Could Nick Marone be the man to finally break up Brooke and Ridge for good on The Bold and the Beautiful? Jack Wagner certainly thinks so.
Wagner, 65, broke down his return to the long-running CBS soap — his first episode is set to air on Monday, June 16 — during an exclusive interview with Us Weekly.
“[Showrunner and producer] Brad Bell and I belong to the same golf course. We ran into each other four or five months ago,” Wagner recalled. “I was heading to Italy in the summer, and I said, ‘Hey, you need me to do any press in the show. I did that little one day thing for Brooke in [2022], think about that.’ About six weeks later, he called and said, ‘You want to do a summer story arc before you go back to When Calls the Heart?’”
Wagner noted that things had “gotten complicated” with Nick prior to his 2012 exit. So for his return, he wanted to focus on Nick’s relationship with Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) amid her heartbreak over Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) and Taylor’s (Rebecca Budig) reunion.
“Things had gotten a little Twisted Sister, with marrying the daughter [Bridget] and marrying the sister [Katie], and so what I like about the return is that we’re focusing strictly on Nick’s love for Brooke,” Wagner said. “He had found out that she’s just devastated by what’s going on with Ridge and Taylor, and he comes back to Los Angeles and tries to get her to awaken out of this toxic pattern she’s been in with him for so long, and to try to basically win her heart back.”
Jack Wagner Says Women Are Still ‘Overwhelmed’ When They See Him in Public
The Melrose Place alum gushed that he “loves” working with Lang, who has been on B&B since its 1987 premiere.
“She’s a lovely person, first of all. And secondly, she’s really committed to making the material as best as it can [be],” he told Us. “I come in and they allow me to tweak my dialog and restructure scenes, etc. Katherine’s really great about that and wants to raise the bar all the time. And I love the fact that Nick comes in and is very decisive, and he’s very clear about what his motivation is. He spells it out very directly to her what he sees. They reminisce together, there’s some great flashbacks where they’re able to connect and retell their story in order to open, possibly, a new chapter.”
Fans in 2025 will see a new side of Nick — “We had to evaluate his wardrobe, he’s a shipping tycoon who now runs Maroney industries,” Wagner told Us — and so will Ridge.
Heather Tom Says There’s Only 1 Rule for ‘Bold and the Beautiful’ Romances
“When Ridge comes into the room right there and starts to confront him, he’s unmoved, with complete confidence like Ridge is a fly on his shoulder,” Wagner teased. “I was able to just poke at Ridge over and over. I don’t think Thorsten [is] used to that and I don’t think Ridge is used to that. We got on very well. We’re both kind of fun, funny guys on set. He’s got a great sense of humor. We did a lot of ball-busting.”
Wagner believes fans will be satisfied with the story line sticking to Nick and Brooke’s romance.
‘Days of Our Lives’ Cast Share Their Favorite Couples From 60 Seasons
“I think it’s going to pay off, because it’s not going to be diluted in any way. I told Brad, ‘I don’t want to be spread out in any type of other story. This has to be his main motivation to win Brooke’s heart, to have her wake up out of this whole dysfunctional relationship with Ridge and see that he’s a decisive man who loves her and only her,’” he said.
The Bold and the Beautiful airs on CBS weekdays at 1:30 p.m. ET.
