Ridge Forrester is the eldest son of Eric and Stephanie Forrester, who founded design house Forrester Creations. Ridge was a playboy until he met Caroline Spencer and asked her to marry him. Ridge balked when Caroline's father, Bill Spencer, Sr., threatened to go to Caroline with photos of Ridge's final fling with model Alex Simpson, but Ridge was left standing at the altar after Caroline saw the pictures. When Caroline started spending time with his brother, Thorne Forrester, Ridge dated Brooke Logan, though he wrote Caroline an unanswered letter begging for another chance.

Impish Ridge snuck into bed with a drunken Caroline and made love to her though she thought he was her husband, Thorne; Ridge paid for his prank when a heavily-medicated Thorne shot Ridge in the head. Neither Ridge nor Thorne remembered their altercation, believing Stephanie's claim she'd been shooting at a prowler. Ridge proposed to Brooke, standing by her when she miscarried their baby, but Ridge was thrown when Caroline exposed Brooke for hiding Ridge's letter. After Ridge learned that Stephanie was covering for Thorne, Ridge worked with his family to keep Thorne from remembering the shooting; once the truth came out, Ridge reconciled with Caroline, who divorced Thorne.

Ridge learned from Brooke that Caroline had been keeping a devastating secret: Caroline was dying of leukemia. After Caroline passed away in Ridge's arms, Ridge found comfort from Caroline's doctor, Taylor Hayes. Ridge dated Taylor and told her not to marry Brooke's brother, Storm Logan. Ridge's proposal to Taylor fell on deaf ears because Taylor felt Ridge was only trying to make himself unavailable to Brooke, who had since married Eric. Ridge celebrated Brooke's discovery of wrinkle-free formula BeLieF by making love to her on the lab floor, unaware there were hidden cameras filming them.

Ridge made love to Brooke again after she received a letter saying Eric wanted a divorce; Ridge didn't know that Stephanie forged the letter in an attempt to win Eric back for herself. When Brooke agreed to live with Eric for two more months, Ridge drew closer to the conflicted Taylor, who ran away to St. Thomas. Ridge followed Taylor and married her, finding an adversary in Taylor's possessive ex-husband, Blake Hayes, who had Ridge beaten up. Ridge then met Caroline's long-lost identical twin sister, Karen Spencer, who had been brought to town by Blake to lure Ridge away from Taylor. Ridge and Taylor's marriage survived, but Ridge was thrown when Brooke announced she was pregnant and unsure whether Ridge or Eric was the father.

With Taylor acting as midwife over the phone, Ridge delivered Brooke's baby, Bridget. A paternity test named Ridge as Bridget's father, and Ridge tried to soothe Taylor, who was annoyed by Brooke's constant presence. Ridge and his family wanted to sweet-talk Brooke into signing over control of the BeLieF formula, but the scheme backfired; Ridge watched helplessly as Brooke gained 51% of Forrester Creations and took over the company with the help of her lawyer, Connor Davis. Jealous of Connor, Ridge spent time with Brooke, hoping he'd convince her to return control of Forrester; Ridge playfully pushed Brooke into the pool, accidentally knocking her unconscious.

Ridge took exception when psychiatrist Taylor counseled her former mentor, James Warwick, then went to Scotland to help James confront his father. Ridge saved Taylor and James from freezing to death when the Forrester cabin in Big Bear was destroyed in an earthquake. Ridge reconciled with Taylor before she took a business trip to the Middle East, but tearfully buried another wife when Taylor's plane crashed.

Ridge disapproved of Brooke dating James and insisted that Brooke marry Ridge instead. After a lavish ceremony on the beach, Ridge and Brooke sailed away on a honeymoon, where they were entertained by Prince Omar Rashid of Morocco at his palace. Once home, Ridge was blinded in an accident in the Forrester lab and cared for by a hospital volunteer. When Ridge's sight returned, he was dumbfounded to learn Taylor was alive; she had been rescued by Omar and forced to watch Ridge with Brooke at the palace. But Ridge felt betrayed when Omar declared Taylor his wife, plus Taylor's existence deemed Ridge's marriage to Brooke invalid. After considering resuming his marriage to Taylor, Ridge decided to stay with Brooke and asked Taylor for a divorce.

Ridge's faith in Brooke was shaken when a letter turned up claiming Brooke had fixed Bridget's paternity test; no one knew it had been tampered with by the nefarious Sheila Carter, Eric's then-wife. After Eric was confirmed as Bridget's father, Brooke disappeared, so Ridge launched an international search for her that ended on the streets of Barbados, where Ridge found a disoriented Brooke suffering from "brief reactive psychosis." Later, Ridge was jealous when he spied Brooke sharing a smooch with new friend Grant Chambers and countered by proposing to Taylor during a fashion show.

