The Strange And Twisted Story Of Douglas' Conception On The Bold And The Beautiful
On "The Bold and the Beautiful" little Douglas Forrester is the biological son of Thomas Forrester and Caroline Spencer II, though nothing about his parentage has been simple since his conception.
Caroline, played by Linsey Godfrey, had a long history with the Forrester men by the time she got pregnant in 2015. She had previously dated Thomas before leaving him to be with his uncle Rick Forrester (via Soaps). Her marriage to Rick then dissolved when she cheated on him with his brother (and Thomas' father) Ridge Forrester. To complicate matters further, it was during a break in her relationship with Ridge that Caroline was impregnated by Thomas.
Nothing about Douglas' conception, birth, or custody was straightforward. Though he is now only 10 years old (thanks to a case of Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome) he has already had four sets of parents in his short life, and the drama isn't over yet. Here is the bizarre story of how Douglas Forrester came into the world and where his life stands today.
Thomas took advantage of Caroline
Thomas Forrester (then Pierson Fodé) had never gotten over Caroline Spencer II (Linsey Godfrey) after she chose his uncle and father over him. In September 2015 he came to visit her at her hotel room where she was staying after a disastrous fight with Ridge Forrester. In a controversial storyline, Caroline had been mixing alcohol with anti-anxiety medication, and Thomas took advantage of her inebriated state and slept with her, per Daytime Confidential. Though he later said he believed Caroline had wanted to be with him, she was horrified by what had happened.
Caroline soon reunited with Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) and then discovered that she was pregnant. Unfortunately, Ridge informed her that he had gotten a vasectomy so she had to come clean about what happened with his son (via CBS). Ridge was furious with Thomas but decided that he and Caroline should raise the baby as their own and keep its paternity a secret. However, after baby Douglas was born and Caroline saw Thomas interact with his "brother," her feelings of guilt grew. Later, Katie Logan (Heather Tom) discovered the truth about Douglas' paternity and convinced Caroline and Ridge to tell Thomas the truth, according to Soaps in Depth.
Caroline, Thomas, and Douglas tried to be a family
After learning the truth that little Douglas was his son, Thomas Forrester eventually agreed to let his father raise the little boy to protect the reputations of everyone involved (via Soap Central). However, when Caroline Spencer II and Ridge Forrester split up soon after, Thomas convinced her to give them another chance to be a family. The three moved from Los Angeles to New York in order to make a fresh start, though it didn't take long for the couple to break up and Thomas to come home. He began dating Sally Spectra II (Courtney Hope), but Caroline followed him to LA wanting to try again. Thomas was resistant at first until he discovered that Caroline was terminally ill, per Michael Fairman TV. He ultimately agreed to spend her last days with her and their son.
However, it soon came to light that Caroline's illness was just a scheme cooked up by her uncle Bill Spencer Jr. (Don Diamont), and Thomas' own sister Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) was in on the lie because she didn't want him to be with Sally. When he discovered their lie, Thomas went back to Sally, though he ended up ping-ponging between the two women on opposite coasts for some time. In 2019, Thomas (now Matthew Atkinson) returned to Los Angeles with his son (then played by Henry Joseph Samiri) and announced that Caroline had died suddenly from a brain clot (via Soap Dirt). Then he set his sights on a different woman.
Thomas manipulated Douglas and Hope
When Thomas Forrester and his young son returned to LA, his ex-girlfriend Hope Logan (Annika Noelle) was going through a tough time of her own as she had just lost her baby Beth and was splitting from her husband Liam Spencer (Scott Clifton), per Soaps in Depth. Hope quickly bonded with Douglas and tried to help the little boy cope with the loss of his mother. Thomas saw their connection as an opportunity to get back the woman he lost and give his son a new mother. He managed to convince Hope to give him another chance and manipulated both her and Douglas into growing closer.
First, Thomas forged a letter from the late Caroline Spencer II begging him to find a mother for Douglas should anything happen to her and planted it for Hope to find, playing on her grief about her baby (via Soap Central). Then, he had Douglas propose to Hope on his behalf and ask her outright to be his mom. Thomas further crossed the line into horrible parent territory when he installed a projector in the little boy's room that would show ghosts so that Hope could comfort him when he had bad dreams. He also replaced all of Douglas' photos of his mother with pictures of Hope. His plotting ultimately worked, and in July 2019 Thomas and Hope were married and she officially adopted Douglas.
Douglas revealed Thomas' lies
What made Thomas Forrester's manipulation of Hope Logan even more sinister was the fact that he knew that her baby Beth had survived and his own sister Steffy Forrester was raising her, believing she had adopted someone else's child (via Soaps). He even caused the car accident that led to Emma Barber's death in an effort to keep the truth hidden. Unfortunately, young Douglas overheard his father on the phone discussing the fact that baby Phoebe was actually Beth and then he inadvertently spilled the beans to Hope and her ex Liam Spencer in one of the soap's most anticipated reveals, per SoapHub.
When the truth about the baby swap was revealed, Hope immediately left Thomas and ended up reconciling with Liam after they were reunited with their daughter (via Soap Central). A furious Thomas blamed his son for destroying his marriage and then made arrangements to kidnap Hope, though his plan was thwarted by Liam. Due to Thomas' behavior Hope was granted full custody of Douglas and he went to live with her and Liam full-time.
Though Thomas has managed to turn his life around, partly due to treatment for a brain injury and psychiatric help from his mother Taylor Hayes, he is still only able to visit with his son when Hope agrees. As of this writing, Thomas has decided to petition to have Douglas come to live with him, with the full support of the rest of his family, per Showbiz CheatSheet. The young mother is reluctant and viewers are gearing up for a full throttle custody battle between Hope and Liam and the supposedly rehabilitated Thomas.