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The Bold and the Beautiful, we’ll grant you, is not a soap that is known for breaking from tradition. That’s why we are on the 111th redo of Brooke/Ridge/Taylor, the 76th go-round with Bill and Katie, and decades later, Sheila has become not one iota less bananas. But there is reason to think that the show may be about to shake things up in a big way. And that reason is…

Believe it or not, R.J. Yes, R.J. Bold & Beautiful couldn’t have recast the character just to have him take selfies and lift weights. So what we suspect is that Ridge and Brooke’s son is… not exactly harboring a secret but not being entirely forthcoming… yet. How so? What is the one kind of character that the show has never, ever had, despite being set in the fashion industry? A gay character.

Not all of the best sightseeing was done in Rome.

Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

No Big Whoop

Yep, we have a hunch that R.J. is gay, or bi, or pan, and being as modern and enlightened as he is, he hasn’t thought to tell his folks. He can’t imagine that it will be an issue for them. But when he meets someone special — and what perfect timing, it being Pride month and all — he is eager to introduce his significant other to Mom and Dad.

Cue the jaws dropping. Not because R.J. being gay is really all that shocking but because Bold & Beautiful so often operates with a backassward kind of 1950s mindset. We can just imagine Brooke trying to wrap her mind around her son’s revelation. “So you like girls… and boys?”

“Maybe we don’t tell your grandpa about this,” Ridge might suggest. “You know, he has a weak heart.”

Then let R.J. school his parents on how goofily narrowminded they are. “Love is love,” he gently explains. “I didn’t think this would be such a difficult concept for you to grasp. And as for Grandpa, come on. His house is 99-percent sticky because of all the places he and Donna have gotten honey.”

“Yeah,” Ridge admits, “the housekeepers have kinda quit trying to keep up with them.”

“And didn’t he give Quinn a hall pass to be with Carter?” R.J. reminds his dad.

“We don’t… um… we don’t talk about that,” Ridge replies. “It’s not morally upright, like when I slept with your mother while she was married to your grandpa.”

“Men… women… can’t I have both?” R.J. wonders. Paris’ expression: “Yes — duh!”

Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

Change for the Better

If Bold & Beautiful does go this route with R.J., it might actually do something besides tell a compelling story, it might open a few hearts and minds. Whenever it is suggested that a character is LGBTQ+, hate mail comes in, despite it being 2023, despite Lady Gaga having sung that we were “Born This Way,” despite even the Bible saying, “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” (Remember this unfortunate incident?)

So perhaps, as the show tells R.J.’s story, a few more people will realize that it’s a whole lot easier to love and let live than to hate and let loose. All R.J. wants is to be happy and accepted with the person about whom he cares. Is that different from what any of us want?

Didn’t think so. While you’re here, celebrate Darin Brooks’ anniversary as Wyatt with a photo album in which he reveals what he really thinks of his character’s storylines.

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