Ridge’s Rinse and Repeat: Will The Bold and the Beautiful Dressmaker Ever Learn?

As history on The Bold and the Beautiful repeats itself, Ridge Forrester is the broken record that Los Angeles just can’t seem to turn off. 

Ridge Never Changes on The Bold and the Beautiful

For decades, viewers of The Bold and the Beautiful have watched Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye) toggle between women and authority at Forrester Creations, but recent events beg the question: Has this man learned absolutely nothing?

Let’s rewind to the terrifying ordeal with Taylor (Rebecca Budig). We watched as a world-renowned psychiatrist was brought to her knees by “broken heart syndrome,” a physical manifestation of the emotional ringer Ridge has put her through for years. It was a wake-up call that should have shattered Ridge’s ego and reshuffled his priorities. 

For a fleeting moment, it seemed like the gravity of Taylor’s possible mortality registered. But no sooner did he get his chakras aligned than Ridge was back to his old tricks, breaking her heart all over again. It was like a near-death experience had no effect on Ridge at all — unless it’s Brooke’s (Katherine Kelly Lang) near-death experience, and in that case, it’s everything. Or, sorry, “destiny.”

But the chaos isn’t limited to Ridge’s love life; it’s spilling into the boardroom with disastrous results. We watched him lose control of Forrester Creations in a humiliating coup — a moment that should have humbled him. Yet, upon getting the company back, did we see a gracious leader emerge? Hardly. After a moment of bromance with his buddy Carter, and a brief we-don’t-know-what of giving Hope back her job and her HFTF line, we wondered what was next for Ridge. 

Then came Thanksgiving, when he couldn’t help but make an appearance at Steffy’s (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood), sans Brooke, and ended up not only staying to eat dinner, but helping make it, too. We’re still not sure how that family meal wound up including Ridge, or centered around him, for that matter.

Ridge Keeps Ridging

Now, Ridge has managed to offend Katie (Heather Tom) and is on the verge of losing her to Spencer Publications. And worse, he is about to crush his father, Eric (John McCook). Alienating the patriarch and the company’s very foundation suggests that Ridge views the CEO role as a throne rather than a responsibility. 

So, will Ridge Forrester ever change? He treats hearts like fabric samples, and treats the family legacy like his personal playground. If losing one of his soulmates to a stress-induced heart condition and losing his company to a hostile takeover didn’t teach him a lesson, it’s hard to imagine what will.

For now, Ridge remains bold, but it seems the only thing he changes is his clothes.