests and left a crying Steffy to go through her pregnancy separated from her husband.
Never fear, though, because Hope was near. Yes, Hope (now played by Annika Noelle) returned from Europe and decided she would do anything to get Liam back, including have sex with him backstage at a fashion show just after Steffy gave birth to his daughter. Hope soon got to announce her own pregnancy and Steffy decided she'd had enough and let Liam be with Hope and have another baby with her (via Soaps In Depth).
Steffy accidentally adopted Hope's baby
Steffy loved growing up with a twin sister, but Phoebe Forrester sadly died when they were teens. However, she wanted her daughter, Kelly to grow up with a sister close in age and decided she would adopt. Like a miracle, just after Hope was told her baby was stillborn, Steffy found a baby to adopt and had no idea the infant she named Phoebe was really Beth Spencer.
Eventually, the truth came out and Steffy tearfully gave the baby she had grown to love back to Hope (via Soaps In Depth). Still, the rivalry lived on in Liam. When he thought Hope was having an affair with Thomas Forrester, he showed up on Steffy's doorstep where they got drunk and slept together (via Soaps In Depth). When Steffy learned she was pregnant, she once again was not sure if the dad was Liam or her new boyfriend, John "Finn" Finnegan (Tanner Novlan). Finn did turn out to be the dad, according to Soaps.com, but sleeping with Liam was just one more reason for Hope to resent Steffy.
Where things stand in 2022
It looked as if Hope and Steffy had finally found some peace in their lives, but for a while, Liam and Steffy bonded whenever they needed to vent about either Hope or Finn respectively. Then, Steffy decided she wanted Ridge to reunite with her mom, Taylor, despite the fact that Ridge was married to Brooke. This caused Steffy and Hope to fight over their parents, according to Soaps.com.
Then, in what seemed like an April Fool's joke, on April 1, 2022, Finn's biological mother, Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown), shot Steffy and Finn. Poor Steffy was left in a coma while Finn didn't survive (via Soap Hub). The gravity of it all made Hope realize just how much Steffy means to her. She's been a rival and a friend, and their feud has mainly centered around one man. When Steffy's life is on the line, it kind of puts their whole relationship into perspective.