Steffy and Finn get closer while Hope deals with her conflicting emotions in The Bold and the Beautiful recap for July 18, 2024.
We begin today in Malibu, where Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Finn (Tanner Novlan) are home. The kids are with Eric and Donna, so they can enjoy some wine together. Finn asks if she’s ok, and Steffy says she’s letting everything sink in. She can’t believe Finn urged Chief Baker to take Sheila in. Finn says he’s allowed a lot to happen in the past. Steffy loves that he stood up for their family.
Ridge (Thorsten Kaye), Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Hope (Annika Noelle) talk about Sheila being arrested. Hope doesn’t understand why Sheila would kill Hollis and Tom. She asks if Ridge talked to Steffy about her father, but Ridge ignores the question and suggests that Deacon needs a divorce attorney. He praises Finn for defending his family as "a step in the right direction." Brooke asks about the evidence against Sheila. While there’s no more evidence against her, Ridge says that no one else could have administered the drugs besides the "psycho nurse." And he’s glad Finn is finally stepping up.
Finn tells Steffy that he’s left her feeling like he’s not supporting her. Steffy says he was there when it mattered and he stood up for them. She loves him so much for it.
Ridge says Steffy loves Finn, and Ridge is so glad Finn has seen the light. Brooke can’t think about the life Finn would have lived if Sheila raised Finn instead of Li. Ridge wishes Finn would have pushed Sheila away sooner. Ridge says that Steffy can’t have Finn as a husband and father with Sheila in the picture. Hope defends him by saying Steffy is lucky to have him.
Steffy can’t understand how Deacon can love someone like Sheila. She’d hoped Sheila was turning a corner, but for her to do this at her husband’s restaurant is beyond belief. It’s going to ruin the business. Finn says he’s been wondering about Sheila’s motive. He’s not second-guessing his decision to have her arrested. Steffy points out that Sheila will never admit to doing anything wrong. Finn tells Steffy that no matter what, she and the kids are his priority.
Ridge has a meeting with the mayor, so he runs off. Hope wonders if she should go check on Deacon, but Brooke tells her to stay away for now. That gives Brooke a chance to check in with Hope now that Thomas and Paris are gone. She wants to know how Hope is doing with Douglas being gone. Hope tells her mother that she gave Thomas her blessing, which surprises Brooke. Hope says, "Maybe he’s right," and she was never supposed to be with Thomas. When Brooke presses for clarification, Hope admits that Finn told her that.
Hope elaborates that Finn said Hope could do better than Thomas, which only makes Brooke more concerned. Brooke reminds her how an innocent moment could "ignite" and blow up. Finn loves Steffy, Brooke reminds her. She doesn’t want Hope doing anything that she would regret. Hope is aware of it all, but she insists that they’re just good friends. And her friend told her she deserves a better man. "And that man won’t be Finn," Brooke supplies, though Hope admits she’d take a twin brother if she could.
Steffy and Finn are cuddling on the couch after their long day. She praises Finn for doing the right thing with Sheila. She shot them, after all, and drove Li off the road. Finn tells her they have better things to do than talk about all of this while they’re on the couch together. "Let’s get you out of those clothes," he suggests. Well, we know what Steffy and Finn will be doing. She emerges from the bedroom in a negligee while he’s lighting candles and they get it on.
Brooke tells Hope that they’ve talked so much about Finn. She’s glad Hope is honest with her, but she doesn’t know if Hope is being honest with herself. She wants to be sure Hope doesn’t make the same mistakes Brooke made. Hope is in a vulnerable place right now. Hope says Finn is just her friend and she values his support. She admires him in many ways.
Finn tells Steffy that they needed that. She agrees. He knows he has a crazy schedule at the hospital, not that she would ever complain about it. But he wants her to know that he would never question his love for her. She says the way he stood up for their family means the world to her.
Hope, now alone in the office, thinks back to all of her conversations with Finn. She thinks of her mother’s warnings about innocent moments turning into something else. While Hope ponders, Finn cradles his wife in his arms. Hope is more conflicted than ever.
The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS and the following day on Paramount Plus. Check your local listings to see when it comes on where you are.
