Soap Hub Flashback Friday: John McCook Recalls Eric and Stephanie’s Malaise

Viewers of The Bold and the Beautiful recall that Eric and Stephanie were happily remarried at the time of her death a little over a decade ago. Fans may or may not recollect that when the two were first introduced, their nearly 30-year marriage was on the rocks. John McCook talked about the husband and wife’s dynamics in a tome about B&B creator William J. Bell.

John McCook: Scenes from a Forrester Marriage

In B&B’s second episode, which can be seen on the show’s YouTube channel, Eric returned home following a successful showing of his latest designs at Forrester Creations. He appeared miffed that Stephanie wasn’t there for the presentation. However, it quickly became evident that there were deeper problems in the marriage.

“May I ask you a very honest question,” Eric queried his wife. “Of course. Anytime. About anything,” Stephanie replied. Eric asked his wife if she got anything out of their marriage and wondered if she felt the apathy and malaise that he clearly felt.

B&B: A Side of Malaise

“When I first saw the word ‘malaise,’ I thought it was something you put on a sandwich,” McCook said in The Young and Restless Life of William J. Bell, the authorized biography of B&B’s creator. “As it turns out, it’s not. Bill had us saying that word, and it was capitalized in print in the scripts.”

The tension between Eric and Stephanie was interrupted by Ridge (then, Ronn Moss) and Caroline (Joanna Johnson), who arrived at the Forrester mansion to share the news of their engagement. While one union was beginning, it was clear that Eric and Stephanie’s was on the verge of possibly ending.

John McCook: The Write Stuff

“Many writers can’t do this, but Bill was able to establish the real depth of history between these characters within three or four episodes,” McCook said. “If you watched them, you understood everything you needed to know about Eric and Stephanie.”