Ridge raced to stop Brooke's wedding to Grant but was too late, bristling when Brooke gave Grant a position of power at Forrester. Ridge went to jail when he was accused of shooting Grant, taking the fall to protect the real culprit: Brooke's teenage son, Rick Forrester, who had pulled the trigger while in a fugue state. Ridge was paroled after Grant asked the court for leniency.

Ridge believed Taylor was carrying Thorne's child until Ridge discovered that Brooke, Taylor, and Thorne had all lied about Taylor's son being Ridge's. Though Ridge shunned both Brooke and Taylor for a time, Ridge eventually annulled his marriage to Brooke and reunited with Taylor, who named their son Thomas after their romantic getaway, St. Thomas. Ridge and Taylor endured the interest of Taylor's hypnotherapist co-worker, Pierce Peterson, whose assistant, Bailey, tried to hypnotize Taylor into desiring Pierce. But Ridge nearly lost Taylor to tuberculosis because she refused treatment while pregnant with their twins, Steffy and Phoebe Forrester.

Ridge was unsettled by the presence of his ex-girlfriend, Morgan DeWitt, who befriended him and Taylor. Knowing Morgan wanted a baby, Ridge thought he had tacit e-mail permission from Taylor to inseminate Morgan; Ridge later learned that the unstable Morgan faked the e-mail, wanting revenge on Stephanie for forcing her to abort Ridge's baby years before. After Morgan fell down the stairs during a confrontation with Taylor and miscarried Ridge's child, Ridge and Taylor returned to St. Thomas to repair their marriage and were devastated when Steffy was washed overboard and killed in a shark attack. Ridge couldn't understand when Taylor left him, but eventually figured out that Morgan had kidnapped both Taylor and Steffy and rammed his car through Morgan's house to rescue them.

Ridge shared his family's opposition to Brooke's relationship with Thorne, so, with Thorne in earshot, Ridge tricked Brooke into admitting she would always love him. Relieved when the amorous Brooke finally moved to Paris, Ridge followed when Brooke fell from the Eiffel Tower and learned that Brooke had been manipulated into leaving Los Angeles by Stephanie's former lover, Massimo Marone. Ridge confronted Massimo and fell onto Massimo's decorative sword, losing enough blood that Ridge needed a transfusion.

Having been fired by Brooke for constantly challenging Rick, Ridge went to work for Massimo at Marone Industries, where Ridge bought rival fashion house Spectra Fashions and primed it to compete against Forrester. Ridge also clashed with Taylor over her decision to help Rick's drug addict wife, Amber Moore. But Ridge learned that Amber was being framed by Sheila, who wanted Rick for her daughter, Erica Lovejoy. Ridge cradled Taylor as she died from Sheila's gunshot, and kept seeing Taylor's face in grief counselor Tricia Quick.

Ridge lacerated his hand in a fight with Bridget's bad boy husband, Deacon Sharpe, but Ridge was able to design again after Eric challenged Ridge to a fashion showdown in Italy. As Ridge grew close to Brooke again, Massimo confessed that he, not Eric, was Ridge's biological father, which had been discovered during Ridge's transfusion. Ridge pooh-poohed Massimo pushing him toward Bridget; no longer related, Ridge kissed Bridget as an experiment and was unnerved by their romantic connection. Ridge put Brooke in charge of Spectra and renamed it Logan Designs, marrying Brooke in the jungles of South America.

Ridge was kidnapped from his hotel room by Sheila, who wanted to extort money from Massimo for their baby, Diana Carter. Ridge fell into a furnace during a showdown with Sheila but turned up alive, shocked to learn that, in her grief, Brooke had made love to Ridge's half-brother, Nick Marone, and didn't know if Nick or Ridge had fathered her resulting child. After Ridge and Brooke got an annulment, Ridge stopped Brooke's wedding to Nick and set in motion a chain of events that led to Nick and Massimo being arrested by the FBI for shady business dealings. Though Nick was initially named the father of Brooke's baby, a new test declared Ridge had sired the boy, who was named Ridge Jr. (R.J.)

