2001
Thorne and Brooke marry, but the honeymoon doesn't last long. Thorne has the marriage annulled after finding out that Brooke will always consider Ridge the love of her life. Brooke tries to put herself back in Ridge's life, but Stephanie and Massimo have other plans. They bribe Brooke's father into pretending he's dying so she will go take care of him in Paris. After a fall from the Eiffel Tower almost takes her life, Brooke returns to Los Angeles, where she falls again — this time for her son-in-law Deacon — and becomes pregnant.

2002
To shield her pregnancy, Brooke leaves Ridge in charge as CEO of Forrester Creations and heads to a spa. Ridge takes advantage of the position and tries to reclaim control for his family. Brooke returns in time to thwart this maneuver and proclaims she will never trust Ridge again. To hide the paternity of the baby, Brooke marries Whipple Jones III, but that marriage is annulled by year's end. After Sheila kills Taylor, a widowed Ridge finds solace in Brooke and the pair once again find themselves reconnecting.

2003
This is a busy year for the duo. Ridge proposes to Brooke only to find out that Deacon is Hope's father. He forgives her for this skeleton, but something else stands in their way — Bridget! After discovering Ridge's father is Massimo and not Eric, a smitten Bridget starts to fall in love with her former half brother and he returns her feelings. Unfortunately, on the day of the wedding, Brooke overhears a conversation in which her fiancè and her daughter declare those feelings for one another. Disgusted by both, she cannot go through with the ceremony. Brooke finds solace in Ridge's half brother Nick, but Ridge wins her back when he offers to help her create her own company and the two are married in a romantic jungle ceremony. Before they can return to Los Angeles, however, Sheila kidnaps Ridge and he's presumed dead. To deal with the pain, Brooke makes love to Nick and after Ridge returns she realizes she's pregnant. A paternity test identifies Nick as the father and the short-lived marriage is annulled.

2004
Right before Brooke says "I do" to Nick, Ridge races in the room and demands the wedding be stopped. He claims Nick is having an affair and is mixed up in illegal business. After the Feds take Nick away, Ridge gives Brooke a shoulder to lean on. Ultimately, they declare their love for one another and, once again, get engaged. While they are celebrating, Brooke goes into labor and Ridge delivers the baby. Just after he's born, it's revealed that Ridge, not Nick, is indeed the baby's father. They name him Ridge Forrester Jr., R.J. for short. Brooke and Ridge marry again, but tension rises when Bridget returns for the holidays, still pining for Ridge.

2005
Brooke is concerned after misreading interactions between Ridge and Bridget. Ridge assures her there is nothing going on between them, but then Amber almost kills Ridge and Bridget to manipulate a picture of them kissing. Ridge shows the snapshot to Brooke before Amber can, hoping his wife will understand that what looks like passion was actually just a sad kiss goodbye. By the time Brooke wises up, however, an angry Nick has hit Ridge, upsetting his concussion and leaving him vulnerable to Morgan DeWitt. She whisks Ridge away to heal in Italy...and that's just the first of the year!