The Brief And Fleeting Romance Between Zoe And Carter On The Bold And The Beautiful

Zoe Buckingham (Kiara Barnes) left "The Bold and the Beautiful" almost as abruptly as she joined it. In 2018, Zoe made her debut as the jilted ex-girlfriend of Xander Avant (Adain Bradley), desperately attempting to win him back. At the time, Xander was already smitten with fellow Forrester Creations intern Emma Barber (Nia Sioux). However, even after Emma's tragic death after being run off the road, things didn't work out between Zoe and Xander.

Zoe's next attempt at finding genuine romance didn't end any better. After Zoe's involvement in her father Reese Buckingham's (Wayne Brady) plot to fake the death of Hope Logan's baby was revealed, she was ostracized from the Forrester inner circle. She returned after taking some time away, and the first person who showed interest in her was Thomas Forrester (Matthew Atkinson).

Despite becoming engaged, Thomas and Zoe's relationship crashed and burned due to Thomas' obsession with Hope Logan (Annika Noelle). Zoe teamed up with Hope to expose Thomas at the wedding, leaving her a heartbroken mess. However, things began to look up for Zoe when she became smitten with Forrester Creations' COO, Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor). Their romance was brief, but it left a lasting impact on both characters.

Zoe Buckingham and Carter Walton first grew close during her relationship with Thomas Forrester. Carter, like Zoe, also had a difficult time with love. Every woman he was interested in was in love with someone else and wouldn't give him the time of day. For a while, Carter wanted Maya Avant (Karla Mosley), but that didn't go anywhere, even after her divorce from Rick Forrester (Jacob Young). Carter disapproved of the upcoming nuptials between Zoe and Thomas, but, like other Forrester weddings, he agreed to be the officiant. Following the failed wedding, things began to develop between Carter and Zoe, and their chemistry grew beyond flirty banter into something more meaningful.

Everything changed between the fledging couple when Zende Forrester (Delon De Metz) made his grand return to the family company. Following his divorce from Nicole Avant (Reign Edwards), Zende was looking for a fresh start back in Los Angeles, and his effortless charm quickly won Zoe over. However, Zoe's sister, Paris Buckingham (Diamond White), had also come to town and expressed interest in Zende. Zoe was put in an impossible situation, forced to choose between a stable future with Carter or the exciting possibility of pursuing things with Zende and breaking her sister's heart.

Zoe Buckingham couldn't contain her attraction to Zende Forrester and wanted to see if there was a possibility of a future between them — even if it was for only one night. However, Zende's blatant preference for her sister, Paris Buckingham, proved to be an obstacle she had to eliminate from the equation. To further complicate the already tricky situation, Zoe was living with Carter, and he had proposed.

Neither Zoe's living arrangements, engagement ring, nor her sister's blossoming attraction for Zende stopped her from attempting to win Zende over and have a tumble in the sheets with him. However, Zende rebuffed Zoe's advances because of his friendship with Carter and out of respect for their impending nuptials. Zoe was embarrassed by the ordeal, but the damage was done, and Carter couldn't look at her the same way when he found out.

Carter believed Zoe was the woman he'd spend the rest of his life with, so learning that she didn't see the same future for them felt like the utmost betrayal. In an attempt to win Carter back, Zoe enlisted the help of her close friend, Quinn Forrester (Rena Sofer), to speak to him on her behalf. However, getting Quinn involved proved to be the final blow to Zoe and Carter's whirlwind relationship.

Enlisting Quinn Forrester to smooth things over with Carter Walton was the biggest mistake Zoe Buckingham could have made. In Quinn's defense, her initial goal while visiting Carter at his apartment was to speak on Zoe's behalf and reunite the couple. However, it didn't take long before they started discussing more than his issues with Zoe, and Quinn opened up about the lack of intimacy in her marriage to Eric Forrester (John McCook). 

Eric hadn't shown Quinn affection in the bedroom since her efforts to break up Brooke Logan and Ridge Forrester had been revealed. Despite agreeing to take her back after her deception, Eric was giving Quinn the cold shoulder. Carter was there to comfort Quinn during this time, and a genuine connection developed between them. Meanwhile, Zoe was waiting in the wings to learn if Quinn was successful in helping her win Carter back and head toward the altar. 

However, unbeknownst to Zoe, Quinn and Carter had given in to their chemistry and taken things to the next level. Even though Quinn was married to Carter's boss and was supposedly Zoe's friend, the two couldn't resist repeated romps between the sheets. Though they struggled to resist each other, Carter and Quinn knew their affair had to stop if they were going to save their existing relationships. 

Instead of admitting the truth about their affair to their significant others, Quinn Forrester and Carter Walton vowed to keep it a secret. Carter wanted to put everything with Quinn in the rearview mirror and once again proposed to Zoe, who quickly agreed to marry him. However, things began devolving in the saga between Quinn and Carter when they couldn't commit to staying away from each other. When Carter was caught cheating, Shauna Fulton (Denise Richards) tried to claim she was the other woman to protect Quinn's marriage, but her false admission fell flat. Then, once Paris Buckingham discovered what happened between Carter and Quinn, all bets were off, and she promised to expose everything. 

Quinn and Carter neutralized Paris for a while, but Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) managed to get her to spill the beans about what she knew. Yet again, another wedding ceremony involving Zoe turned into a total disaster because of others' deception. Zoe and Carter couldn't salvage things after his affair with Quinn came to light, and she left town shortly afterward. 

While the failed relationship drove Zoe out of Los Angeles, it made Carter believe he would remain unlucky in love forever. Eventually, the affair with Quinn ceased, and he ended up with Zoe's sister, Paris. However, that romance also ended at the altar when Quinn showed up and confessed her love to Carter, and the two decided to give their connection a real shot. Now, Quinn has left him, and Carter's set his sights on Katie Logan (Heather Tom).