Ridge battled Thorne for power at Forrester, ultimately causing Thorne to defect to the restored Spectra Fashions, while Ridge also fought against Thomas' attraction to Amber. After becoming trapped in a mineshaft with Bridget and nearly freezing to death, Ridge learned that Amber had tried to capitalize on Ridge's one-time feelings for Bridget to ruin his relationship with Brooke. Ridge fell off a bar stool and hit his head, impairing his memory; Ridge came to believe he was the sweetheart of Morgan, who returned and spirited Ridge away to Italy hoping for another chance to have his baby. Ridge got his memory back after Amber found him with Morgan in Venice and reported his whereabouts to Brooke.

Ridge was convinced he'd seen the dead Taylor and dug up Taylor's grave, finding a wax dummy in her coffin. Ridge couldn't believe it when Taylor appeared and revealed she had been healed by Prince Omar and held at his Moroccan palace. Ridge decided to stay with Brooke even though Taylor wanted him back, though he reconsidered when Stephanie had a heart attack, honoring his mother's last wish by renewing his vows to Taylor at Stephanie's bedside. Ridge shunned Stephanie after learning she'd faked her ailment to push him toward Taylor but remained married to Taylor regardless.

Ridge disapproved when Thomas married Gabriela Moreno to keep her from being deported, dissolving the union by making it a condition of a fashion showdown with Thomas. But Ridge was disgusted when Taylor admitted that she had not only kissed Hector Ramirez but that she had slept with James Warwick long ago when they thought they were dying of exposure in the wreckage of the Big Bear earthquake. Ridge felt Taylor was a hypocrite for judging Brooke's morals and pursued Brooke, even bringing Brooke's father, Stephen Logan, to town to mend fences with her.

The persistent Ridge unintentionally raped Brooke when she couldn't give her consent due to being hopped up on antianxiety medication. When Brooke turned her back on Ridge, he collapsed from a heart attack, and Stephanie uncharacteristically worked to reunite the couple. Though Ridge was temporarily fired by Brooke, he kissed her during a Forrester fashion show and flirted with Brooke's sister, Donna Logan, to get a reaction from Brooke. When Nick took control of Forrester Creations, Ridge helped launch Forrester Originals and proposed to Brooke.

Ridge lost Brooke when he punched Rick for getting involved with his daughter, Phoebe; afterwards, Ridge briefly dated Genoa City transplant Ashley Abbott. But when the troubled Shane McGrath committed suicide in front of Ridge, who still had a police record for shooting Grant, Ridge hid Shane's body with Stephanie's help. Ridge followed Stephanie's order to flee the country, but returned to confess when Stephanie framed Nick for Shane's death. Ridge did jail time and was freed by the unlikely Rick, who came forward to admit he had been the one to shoot Grant. Ridge thanked Rick, who snarked that he didn't actually remember pulling the trigger but wanted to clear Ridge for Phoebe.

After Brooke was raped by Andy Johnson, Ridge and Andy's confrontation ended with Andy being electrocuted. Ridge reunited with Brooke but reacted badly when Brooke became obsessed with baby Jack Marone, her biological child with Nick, whom Taylor had carried. Later, while Eric lay comatose in a hospital bed with little hope for improvement, Ridge pulled the plug on his father, who survived.

On the roof of Forrester, Ridge got into a scuffle with Rick, who was dating Taylor and angry about Taylor's lingering feelings for Ridge; Ridge fell victim to Rick using his resultant paralysis against him with Brooke. Ridge was devastated when Phoebe died in a car accident confronting Rick over romancing both Phoebe's mother and sister; this time Ridge nearly went over when he and Rick again fought on the roof, but Ridge was saved by Rick. Ridge recorded Rick admitting he was only seducing Steffy to get back at him for hurting Brooke, then ended Rick and Steffy's dalliance by taking the recording to Steffy.

A clerical error rendered Ridge's recent remarriage to Brooke invalid. Ridge accepted an antianxiety pill from Taylor, but sneaked a few more, making love to Taylor under their influence. Ridge nearly wed Taylor until Brooke exposed Steffy and Thomas for faking text messages that said Brooke wanted nothing to do with Ridge. Admitting he'd always love both Brooke and Taylor, Ridge married Brooke and made peace with Rick.

When Bill Spencer, Jr. took over Forrester Creations, Ridge created the ugly Dare line with his family to sabotage Bill, then smashed a Spencer award and smeared blood on his face in protest. Ridge understood when Brooke admitted accidentally making love to Oliver Jones, the boyfriend of her daughter, Hope Logan, at a party where everyone wore identical costumes and masks. But Ridge chafed when Thomas kissed Brooke on the runway during a showing. After Brooke and Thomas were rescued from a plane crash at sea, Ridge left Brooke for Taylor because Thomas announced he and Brooke had sex on a deserted island. However, Stephanie admitted she had gotten Thomas to lie in exchange for her 25% share of Forrester, so Ridge went right back to Brooke.

