The Return of Bold & Beautiful’s RJ Has People Talking — and What They’re Saying Is Pretty Darn Funny
Friday, January 16th, 2026
A hush fell over Forrester Creations as a supposedly-mysterious person walked the hallways. Jaws dropped, eyebrows were raised and interns swooned. As CrissBliss put it on the r/boldandbeautiful thread regarding the topic, “It was like Belle walking around her little French town in Beauty and the Beast.”
Others, however, might have likened the handsome, cocky young newcomer to another character from the same Disney classic… her wanna-be beau, Gaston.
Yes, RJ Forrester, son of Ridge and Brooke Forrester, in in the building, and people have taken notice. But what were they saying about the return of the character, last played by Joshua Hoffman? Most on the Reddit thread reacting to newcomer Brayan Nicoletti were pleasantly surprised.
“I love the new RJ, like I knew I would,” raved Redditor Doyle_Macintosh, adding that they thought the actor would “do an incredible job in this role.”
Others offered kudos to the casting department, with thread-starter Hotgalkitty pointing out that the olive-skinned Nicoletti “leans into the Marone side of the family.” (Newer viewers may not be aware, but Ridge is the son of shipping magnate Massimo Marone, although he was raised by Eric, whom he long believed to be his pop.)
While most praised the actor, his alter ego’s entrance was widely mocked as being over the top. In fact, it reminded some of another recent arrival. “It’s like how they introduced Daphne, with people smelling her scent [before] she entered rooms,” pointed out Redditor Brief_Ad3232. “As if she enchants whoever is around her with her perfume.”
There were definitely comments regarding his wardrobe. As GrammaFootball noted beneath our recap of the episode, “Kinda looks like RJ has spent some time thrift shopping with Macklemore.” Commenter Lorna got to the important question immediately: “How long before we see [him] with his shirt off?” she pondered before answering her own query: “I give it a day!”
Now, weigh in with your vote in the poll below, then hit the comments to tell us what you’re thinking!
