Why Does The Bold And The Beautiful's Liam Hate Thomas So Much?
The hate that Liam Spencer (Scott Clifton) has for Thomas Forrester (Matthew Atkinson) is unmatched and can often be connected back to one woman. Hope Logan (Annika Noelle) is the seed of most of the anguish Liam has for Thomas and the men have been fighting over the same woman for a decade. Liam and Hope's relationship began in 2010 when he arrived in Los Angeles and started working at Forrester Creations as an intern. Hope helped connect him with his father, Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) and soon they fell for each other and began a relationship. However, things took a turn for the worse when Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) stole Liam from Hope after kissing him. This led Hope to break off her engagement to Liam and paved the way for Thomas, who began fighting for her love.
While Thomas could see Hope was still in love with Liam, he believed he could win her over. During a getaway to Cabo, Thomas proposed to Hope on the beach. Unfortunately for Thomas, she said no. Knowing that she still had feelings for Liam, who happened to be there at the same time with Steffy, Thomas and Steffy attempted to get Hope drunk so she would sleep with Thomas. This ended up upsetting Liam, who found out about the plan and rushed to be by Hope's side. They shared a kiss on the beach. However, Liam would return to be with Steffy after she faked a serious injury during an ATV accident. Even though Liam was back with Steffy, Hope still did not want to be with Thomas, and he began dating another woman. This wouldn't be the last time Thomas and Liam would clash over Hope though, as he would have plenty more tricks to win over Hope.
Thomas weaponized his son to win over Hope
In 2019, Thomas' obsession with Hope ramped up. After the mother of his child, Caroline Spencer II (Linsey Godfrey) died, Thomas moved back to L.A with his son, Douglas Forrester (Henry Joseph Samiri). Hope comforted and distracted the boy from the death of his mother and, seeing how much Douglas bonded with Hope, Thomas and his mother, Taylor Hayes (Krista Allen), began weaponizing Douglas as a tool to win over Hope.
Hope had been mourning the supposed death of her and Liam's own little girl and found solace in connecting with Douglas. Despite the fact that Hope was still married to Liam, Thomas pursued her. However, Hope's daughter hadn't died. She had been stolen and unwittingly adopted by Steffy — a secret Thomas kept to himself. While slowly pulling Hope away from Liam with the help of his son, this time Thomas had Douglas pop the big question. Hope said yes, but something didn't feel right.
Soon, Douglas found out the truth about Steffy's baby and that she was actually Hope and Liam's baby, Beth. Thomas threatened his own son and told him he would abandon him if he told anyone the truth and messed up his marriage to Hope. Douglas ended up spilling the beans to Liam, thankfully, who quickly jumped into action to get his daughter back (while also getting into a fistfight with Thomas).
Thomas had an unhealthy relationship with a mannequin that resembled Hope
While Thomas' plan with his son was ultimately thwarted, he began struggling with mental health. His obsession with a mannequin that resembled Hope was an incredibly bizarre storyline. Thomas using his son as a pawn was obviously terrible, but this was stripped straight from a horror movie. From the moment he opened the box and said "Hope" out loud, everyone knew Thomas wasn't of sound mind. Thomas would hear the mannequin speak and even formed a secret, hidden relationship with it while acting normal at work. Everyone believed Thomas was doing fine, but deep down, he had a terrible secret.
While Thomas ended up having a medical issue to explain his behavior, Liam refused to brush it under the rug like Hope and Thomas' family has. Liam was convinced that Thomas' mannequin was telling him to act out violence and made him fear for his life, his children, and Hope. Though, no matter what Liam said about the situation, Hope refused to believe him, only creating more stress and anxiety every time he saw Thomas. Throughout Liam and Hope's relationship, Thomas has been lurking in the shadows, trying to steal Hope away and using terrible means to make it happen. Liam's life has been flipped upside down multiple times because of Thomas. Is this hatred destined to last forever? There certainly seems to be no end in sight, that's for sure.