Ridge kept busy refuting the claim he had fathered Hope's new beau, Liam Cooper, punching Bill for cheating on his wife with Steffy, neutralizing Thorne's power play at Forrester, and playing parent when Eric considered an affair with Nick's mother, Jackie Marone, over Stephanie's refusal to be intimate. Ridge refereed between Brooke and Taylor, whose daughters, Hope and Steffy, were competing for Liam. In Italy for Hope and Liam's wedding, Ridge proposed to Brooke, laughing over their multiple ceremonies; Ridge married Brooke at the Forrester mansion with the full support of Stephanie.

Angry that Brooke and Deacon had been texting regarding their love child, Hope, Ridge ditched Brooke in Europe and stayed behind in Paris, honoring Stephanie's command not to come home when she was dying of lung cancer. A year later, Ridge returned to L.A. determined to marry Brooke until he found out she'd had an affair with Bill, who was married to Brooke's sister, Katie Logan. Though Ridge and Katie connected, Ridge nearly married Brooke, but Katie stopped the ceremony by fainting on purpose and professing her love to Ridge.

Ridge proposed to Katie, resisting when Eric made Ridge and Brooke co-vice presidents of Forrester in an effort to push them back together. Ridge saw a photo of Bill in bed with his ex-lover, Quinn Fuller, and raced to the Middle East to keep Brooke from marrying Bill; the ensuing altercation ended with Ridge falling out of a helicopter into the Persian Gulf. Ridge surfaced days later with an impaired memory, though he was still determined to marry Katie. When Ridge found out Bill had ordered his pilot to dump him in the ocean, Ridge commandeered Bill's chopper and likewise tried to eject him.

Because of his brain damage, Ridge found he could only design by guiding the hand of young Caroline Spencer, the namesake niece of his long-dead wife. Despite his engagement to Katie, and Caroline's marriage to Rick, Ridge kissed Caroline after they admitted their attraction. But when Eric was about to step down as CEO and name Ridge his successor, Rick's ex-girlfriend, Maya Avant, announced she had seen Ridge and Caroline kissing, and Ridge lost the CEO chair to Rick, who shot at Ridge and Caroline when he caught them together.

Frustrated when Eric wouldn't remove Rick from power, Ridge combined his Forrester stock with Steffy, Thomas, and Bill, using the 62.5% share to replace Rick as CEO. Ridge then put the transgender Maya at the center of a fashion show of models of her kind over the vehement objections of Thorne's daughter, Aly Forrester, who had a history of mental illness stemming from the violent childhood death of her mother. When Aly died during a confrontation with Steffy, Ridge ran afoul of Thorne by suggesting that they hadn't taken Aly's illness seriously enough.

Ridge helped Caroline to walk again after her ankles were broken in a car accident, but didn't share her desire to have children because of a secret vasectomy he'd had in Paris, so Ridge broke up with Caroline for a time before marrying her on the bluffs of Malibu. But Caroline turned up pregnant from having slept with Thomas while incapacitated from a combination of pills and wine; Ridge declared he and Caroline would raise Thomas' baby as their own, barely hiding his hostility toward Thomas as he and Caroline tried to keep their nosy families from learning the truth.

Ridge participated in the water birth of Caroline's son, whom Ridge named Douglas in honor of Stephanie's maiden name. Ridge dodged a bullet when his fertility specialist, Dr. Wolin, demanded $100,000 to keep quiet about Ridge's low sperm count, then was killed by an oncoming truck; Ridge then had to deflect Katie, who had spoken to Wolin. When Katie extracted a confession from Caroline, Ridge grudgingly told Thomas he was Douglas' father and panicked when Thomas drove off with the boy. Ridge was forced to give Rick more responsibility at Forrester when Brooke and Bill got wind of Douglas' paternity and threatened to go public, but when Eric discovered Ridge's deception, Ridge was kicked out of the CEO chair and the mansion, just as he feared.

Seeing parents Thomas and Caroline bonding over Douglas, Ridge walked away from his marriage, then raged as Eric took up with Quinn and reinstated her at Forrester. With Katie again divorcing Bill over a dalliance with Brooke, Ridge pressed Katie to ask for Bill's 12.5% share in the company and sell it to him so he could protect Forrester from Quinn. When Eric and Quinn decided to marry, Ridge staged a boycott which included a visiting Thorne and Felicia; despite his family's second thoughts, Ridge held strong until Eric collapsed from a brain hemorrhage while expressing his anger and betrayal.

