1987-88
When B&B debuted, the marriage of Eric and Stephanie was far from happy. He even asked if she, too, sensed the "malaise" that had crept in. While Steph was busy meddling in their children's lives, Eric grew lonely. He threw himself into Forrester Creations and fended off the advances of his beautiful assistant, Margo. Stephanie convinced Margo to stay clear of her man, but that was chump change compared to the threat posed by Liz Henderson — Eric's former college sweetheart.>

Liz was now Mrs. Beth Logan, struggling to raise her family after being deserted by husband Steven. By chance, Beth's company was hired to cater one of Stephanie's soirées. Beth wondered if Eric would recognize her, but he didn't seem to. Later, it finally dawned on him who she was and they reconnected. Stephanie jumped into action by bringing Beth's errant husband back to town. For the sake of their children, Beth reconciled with Steven. Steph then got Bill Spencer to offer Steven a job that he couldn't refuse — in Paris.

1989-90
Eric reluctantly stayed with Stephanie. When Brooke (Beth's daughter) lost Ridge to Caroline, Eric spent time comforting her — a little too much. They fell in love and she got pregnant. Eric caught on to Stephanie's machinations and left her; Brooke happily accepted his proposal. Steph was thrown for a loop when she discovered that not only was her hated enemy the other woman, but that Brooke was also pregnant with Eric's child. La Forrester vowed that she'd never give up her husband, not even after Brooke gave birth to Eric, Jr.

1991-92
After exhausting her stall tactics, Stephanie finally consented to a divorce. With Ridge standing by, Eric and Brooke married in Palm Springs, but it wasn't long before Brooke was flirting with disaster in the form of stepson Ridge. The former lovers decided they wanted to be together (Ridge was now a widower). Eric was understandably upset, so Ridge stepped aside and married Taylor. When Brooke found out she was pregnant again, she was uncertain if the father was Eric or Ridge. Brooke gave birth to Bridget.