The Bold and the Beautiful: Can Ridge Actually Tell Brooke No?

For years, Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye) has insisted that he wants peace in both his family and at Forrester Creations. The problem is that Ridge often creates the very chaos he claims to hate. Whether he is bouncing between Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Taylor Hayes (Rebecca Budig), or making sweeping business decisions that leave everyone else scrambling, Ridge has a long history of putting himself at the center of every storm. 

Now he faces another choice that could divide both his family and the company: Brooke has decided she wants Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) removed as co-CEO so she can take the position herself. If Ridge agrees, he will once again prove that Brooke’s wishes outweigh everyone else’s. If he refuses, Brooke may be forced to hear a word Ridge has rarely said to her: no.

Who Will Ridge Choose on The Bold and the Beautiful?

For decades, Ridge has had a habit of choosing Brooke over almost everyone else in his life, or at least that is how his family has always seen it. Whether the person left hurt is Taylor, Steffy, or even his own father, Ridge has spent years making abrupt decisions that create fallout for the people he claims to love.

Most recently, his insistence that Eric Forrester (John McCook) retire set off a chain reaction that ended with hurt feelings, a 9-1-1 call, and Eric agreeing to design for Logan so he could continue doing the work that gives his life meaning. Now that Eric is back at Forrester Creations, it took less than a month for the executive office to be thrown into turmoil again.

Brooke Wants Steffy’s Job

This time, Brooke decided, with more than a little encouragement from Hope Logan (Annika Noelle), that she should replace Steffy as Ridge’s co-CEO. If he agrees, he will be demoting his own daughter to give Brooke exactly what she wants and proving once again that Brooke comes first. If he refuses, he will have to do something he almost never does and tell Brooke she can’t have what she wants.

Taylor would be the first person to say that Ridge is unlikely to stand firm. Even her battle with Broken Heart Syndrome did not stop him from walking away from her and returning to Brooke yet again. In fact, he went straight from ending things with Taylor to proposing to Brooke, and thanks to company CFO Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor), who can officiate whenever needed, they were married almost immediately, right there in the office that she now wants a seat in.

That history is exactly why Brooke seems so confident. For years, people like Taylor and Ridge’s mom, Stephanie Forrester (Susan Flannery), argued that Brooke believed she could always get Ridge to agree to anything she wanted. This time, she appears just as certain that he will remove Steffy from the executive office and hand Brooke the title instead.

What Happens If Ridge Says No?

The more interesting question is what happens if he does not. Brooke is accustomed to Ridge choosing her, and she is accustomed to winning. If he refuses to demote Steffy, the rejection will not just cost Brooke a position at the company — it will force her to confront the possibility that Ridge is capable of putting someone (even if it’s his daughter) ahead of her.

At the same time, Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) would likely be happy to welcome Brooke, Hope, Steffy, Zende Forrester Dominguez (Delon de Metz), or anyone else at Forrester who has grown tired of the constant upheaval over at Spencer. Although, memo to the Spencers: If anyone does decide to jump ship, Katie Logan (Heather Tom) may want to issue a very public announcement so no one can later claim they were lured away under false pretenses.

The Decision

Ridge once again finds himself caught between Brooke and the family members who are increasingly frustrated by the role she plays in this tug-of-war for the pick-me position. Whether Ridge sides with Brooke or stands by Steffy will reveal whether anything has changed. The real question is whether Ridge is finally willing to tell Brooke no, and whether Brooke is prepared for the possibility that, this time, he could even mean it.

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