Ridge was relieved of his leadership duties at Forrester when the recovering Eric found out Ridge had kept secret the fact that Eric had given Quinn his power of attorney. With Quinn as interim CEO, Ridge tried to sabotage her showing by keeping Steffy from modeling the showstopper; Ridge had to eat crow when Quinn won raves by taking to the runway herself. Getting encouragement from R.J., who moved home from boarding school, Ridge tried to sway Brooke's affections just before she was to walk down the aisle with Bill. Ridge also worked with R.J. to recreate the giant heart in the sand Ridge had made for his 2009 wedding to Brooke; Ridge was thrilled when the gesture led Brooke to accept Ridge's marriage proposal instead.

Demoted to sharing the vice president mantel with Rick, Ridge schemed to trap Quinn in a compromising position to come between her and Eric; Ridge teased Quinn in the steam room and arranged for them to "accidentally" stay in the same hotel room while attending a design symposium in San Francisco. Ridge faced Quinn's wrath when she caught on, but their confrontation ended with a kiss. Ridge warmed to Quinn and was grateful when she suggested he share the CEO chair with Steffy, but Ridge had to talk Eric's niece, Ivy Forrester, out of going to Eric after Ridge got snagged kissing Quinn again; Ridge also worked to throw Katie off the scent as he spent more time with Quinn. Set to follow Liam and Steffy's lead by marrying Brooke in Australia, Ridge indulged in a goodbye kiss with Quinn that was witnessed by Brooke. Ridge managed to keep Brooke from reporting to Eric, but lost Brooke when she called off the wedding.

When Spectra Fashions was revived by Sally Spectra's namesake grandniece, Ridge was furious to find his designs on Spectra's runway because young Sally's sister, Forrester intern Coco Spectra, had unwittingly worn jewelry rigged with cameras; Ridge fired Coco and later Thomas, who had been seeing Sally and given her $100,000 to keep Spectra afloat. Ridge kissed Quinn again while commiserating over Katie blackmailing Quinn into a position on the jewelry design team; having heard Katie pulled a gun on Quinn for firing her, Ridge was loathe to believe Katie had also taken shots at Quinn on her balcony. But Ridge did believe the returning Sheila Carter, who claimed to be rehabilitated, was gunning for Quinn. Ridge turned out to be wrong when he received a frantic call from Katie, who had seen Deacon menacing Quinn through her telescope. Ridge saved Quinn from Deacon, learning from a grateful Quinn that she loved him.

Ridge struggled to explain himself when Sheila learned of his kisses with Quinn and told Eric; Ridge tearfully accepted it when Eric disowned him, but eventually the men made peace. Ridge's reunion with the home-to-stay Thorne quickly devolved into a shoving match, with Ridge feeling Thorne had ulterior motives toward Brooke. Ridge won Brooke back and proposed, marrying her under Stephanie's portrait at the mansion. Building on the goodwill of Thorne agreeing to be Ridge's best man, Ridge put Thorne on the design team for the Hope for the Future line, which was being rebooted by Hope, who had come home from Milan.

Ridge couldn't understand how Liam could walk out on a pregnant Steffy until Steffy admitted she had slept with Bill. Ridge clung to the idea that Bill had violated his daughter, punching Bill in the face and promising to call the law. When Bill was shot in the back, Ridge found himself in handcuffs because Bill blamed him for the crime, but Ridge was soon exonerated since it was agreed Bill couldn't have clearly seen his assailant from his vantage point.

Ridge repeatedly encouraged Liam to go back to Steffy; when Liam proposed to Hope instead, Ridge butted heads with Brooke over whose daughter was better for Liam. Ridge felt Bill was pulling the strings so he could have Steffy for himself; Ridge turned out to be right when Wyatt stopped Liam and Hope's wedding with the news that Bill had only been faking a continuing "affair" with Steffy. Ridge praised Liam for going home to Steffy after she gave birth to his granddaughter, Kelly, but had to once again watch Liam marry Hope, this time seeing Brooke and guest Taylor covered with wedding cake after they got into a fight during the reception.

