On The Bold and the Beautiful, Ridge Forrester has spent decades proving he is not a prize to be won but a migraine to be endured as he waffles between two women with zero scruples.
The Bold and the Beautiful: In the morning I’m making waffles
I promised, after my article on Brooke Logan that the men would get their turn under the spotlight, and here is the first. I have no favorites and play no favorites.
We need to talk about the Dressmaker. For years, the show has tried to sell us the narrative that Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) is the sun around which the Logan and Forrester women orbit, the rugged designer whose approval is the ultimate currency in L. A. But let’s get real: Ridge Forrester, currently played by Thorsten Kaye, is not a prize. He is the Waffle King of the West Coast, and his inability to make a decision has turned “destiny” into a punchline.
If you look at the track record, Ridge doesn’t have a love life; he has a repetitive strain injury from bouncing between two women.
The Waffle King’s Reign of Terror
The sheer exhaustion of watching this man toggle between Taylor Hayes (currently Rebecca Budig) and Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) is enough to induce some kind of vertigo. For decades, he has treated these two accomplished, beautiful women like options on a breakfast menu he can’t quite decide on. One day it’s the “Doc,” the saintly mother of his children; the next it’s “Logan,” his supposed soulmate, one more time saying that and I’m going to be sick.
He recycles wedding rings like aluminum cans. The man has walked down the aisle so many times he has likely worn a groove into the floorboards of the Forrester mansion. And the worst part? He will not take responsibility for the whiplash. It’s always about who “disappointed” him or who “lied” to him, never about his own inability to commit, like a normal person.
Giving Love a Bad Name (and a Medical Diagnosis)
Ridge’s toxic love isn’t just emotional; it is literally hazardous to your health. Remember when Taylor was diagnosed with stress cardiomyopathy? That is the clinical term for “Broken Heart Syndrome.”
Let that sink in for a minute. Ridge waffled so hard, played with her emotions so intensely, and dragged her through so much mud that her heart physically failed. He didn’t just break her heart metaphorically; he nearly killed her with his indecision. A man who puts you in the cardiac unit isn’t a soulmate; he’s a health risk. Yet, as soon as she recovered, the cycle started all over again. Are these red flags invisible?
The CPR “Romance”
Perhaps the most blatant and obvious example of Ridge’s ways—and that is a high bar—was the Mediterranean incident. I cannot think about this without laughing and not because it’s funny, although Brooke and the boat scene was nothing short of comedy.
He had left Brooke. He was supposedly committed to a future without the drama. But then, Brooke rolls unnecessarily off a boat into the Mediterranean Sea. Did she need a life preserver? Sure. Did she need a reconciliation? No.
But Ridge dives into the ocean, swims like a Navy SEAL , performs “passionate CPR” (which, by the way, is not a medical procedure recognized by the Red Cross, but certainly is by soap writers), and suddenly, all is forgiven. He leaves Taylor in the dust yet again because Brooke swallowed some saltwater. It wasn’t a grand romantic gesture; it was a reflex. He saved her life, so he apparently felt obligated to ruin Taylor’s again. The men are just as angry as the women watching this.
Destiny is a Dropped Pie
The show loves to throw the word “Destiny” around whenever Ridge and Brooke make eyes at each other. They carve it into sand; they whisper it in Aspen; they shout it over the roar of a private jet.
But if you look at the history—the cheating, the leaving, the rivalry, the fact that he has punished Brooke for things he has forgiven himself for a dozen times over—this isn’t destiny.
True destiny is stability. It’s partnership. It isn’t leaving your wife because she kissed an ex while you were “married” to a woman in Vegas. If Ridge Forrester is the face of destiny, then destiny looks like a dropped pie: messy, ruined, and leaving everyone involved regretting they ordered it.
It is time for Taylor and Brooke to realize the problem isn’t each other. The problem is the Waffle King himself.
Watch full episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful weekdays on CBS or stream on Paramount Plus.
