Beth and Eric Forrester were college sweethearts. They ran into each other when she catered an event at the Forrester mansion, and soon their love was back on track again, despite his marriage to Stephanie and her son Storm's disapproval of her relationship with a married man. When she learned she had breast cancer, she kept it from Eric; determined to deal with it on her own and pushed him out of her life. Her daughter, Brooke, eventually told Eric the truth and he vowed to stand by her. Beth was finally looking forward to a life with Eric after surgery successfully eradicated her cancer, but that was when Stephen, her estranged husband who had been located by private detectives hired by Stephanie, came back into her life.

Stephen was able to win Beth over and the two decided to give their relationship a second try. When Stephen was transferred to Paris by his boss, Bill Spencer, Beth went with him. Years later, Beth was upset when Stephen accepted five million dollars from Massimo Marone to convince Brooke to move to Paris. Although their marriage seemed to survive Stephen's actions, when he returned to Los Angeles a few years later, he revealed that he and Beth had divorced and that Eric was still the only man in her heart.

When her son, Storm, killed himself to provide a heart transplant for his sister, Katie, Beth was contacted by her children but she remained in Paris. Katie, disturbed by her mother's seemingly uncaring attitude, shared her concern with Nick, who then flew to Paris and brought Beth to Los Angeles. After her daughters were angered by her skittish behavior, Beth explained that she was having memory problems possibly brought on by a series of small strokes. Convinced by her children that it would be best for her to be surrounded by her family as she faced an unsure future, Beth remained in L.A. With Beth and Stephen both remaining in L.A., they were brought together many times for family events and finally discussed their feelings for each other. While they both expressed love for each other, neither one immediately jumped into any sort of relationship.