Ridge received a shock when Steffy announced she was marrying Bill, but got a pleasant surprise when Steffy changed her mind and still came away with Bill's 12.5% stock in Forrester, which had been in Bill's hands for years. Ridge and Brooke promised to stay out of their kids' love lives, but another rift opened between them when it came out Bill had been neglecting Will, his son with Katie; Ridge encouraged Katie to go after sole custody while Brooke came to Bill's defense. After Katie and Thorne married, Ridge went to Judge McMullen, a friend he'd put through law school, and leaned on him to rule in Katie's favor. Ridge was smug until Bill secretly recorded an incriminating conversation between Ridge and McMullen; when summoned to Bill's office, Ridge was amazed that Bill let him off with a slap on the hand, but sensed that Bill's "changed man" stance was a ploy to lure Brooke away from him.

Ridge and Thorne demanded Bill stay away from Brooke; a fight broke out, which ended with Ridge tossing Bill over his second-story balcony. Ridge again felt Bill was manipulating Brooke when Bill declined to go to the police. But Ridge was flabbergasted when Brooke came to him and revealed it had been Taylor who had shot Bill as a result of Ridge telling her Bill had forced himself on Steffy. Ridge shared Steffy's concern that Taylor was drinking again and lent his ex his full support. Later, Ridge offered a sincere thank-you to Bill, who had arranged to fly Ridge and Brooke to Catalina Island through a wind storm to be with Hope, who miscarried Liam's baby. Ridge did his best to comfort stepdaughter Hope.

It was bittersweet for Ridge when Thomas came home to only to report that Caroline had died from a sudden blood clot. Ridge got a surprise when Taylor suddenly kissed him, and a bigger one when Taylor felt that Thomas, who had a motherless child in Douglas, should be with Hope, who was childless. Learning that Thomas agreed with Taylor, Ridge reminded his son that Hope was a married woman, then reassured Brooke, telling her they needed to resist meddling the way Stephanie had and let the kids work things out on their own. However, Ridge eventually came over to Thomas' side and tried to convince a dubious Brooke to give Thomas and Hope a chance after Hope got an annulment from Liam.

Ridge continued to scoff at Brooke's insistence that something was off with Thomas, but had to face it when he found out Thomas was complicit in a cover-up started by Reese Buckingham, an obstetrician who stole Hope's baby, switched it with a dead one, and used money from its adoption to pay gambling debts. Ridge comforted Steffy, who fell apart after learning she had actually adopted Hope's child and had no choice but to give her back to Hope. Ridge made some phone calls and had Reese arrested in London off-screen, adding he wanted to have Reese extradited to the U.S. so he could face punishment. Later, Ridge blamed Brooke when she pushed Thomas away from Hope and caused him to fall over a cliff.

At Thomas' side in the hospital, Ridge blanched when he learned that Forrester intern Emma Barber, who was on her way to tell Hope her baby was alive, had gone off the road while chased by Thomas and died after Thomas left the scene of the accident. Ridge railed at Thomas but threw the police off the scent and was even willing to allow Florence Fulton, Brooke's newfound niece who had helped Reese sell Hope's baby, to be released from jail if it meant keeping Thomas' part in Emma's death quiet. Ridge believed he could help the troubled Thomas but encountered increasing resistance from Brooke, who continued to believe Thomas was dangerous. Ridge got drunk at a bar and woke up next to Flo's mother, Shauna Fulton, who had put the passed-out Ridge to bed. Ridge swore Shauna to secrecy, but had a lot of explaining to do when Brooke found out about his bunkmate.

Ridge finally moved out on Brooke and stayed with Steffy, believing Thomas was improving due to his off-screen phone calls with Taylor. When Brooke worked to have Douglas adopted by Hope, Ridge moved Douglas into the Forrester mansion with him and Thomas. Ridge slid into bed in the Forrester guest house only to find Shauna, who had been invited there by Quinn. Ridge and Shauna laughed at the situation and slept next to each other again non-sexually. Ridge wanted to reconcile with Brooke but couldn't find a way past their conflict over Thomas, who had suddenly gone AWOL. Ridge didn't share Brooke's concern for Thomas' mental health upon learning Thomas had pretended to be dead to manipulate Hope; Ridge signed divorce papers with Brooke, but couldn't bring himself to file them.

When Thomas started seeing Zoe Buckingham, Reese Buckingham's daughter, Ridge heaved a sigh of relief that Thomas was moving on from Hope. But after Thomas made a show of proposing to Zoe at a dinner party, Ridge briefly questioned his son's motives before going back to believing Thomas was recovering. Ridge continued to be at an impasse with Brooke until Hope exposed Thomas' continuing obsession with her at Thomas' wedding to Zoe. Ridge watched Thomas run out after expressing his disgust over having used everyone in his quest to bag Hope.

