It's been one heck of a year for The Bold and the Beautiful's Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, who welcomed her first baby, Rise Harlan Ruspoli, in March and won her first Daytime Emmy Award for her work as Steffy Forrester in May. And the good times just keep on rolling, as she's back on-screen at the CBS soap opera she has called home since 2008.
Wood first announced her pregnancy back in October while filming a B&B scene that called for the actress to walk down the catwalk in sexy lingerie. Not long after, the show accounted for the actress' maternity leave by writing a storyline in which Steffy took off to Paris with her daughters, Kelly and Phoebe, to for work at Forrester International. She returns to the fold on Thursday, May 23 -- and it won't be long until Steffy learns the bombshell news that she is unwittingly raising the daughter of her rival, Hope Logan (Annika Noelle).
"When [Steffy] comes back, she's getting back into the swing of things, figuring everything out. It's about her juggling motherhood and her career," Wood shares with TV Insider of her return, adding: "There will be some baby drama that will arise! There is that storyline where Steffy has Phoebe but she's Hope's daughter. Eventually that will come out. I don't know which way it will go!"
The actress also doesn't know which way Steffy's love life will go, but she's hoping that the character's newfound independence doesn't dissipate now that she's back in the same town as her former lovers, Liam (Scott Clifton) and Bill (Don Diamont). Wood confesses that Steffy's decision to walk away from the men in her life and focus on herself, her work, and her family last year was a rare storyline gift.
"I loved that turn. To sit there and say, 'I choose me' is so unheard of on many shows," she shares. "I felt that was so important for her to say that she doesn't need these guys. There is a love for Liam that will always be there, but her sanity is more important. She didn't want to pass being broken on to Kelly or Phoebe. I loved those scenes and that story."
What she doesn't love, however, is putting herself in the emotional state that Steffy will experience in the weeks ahead if her daughter is taken away from her.
"As an actor, I feel it in my chest [what it will be like] playing those scenes, as a new mom, having to imagine a child being ripped away from you," she says, adding that Steffy was deeply affected when her sister, Phoebe, was ripped away from her, meaning this storyline twist will likely be worse. "Steffy has many scars over that. Her sister being taken away affected Steffy. She has certain walls because of that. She's broken over so many things that have happened in her life."
Will Steffy's daughter end up equally as broken? And how will the news that Phoebe is really Hope's daughter affect Steffy and everyone else on the canvas? Be sure to tune in to Wood's return today and continue watching The Bold and the Beautiful to find out!
How do you feel about Wood's Steffy returning to B&B? How would you like to see the baby storyline play out in the weeks ahead? Which romantic partner would you like to see Steffy choose now that's back in town: Bill, Liam, or herself? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
