Luna’s paternity question has lingered over the Nozawa family for decades. It became a perplexing puzzle for viewers to solve when Poppy arrived in town as a new contender for the record for most guys slept with at once. Could Luna’s father be Bill? No — Is it Tom? Nope. How about Jack? Hell-to-the-no, since, according to him, he never even stepped into the ring in the first place. Could it be Finn, who fondly remembers dance parties with his aunt? Or could there still exist some crazy twist that winds us back up at Bill’s doorstep?
Li’s scathing castigations of Poppy can only be rivaled by Stephanie’s toward Brooke. Li berated her sister for her sexual escapades just as harshly as Stephanie did to Brooke, but Brooke and Poppy are not the first, nor the last, to wonder if the fathers of their babies were behind doors number one, two, or three. The Bold and the Beautiful has told at least a dozen “Who’s the Daddy” storylines and even a couple of “Who’s the Mommy” ones, too. In some cases, the viewers were in on the deception, while at other times, they sat in suspense as the sordid tales unfolded. Here’s a look back at some of Bold’s most memorable and outrageous paternity tales.
Spinning That Wheel for Ridge
Surely, it came as a shock to most viewers to learn that Bridget Forrester’s paternity could ever be in question, right? Brooke and Ridge allegedly conceived Bridget on the floor of the chemistry lab after the BeLieF formula discovery. Brooke’s lovemaking with Ridge had been unforgettable, but her night with Eric? Not so much. It was a shame for Eric, as the incapacitated Brooke had believed she was with Ridge and had even called out his name. When Ridge asked for a paternity test on what would have been his first daughter, Sheila Carter spun the DNA Roulette wheel, and Ridge wound up winning the “Who’s the Daddy” lottery—until…
An old letter from Dr. Peters surfaced, revealing that Brooke hadn’t left Bridget’s DNA test to destiny after all, but instead had paid a million dollars for results naming Ridge as the father. Brooke asserted that the letter was a fraud, but a newly performed test named Eric as Bridget’s father.
You Are Not the Father, and You Are Not the Mother!
When it comes to Little Eric, also known as Little D, before you could discover who his father was, you first had to solve the mystery of who his mother was. Fans were in on the tragic truth from day one when Amber found herself pregnant and feared the baby was Raymond’s, not Rick’s. Music superstar Usher Raymond guest-starred in what became the mother — and father — of all twists.
Amber Moore was Bridget’s nanny and she engaged in an inappropriate relationship with Rick, who I believe was underage at the time. She had a drunken night with Raymond in his hotel room, but left under the impression that they hadn’t actually had sex. Sometime after she learned she was pregnant. Raymond confessed to her that they really had done the deed. This would not be the only time B&B skirted the legal and moral issues of someone having sex with someone too impaired to give consent.
Fearing that a biracial baby would reveal she’s been unfaithful to Rick, Amber took off to have the baby in Furnace Creek in the home of her mother, Tawny.
It’s worth noting that this wasn’t Amber’s last “Who’s the Daddy” twist — or involving someone who didn’t know if they’d had sex or not. She tried to make Liam believe they’d had sex and she was carrying his baby; however, she believed the baby could be Oliver’s. When baby Rose was born interracial, Marcus was revealed as the father.
Meanwhile…
Now, back to Furnace Creek, where Rick’s baby sadly died. In a stroke of luck for Amber, her cousin, Becky, just so happened to also be in labor at the time. Becky had decided to give her baby up for adoption. With Amber’s sad tale to tell, Tawny persuaded the midwife to sign the baby over to Amber—unbeknownst to Becky.
Suspecting the worst of the grifting Amber, Rick and his family discovered Amber’s one-night stand with Raymond, but when she produced a Caucasian child, her secret baby switch remained safe. Until Becky arrived in town, that is. Amber struggled to keep her cousin away from Little Eric, but Becky eventually discovered the baby’s birthmark and knew that the child was the one she’d given up for adoption.
Amber tried to keep her secret and her marriage, but it all eventually fell apart, and she had to confess that Little Eric wasn’t hers—or Rick’s. He belonged to Becky. Who’s his father? The same man whom Sheila now calls Daddy and the same man involved in a paternity scandal of his own involving his daughter Hope, whom he conceived through a shameful one-night stand with his mother-in-law, Brooke Logan.
This Time, Ridge Wasn’t in the Running
Admittedly, Brooke has had a paternity scandal or two or three. Each one has been pretty juicy. In her first one, Ridge went from father to brother, and her last one resulted in Ridge being the father instead of the uncle. However, Brooke’s second paternity puzzle is unique in that it didn’t involve Ridge at all.
Deacon Sharpe is featured in the story that tore Bridget and Brooke apart when it was revealed that he, not Whip, was really Hope’s father.
I think everyone knows the story by now. Deacon was an irredeemable bad boy who did unspeakable things like devirginizing Bridget on a phone call with her family. Brooke chose herself as the envoy who’d negotiate Deacon right out of Bridget’s life, but Brooke fell under his spell. Believing that he’d leave Bridget the next day, Brooke succumbed to a night of passion with him. Surprise, surprise—he did not leave his wife, but Brooke became pregnant.
Brooke covered up her pregnancy for as long as she could, but when Stephanie unveiled it at a press conference, Whipple Jones seized his chance and claimed to be the baby’s father. Whip began extorting Brooke for power at Forrester, and even though Deacon decided to focus on Bridget, he was smoldering about Whip and Brooke’s supposed relationship. To protect Bridget and the unborn Hope, Brooke decided to marry Whip. After a baby shower, Bridget unintentionally overheard Deacon and Brooke on a baby monitor discussing their secret baby.
Bridget confronted Brooke at Big Bear and declared that Brooke was no longer her mother. Stephanie arrived, and Brooke went into labor. Bridget and Stephanie delivered Hope, but Bridget declared that Hope was Brooke’s only daughter.
Honorable-Mention Paternity Tales
Though the three stories above are the most memorable for me, other paternity plots concocted by The Bold and the Beautiful deserve honorable mentions:
- Clarke knew he was Margo’s baby daddy but desperately tried to hide it from his new wife, Kristen.
- Taylor tried to convince Ridge that Thorne was really Thomas’ father.
- Nick thought he might be R.J.’s father after he had grief sex with Brooke following the deadly end to Ridge and Brooke’s honeymoon.
- Steffy was relieved to learn her daughter wasn’t her husband’s half-sister. However, Liam’s discovery of the paternity test ended her marriage.
- Vinny hoped to do Thomas a solid by changing Steffy’s second paternity test to name Liam as the father instead of Finn to give Thomas a shot at Hope.
- Thomas’ father once decided for him that he didn’t deserve to know he was Douglas’ father. In a bold move, Ridge crowned himself the daddy.
- The queen of all paternity secrets was exposed when Ridge needed a blood donor, and Eric couldn’t help because he wasn’t really related to Ridge. Massimo Marone, not Eric Forrester, was really Ridge’s father.
Poppy’s sister has made Poppy out to be a trollop because so many men are in the running to be Luna’s father; however, viewers shouldn’t forget that Liam’s mother, Kelly, had three contenders, too—Ridge, Thorne, and Bill!
Unless the paternity retests Bill administered were faulty, there is only one more man who could be Luna’s father: John Finnegan.
Stay bold and beautiful, and stay tuned!