Ridge reunited with Brooke, but at their celebration, Ridge blanched to see a video of Brooke kissing Bill that Quinn had uploaded to a digital picture frame. Ridge took off in search of Shauna after Quinn informed him she was moving back to Las Vegas and drunkenly kissed Shauna in front of a wedding chapel. Longing to patch things up with Brooke, Ridge got thrown a curve ball when Shauna returned producing a marriage certificate naming her as Ridge's wife. Ridge wanted to do right by Shauna, but couldn't stop thinking about Brooke. Because he had been so drunk that he couldn't remember his Vegas wedding, Ridge agreed to a proper ceremony with Shauna until he learned that Quinn had gotten Shauna to send a text instructing his best friend and lawyer, Carter Walton, to file his divorce papers from Brooke on his behalf, which had freed Ridge to marry Shauna. Ridge went back to Brooke and was overjoyed to learn that, because of the fraud involved in his wedding to Shauna, he was actually still married to Brooke. Ridge agreed with Brooke's vow that they should work on strengthening their marriage and make sure nothing ever came between them again.

Ridge saw Thomas through brain surgery, which became necessary after bleeding was causing Thomas to hallucinate. Later, Ridge joyously agreed to be Carter's best man when Carter proposed to his girlfriend, Forrester model Zoe Buckingham. But after Ridge found out Zoe was actively trying to see if any romantic doors were open with Ridge's adoptive nephew, Zende Forrester-Dominguez, Ridge went to Carter and busted Zoe, ending the engagement. Then, Ridge learned that Steffy was pregnant and not sure if her new boyfriend, John "Finn" Finnegan, or the married Liam was the father. Ridge continued to chafe as Brooke kept questioning Thomas' intentions toward Hope, including when Liam was jailed for killing Vinny Walker, who had switched Steffy's paternity test, with his car; Ridge assured Brooke when she worried that Liam's request for Thomas to watch over Hope would respark Thomas' obsession with Hope, but Ridge privately had a talk with his son to make certain Thomas' motives were honorable.

Ridge couldn't understand it when Thomas took off unexpectedly, especially when Hope reported that Justin was in possession of Thomas' phone. It turned out that Justin had imprisoned Thomas to keep him from revealing that Vinny had thrown himself in front of Liam's car to frame Liam; Ridge fumed that Justin had used his son in his quest to control Spencer Publications with Bill and Liam behind bars. Ridge listened as Justin offered to ally with Ridge to work against Bill as a means of staying out of jail.

At Steffy and Finn's wedding, Ridge was horrified when the woman Finn brought in claiming to be Finn's biological mother was none other than Sheila Carter. Ridge joined in schooling Finn about the crimes Sheila had committed against his family and ordered Carter to file a restraining order against Sheila. Ridge later saw how unhappy Eric was married to Quinn and had a hunch Quinn was cheating with Carter as she had done before, so Ridge called in his marker with Justin and had Justin follow Quinn. Ridge still suspected Quinn of foul play even after Justin caught her with Carter and learned that Eric had been suffering from erectile dysfunction and had sanctioned the extramarital affair.

Ridge stood firm with Brooke and Liam against Deacon after Deacon got out of jail wanting a relationship with Hope, who had been writing to Deacon in secret. Ridge suggested that Hope move out so she could spend time with Deacon without him being near Ridge, which upset Brooke. Ridge came home from a business trip to learn that alcoholic Brooke had taken a drink, but didn't know why; Ridge supported Brooke by attending open Alcoholics Anonymous meetings with her. Meanwhile, Ridge was surprised to learn that Taylor had returned to Los Angeles; when Steffy and Thomas started making noise about how Ridge would be better off leaving Brooke for Taylor, Ridge told his kids in no uncertain terms that he was staying with Brooke.

However, when Ridge found out that Brooke had kissed Deacon while drunk, Ridge left Brooke and was ready to return to Taylor after Brooke broke up a fistfight between Ridge and Deacon, which Ridge interpreted as Brooke choosing Deacon over him. Despite spending time with Taylor, Ridge took no steps to divorce Brooke and was moved when Brooke asked him to come home. But all relationship entanglements fell to the wayside when Steffy was shot and critically injured during a robbery, after which Finn died from his own wounds. As Ridge waited for Steffy to regain consciousness, he found himself at odds with Taylor over Sheila's presence at the hospital, even after learning that Sheila had saved Taylor, who had fallen off the hospital roof trying to keep Sheila from committing suicide over Finn's death. Ridge was overjoyed when Steffy woke up, though he remained concerned that she couldn't remember her shooting and believed that Liam was her husband.

