What Really Happened Between Donna And Eric On The Bold And The Beautiful
Eric Forrester, who has been played by John McCook since 1987, is a staple character on "The Bold and the Beautiful." Eric is the co-founder of Forrester Creations, the fashion house that is at the center of many "B&B" storylines, and is known for his many relationships with prominent women in town — particularly with his first (and fourth, sixth, and eighth) wife Stephanie Forrester (Susan Flannery), and his current wife Quinn Fuller (Rena Sofer).
Now with Eric's marriage to Quinn on the rocks due to a rekindled romance with Donna Logan, some viewers might need a refresher about what went down with Eric and Donna the first time around. Donna has been played by actress Jennifer Gareis since 2006, which is coincidentally when she first became involved with Eric. Gareis took a break from the show from 2015 to 2018, with Donna having moved to Dallas, and only appeared for the occasional holiday or big event. Thankfully, she has returned permanently to Los Angeles and now finds herself wrapped up in a very prominent storyline involving her old flame Eric (via Soaps in Depth).
Eric's family disapproved of Donna
When Donna and Eric first got together, Eric was still married to his wife Stephanie, but that wasn't the most uncomfortable part of their romance (via SoapCentral). Donna had previously dated Eric's son Thorne Forrester (Winsor Harmon) and tried to entice his other son Ridge Forrester (then Ronn Moss) into a romance, too. Eric had dated Donna's mother Beth Logan (then Nancy Burnett), and had been previously married to her sister Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) twice. Talk about complicated family dynamics!
Eric's family was not pleased with the new woman in his life and many of them tried, and failed, to break them up. First, Eric's daughter Felicia Forrester (Lesli Kay) paid Owen Knight (Brandon Beemer) to seduce Donna, but she quickly shut him down (via SoapCentral). Then, Stephanie's sister Pam Douglas (Alley Mills) began drugging Eric so that he would be unable to perform sexually, hoping Donna would lose interest in Eric and he would be free to return to Stephanie. When that didn't work, Pam kidnapped Donna, tied her up in a remote cabin and doused her with honey, and then tried to sic a bear on her — an ode to Donna's nickname for Eric, Honeybear. Fortunately, Donna was rescued before she became ol' Smokey's dinner. Then, Thorne hired lookalikes of Donna and Owen to kiss in front of security cameras to make Eric believe that Donna had cheated on him. Somehow, though it was quite literally the two of them against the world, Eric and Donna's bond remained strong amidst the chaos. In fact, Eric went as far as to adopt Donna's adult son Marcus (Texas Battle).
Beth's death spelled the end for Donna and Eric
Ultimately, Donna and Eric's marriage did come to an end, but surprisingly, it wasn't due to anyone else's scheming. Donna's mother Beth had come to live with them after she was diagnosed with dementia, which didn't sit well with Stephanie who was also staying there (via SoapHub). Beth had come to cherish a piece of lace on which she'd sewn pictures of her children so she wouldn't forget them. One day, during an argument with Stephanie by the pool, Stephanie threw the piece of lace into the water. Beth went to retrieve the lace but, having forgotten how to swim, she tragically drowned.
Donna blamed Stephanie for her mother's death, but Eric stood by his ex-wife. This was a disagreement they weren't able to reconcile and Donna and Eric divorced. Over the next decade, Eric would go on to marry Stephanie for the fourth time, until her death in 2012 ended their 50-year-long on-again-off-again romance, then seek solace in a relationship with Taylor Hayes (then Hunter Tylo), before finally ending up with jewelry designer Quinn Fuller in 2016 (via Soaps in Depth).
Just after her divorce from Eric, Donna became involved with Justin Barber (Aaron Spears), the biological father of her son Marcus (via SoapCentral). They were quickly married before Donna admitted to rushing into the relationship in order to give Marcus the family he never had. Donna and Justin divorced amicably that same year and Donna faded from the spotlight for the next few years.
Eric and Quinn hit the rocks and Donna returns
By 2021 Eric and Quinn's relationship had fallen on hard times. Quinn had had an affair with Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor) due to a lack of intimacy in her marriage (via Soaps in Depth). Eric eventually admitted to Quinn that he was suffering from erectile dysfunction and that it was okay for her to get her needs met outside the marriage, though he walked that back not long after.
By this time, Donna had returned and was clearly still holding a torch for Eric, which caused friction between her and Quinn. Things between the two women only got worse when Quinn found out that Eric was able to get aroused by Donna, but not by her (via Soap Central). Quinn ordered Eric to fire Donna from Forrester Creations, but Donna quit so he wouldn't have to. Things seemed to settle between Eric and Quinn until it was revealed to viewers this month that Eric has been secretly sleeping with Donna, which fans are referring to as the "honeybear affair" (via Soaps).