After a year of The Bold and the Beautiful fans wondering when RJ Forrester would come back into the picture, they finally got their wish. However, Joshua Hoffman is no longer playing Ridge’s namesake. Brayan Nicoletti has stepped into the role.
The influencer-turned-fashion designer has missed quite a bit at the family company. But it’s his past history on the soap that could come into play, given the feud brewing between the Forresters and the Spencers. Let us fill you in on the must-know details.
Key Takeaways
- RJ’s complicated family tree
- His experience at Forrester Creations
- How the Forrester heir’s love life may impact the story
The Forrester Always Caught in the Middle
RJ (Nicoletti) is Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) and Brooke’s (Katherine Kelly Lang) son, which makes him both a Forrester and a Logan. When he first returned home in 2023, he’d made a point of wanting to stay out of his parents’ business. He’s the lone child of Ridge’s that isn’t Taylor’s (Rebecca Budig), so unlike his siblings, Thomas (Matthew Atkinson) and Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood), he’s quite happy with Brooke being his father’s “destiny.”
Due to the back-and-forth nature of Ridge’s affection toward his children’s mothers, RJ is often on the opposite side of what his older siblings want. It’s not something he likes, but it’s not only his parents who put him in a tough spot. His sister, Hope (Annika Noelle), and his brother, Thomas, do as well. While the former couple isn’t blood-related, they do share RJ as a sibling. This makes the family dynamic awkward at the best of times and tense at the worst, especially when Thope are on the outs.
During Hoffman’s run as the character, RJ’s rival on the soap was his cousin Zende (Delon de Metz). Though the two have buried the hatchet now, they had many a verbal altercation during the storyline where their grandfather, Eric (John McCook), had a near-fatal health condition. It was at this time that RJ had been working closely with Eric on the Forrester patriarch’s legacy collection. He was also deeply in love with Luna Nozawa (Lisa Yamada).
Zende had feelings for Luna, too, which put him at greater odds with RJ. He’d even slept with her in an accidental drugging plot that was rewritten when Luna went from being a “good girl” to a villain. Because he hasn’t been on-screen, it’s assumed RJ is at peace with his entire family, though that won’t last for long now that he’s back.
Another Forrester Designer Enters the Story
The last viewers heard of RJ, he’d been assisting with the Hope for the Future line. However, at some point, he must have stepped away from his duties because Zende called Thomas in to collaborate on the brand. With RJ walking the halls of FC again, we will see him working alongside his father. Zende’s been splitting his time between HFTF and couture. RJ being on scene allows him to focus solely on Hope’s line.
This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for the Forrester family. While Logan has been met with derision from Brooke and Ridge, it’s clear that Katie’s (Heather Tom) fashion house is already a thorn in their side due to its mere existence. With her interest in Deke (Harrison Cone) likely to lead to a position for him at her brand, the Forresters will need their own young designer to spice things up. That’s where RJ comes in.
All’s (Un)Fair in Love and Business
Speaking of RJ’s aunt Katie, the bad blood wreaking havoc between the Forresters and Spencers isn’t only about fashion. It’s about past betrayals as well.
At one point, his mother, Brooke, and his uncle Bill (Don Diamont) were married, which broke Katie’s heart. While RJ was mostly off-screen for their relationship, Bill gave him a sword necklace to cement his intent to be an active stepfather in his life. That may not be brought up on-screen, but it’s a part of their history nonetheless.
The same can be said for RJ and Will (Crew Morrow), not only being cousins but also former stepbrothers. But fans shouldn’t expect them to get along. We got a taste of their dynamic when Hoffman and Morrow shared their first and only scene together. It was antagonistic, mainly from Will’s side.
The same tension will be present with this new iteration of RJ. Head writer and EP Bradley Bell confirmed the two will be rivals. Typically, that means in love as well as in their professional lives.
RJ’s Love Life
The young Forrester has only had two big loves on B&B. Coco Spencer, when he was a teenager running the Forrester internship program for the summer, and Luna, when she interned for the company. However, only one of these ladies betrayed him.
Coco was used by her family in a plot that saw her inadvertently spying on the Forresters and providing the Spectras with their sketches. The storyline resulted in her sister, Sally (Courtney Hope), being arrested. We’ve yet to hear what Coco has been up to since she and Sally moved to New York (Though with Sally now in Genoa City, perhaps we’ll see Coco on The Young and the Restless one day).
As for Luna, she upended the Forresters and the Spencers’ lives. Not only did she trick Zende into thinking he’d accidentally assaulted her so she wouldn’t have to face the music of cheating on RJ, but she also murdered two innocent men and kidnapped Steffy in an attempt to kill her via building demolition.
Her next act, after a brief stint in jail and a near-death experience, was to assault Will, which resulted in a pregnancy. She’s dead due to Dylan accidentally hitting her with her car while Luna was trying to evade the police, but her legacy still looms large.
Outside of their families, RJ and Will share a tie through Luna, and it’s likely to be brought up. But being bamboozled by her won’t bring them closer. It may be yet another piece of the past that sits between them like a sharp blade.
The New Forrester-Spencer Rivalry
Details haven’t been shared about what exactly will pit RJ and Will against one another, but it’s likely the brewing feud between their parents. The two work in different sides of the business, but we might find that Will’s attitude toward designing is similar to his father’s. Bill has always used the term “dressmaker” as an insult toward Ridge. And aside from Steffy, he doesn’t hold much respect for the Forresters and their business.
Though his job at FC has never been defined, it’s likely that Will works in marketing, which means that if he jumps ship to Logan, he’ll help promote the brand. That’s where he and RJ could clash. On top of designing, RJ is an influencer, so he knows how to market to a younger audience. This could come in handy as the Forresters contend with Katie’s company, which is already being touted as fresh and the antithesis of the old guard.
As for butting heads over romance, we’ll have to wait and see if RJ and Will end up in a love triangle with a young lady caught between the two of them. Despite Electra (Laneya Grace) and RJ being cousins, there seems to be an attraction between them. But his love interest could very well be Dylan (Sydney Bullock) as she’ll be sticking around for a while. She’s homeless and currently living in Will’s guest apartment, which is the perfect set-up for an inappropriately protective Will to be butting heads with RJ over a budding love that has nothing to do with him.
However things play out, we can expect RJ’s return to have a major impact on B&B. Stay tuned to Soap Hub for more coverage of the daytime drama’s twists and turns.