Ridge gently helped Taylor, Thomas, and Liam to tell Steffy about Finn, which caused a flood of memories to come back to Steffy. Ridge raged when Steffy remembered that it had been Sheila who had shot her and killed Finn, so he participated in an ambush that led to Sheila's arrest. Ridge also learned that Sheila had been responsible for Brooke's drinking, so he relocated to the Forrester guest house to figure out whether he wanted to pursue things with Taylor or reunite with Brooke. When Brooke broke her foot, Ridge took it as a sign that he should return to her.

Ridge and Taylor traveled to Monte Carlo when they learned that Steffy had checked herself into a clinic for depression there. Ridge was astonished when a very-much-alive Finn arrived, but perturbed when he saw a picture of Brooke, Deacon and Hope on social media. Between that and the joy of Finn and Steffy's reunion, Ridge kissed Taylor. Upon arriving home, Ridge confessed to Brooke about the kiss and found himself forgiven by her as Brooke acknowledged all the times Ridge had forgiven Brooke's own wayward kisses. Still, Ridge agreed with Taylor when she said that Ridge seemed happier when he was with her, Steffy, and Thomas.

Ridge maintained to his aggressive kids that he intended to remain with Brooke. But Ridge changed his mind when he received recorded proof that Brooke had called Child Protective Services on Thomas for recklessly handling a knife while under the same roof with Douglas. After Brooke vehemently denied making the call, Ridge left without a word to Brooke and followed Taylor to Aspen to reunite with her. Despite still being married to Brooke, Ridge and Taylor celebrated coming together again by making love, though Ridge continued to think of Brooke.

Ridge finally asked Brooke for an annulment, but would only hint that Thomas factored into his decision. Ridge recreated his runway proposal to Taylor and asked her to marry him, but at the wedding, Ridge learned that Thomas had faked the call to CPS by using a voice-sampling app to generate Brooke's voice. Ridge left Taylor at the altar and was surprised when Brooke wouldn't take him back. After Brooke suggested he do some soul searching, Ridge went on a trip, but when he came home having decided which woman he wanted to spend his life with, he was amazed to discover that Brooke and Taylor had chosen themselves and didn't want his answer.

Ridge apparently resumed traveling to get clear on his priorities. After a few months off-screen, it was revealed that Ridge was instead helping Bill, who had been romancing Sheila to get information that would put Sheila in jail permanently. Once Sheila was incarcerated, Ridge stood at Bill's side and helped him explain the phony affair to their horrified extended family. Ridge was thrilled when R.J. came home and immediately insisted that the social media influencer take a job at Forrester Creations, despite R.J.'s protests.

When Brooke suggested that they reunite, Ridge was circumspect because he wasn't sure he believed in love anymore. While in Rome for a Hope for the Future showing, Ridge didn't pick up on the hints Brooke left him while on a tour of the city; it was only when Ridge happened to spy Brooke through the Aventine Keyhole, through which one supposedly sees one's future, that Ridge took action and resumed his relationship with Brooke. At Forrester, Ridge declined Eric's offer to collaborate on a "legacy line"; Ridge felt that Eric was in a place where he should enjoy retirement. Confused when R.J. began working with Eric, Ridge accepted Eric's challenge to battle in a fashion showdown. Ridge was confident he would win but wondered if something deeper were going on with Eric. After Ridge indeed won, he learned that Eric was dying, so Ridge lied and said that Eric had won instead.

Ridge -- and his family, who all had come to learn the truth about Eric's diagnosis -- reluctantly attended a party thrown by Eric and tried to act like nothing was wrong. But after Eric caught on that everyone knew he didn't have long to live, and that Ridge had let him think he won the challenge, Ridge watched in horror as Eric collapsed. Ridge knew that Eric had a do-not-resuscitate order and wanted to take Eric off of life support, drawing the ire of Eric's ex-wife Donna and a visiting Thorne; Ridge ultimately agreed with the family's consensus that they should try an experimental treatment devised by Finn. Ridge worried about Eric's chances of recovery and that Eric would be angry that Ridge hadn't let him die, but when Eric came to, Ridge was relieved to receive Eric's understanding. At another party thrown by a healed Eric, Ridge joined in the celebration as Eric spontaneously remarried Donna.

Despite their dubious history, Ridge endorsed the relationship that developed between Thomas and Hope, noting to Brooke that they could be the next great Forrester-Logan couple.