After Steffy Forrester gave birth to her and Finn’s beautiful son on The Bold and the Beautiful, she said his grandmother, meaning her mother Taylor, was going to be so excited to see him!
Bold and the Beautiful Name Game
Well, maybe not. While B&B has a tradition of naming its next-generation characters after beloved family members, this time the show hasn’t chosen wisely, given the history of the man whom baby boy “Hayes” is named after.
Veteran B&B fans recall that Taylor’s (Hunter Tylo) maiden name isn’t “Hayes” but rather “Hamilton.” She’d married Blake Hayes (Peter Brown) when she was very young and discovered that her husband had a medical condition that resulted in him having violent outbursts.
Taylor left Blake and got a divorce. Yes, she kept “Hayes” but we’re assuming that that was for professional reasons if she was already established as a psychiatrist with that name.
There are numerous times B&B’s named new babies on the show after beloved characters. There’s Douglas (which was Stephanie’s maiden name), Bridget (a combination of Ridge and Brooke – back when Ridge thought he was her dad), cousins Beth and Lizzie are each named after their maternal grandmother (the late Beth, whose full name was Elizabeth).
And let’s not leave out Bridget (Ashley Jones) and Owen’s (Brandon Beemer) son – the character with the coolest name ever on a soap – Logan Knight. Dude’s going to be a secret agent or a super-hero with that handle!
However, it’s likely going to sting Taylor to learn that her grandson has been named after her unbalanced ex. To refresh your memory, here’s a list of the heinous things Blake committed during his stay in Los Angeles nearly 30 years ago. Blake rented an apartment across from Taylor’s apartment so he could spy on her. (Creepy, much?) He gave Taylor a tape of Ridge sleeping with Brooke (who was then his stepmother), hoping he’d drive a wedge between them but Taylor was angry at Blake for giving her the tape.
Also, Ridge was violently beaten up, requiring hospitalization. Not surprisingly, suspicion fell onto Blake. Next, he came upon the late Caroline’s twin Karen (Joanna Johnson), who was going by the name Faith in Starlight, Texas. He brought her to Los Angeles, made her over into Caroline’s image, and then, tried to get her to break up Ridge and Taylor, hoping Ridge would be attracted to his late wife’s double.
When this plan failed, Blake held Karen against her will. She was rescued by Bill Spencer Sr. (Jim Storm) and Thorne (Jeff Trachta). Realizing he’d never get Taylor back, Blake left town in disgrace, abandoning his plan to recapture Taylor’s heart.
Choosing to name a family member after a person who represents an unfortunate time in Taylor’s life isn’t the best choice. It’s very possible that Steffy doesn’t know about the impact Blake made on her mother. If and when Taylor visits, she could fill her daughter in on Blake’s past and prompt Steffy and Finn to come up with a name change.
How about calling the newborn Jack? That’s the name of both Taylor’s father (Jack, played by Chris Robinson) and Finn’s dad (Jack, played by Ted King). Yes, Taylor has a son Jack with Nick (Jack Wagner), but either that Jack or the newborn could go by a variation – John or Johnny. Or perhaps, Hayes could go by J.J. as Finn’s first legal name is John too!
The bottom line is that Finn and Steffy have named their child after someone who was quite destructive to his grandmother. There’s no other name that could have been more wrong. Well, there’s one other. At least the newborn wasn’t named Prince Omar.
The Bold and the Beautiful (BB) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Los Angeles, check out all the latest that’s been posted on B&B spoilers.
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