The Bold and the Beautiful’s Matthew Atkinson Explains Why He’s ‘Been Off the Grid’
Tuesday, December 28th, 2021
“It’s been an adventure…”
This time of year is often very hectic, given the holidays and preparations for the new year ahead, but The Bold and the Beautiful’s Matthew Atkinson (Thomas) has taken a step back from it all. The CBS soap star shared a photo from Yellowstone National Park, all bundled up, with a serene snowy backdrop to let fans know what he’s been up to recently — and why he’s been off the grid.
“My Christmas and birthday this year was spent deep in the mountains in prayer (and in snow),” he explained, “I’ve been off the grid mostly hence my absence from the internet.”
More: B&B star shares photos from a magical place
It’s nice sometimes to take a step back from social media and enjoy the world around you and he went on to say that in doing so, “It’s been an adventure with all the winter storms, but worth it.”
Monday, December 27, marked Atkinson’s birthday, to which he turned 33. While some people don’t enjoy having their birthday so close to the holidays, he stated, “It’s never bothered me,” and opened up, “I would much rather everyone feel gratitude for the Lord Christ, the reason for the season.”
In closing out the post, he urged his followers, “Enjoy every moment you have in this life, it’s all a miracle.”
Join us as we send Atkinson a very happy birthday then look back at his character with a gallery below filled with photos of Thomas’ many ups and downs throughout the years.
Image: Aaron Montgomery/JPI
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<p>Rather than fight perpetual rival Brooke Logan for on-again/off-again husband Ridge Forrester once more, Taylor Hayes (then Hunter Tylo) attempted to pass off their son as her ex’s nephew. But the minute she saw Thomas (then Drew Tyler Bell) with Ridge, she knew that no one would buy him as Thorne’s kid. Not for long, anyway!</p>
Image: Aaron Montgomery/JPI
2/32
<p>Ridge (then Ronn Moss) wasn’t too happy when Thomas started dating Amber Moore and took a restraining order out on her. Ridge was proven right when Thomas later learned Amber tried to ruin Ridge’s life by pushing him and his stepdaughter/once-thought-to-be sister Bridget together.</p>
Image: Image: John Paschal/JPI
3/32
<p>Thomas has known his sometime stepsister Hope Logan since she was a baby. Their relationship would take many twists and turns over the years, including… erm, obsession.</p>
Image: Image: Aaron Montgomery/JPI
4/32
<p>Thomas and Rick have had a tumultuous history. This includes Thomas blowing up Rick’s car upon learning he romanced both of Thomas’ sisters as well as his mother.</p>
Image: Image: Howard Wise/JPI
5/32
<p>Years later, Thomas (then Adam Gregory) butted heads with Rick over business, as well as Caroline Spencer. One argument led to Rick falling out a window. Hey, it happens.</p>
Image: Image: Sean Smith/JPI
6/32
<p>Though Brooke has been married to his father Ridge numerous times, Thomas couldn’t help being drawn to her. He went so far as to kiss her during a runway show as part of a PR stunt dreamed up by Whip Jones. They later developed problems of a different nature.</p>
Image: Image: Paul Skipper/JPI
7/32
<p>During a tour to promote a clothing line, Brooke and Thomas’ plane crashed on a deserted island. While there, they ate hallucinogenic berries, leading Thomas to believe they had sex. He took a bribe from grandma Stephanie to lie that they had slept together, but eventually came clean. </p>
Image: Image: Sean Smith/JPI
8/32
<p>Despite their parents being married, Thomas became enamored with Hope (then Kim Matula) early on. However, he always had to contend with her love for Liam Spencer, who also had a history with Thomas’ sister Steffy.</p>
Image: Image: Howard Wise/JPI
9/32
<p>Thomas (then Pierson Fode) slept with Caroline, who had just broken up with his father Ridge. However, she didn’t remember their night together due to drinking wine after taking anti-anxiety medication. That night resulted in their son Douglas, who Caroline and Ridge claimed was Ridge’s offspring before the truth came out.</p>
Image: Image: Howard Wise/JPI
10/32
<p>Thomas fell for spunky Sally Spectra and defected from Forrester to become the lead designer at her company Spectra Fashions. Their love wouldn’t last, however, as he left her to be with Caroline and their son Douglas when he thought Caroline was dying.</p>
Image: Image: Howard Wise/JPI
11/32
<p>After Caroline died for real, Thomas (now Matthew Atkinson) returned to Los Angeles from New York obsessed with getting Hope to love him. He was often seen around Forrester Creations lurking, plotting and generally being creepy.</p>
Image: Image: Howard Wise/JPI
12/32
<p>Thomas married Hope (then Annika Noelle) in 2019, but their union was annulled a short time later. Hope, who was still in love with Liam, only married Thomas to be a mother to his son Douglas after she believed she lost her own child. She later got shared custody of the boy and began co-parenting with Thomas.</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
13/32
<p>Still obsessed with Hope despite their marriage being annulled, Thomas rather nastily allowed her to believe he had died after they argued at Forrester Creations and he fell into a vat of acid. As it turned out, it wasn’t really acid but a cleaning solution.</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
14/32
<p>Claiming he was really most sincerely over Hope, Thomas began dating Zoe Buckingham and eventually asked her to marry him. The trouble, of course, was that he still secretly wanted Hope… and she knew it. Thomas’ wedding day went up in flames when Hope showed up in a white gown and asked him to choose her. Thomas fell for it and was exposed, after which he ran out and disappeared for a while.</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
15/32
<p>Making another valiant attempt at moving on without Hope, this time Thomas’ efforts were stymied when he crossed paths with a compelling mannequin that looked exactly like the object of his desire. After taking it home, it began talking to him, and inevitably, he tried to romance the thing. In Thomas’ defense, Liam also thought it was really Hope when he spied the designer kissing it. All of this came to a head when Hope found Thomas passed out on the floor of his apartment and it was discovered that he had a brain tumor.</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
16/32
<p>Thomas and Vinny Walker were pals from school, so he was loathe to believe that the kind-hearted drug dealer had used his newfound position in the lab to switch his sister Steffy’s paternity results… but that’s exactly what he’d done. It turns out Vinny thought it would help Thomas get closer to Hope if Steffy had a baby with Liam. Thomas was angry, but was later devastated when his lifelong friend threw himself in front of Liam’s car and died as a last-ditch effort to win him the girl of his dreams.</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
17/32
<p>Now on the straight and narrow, Thomas was determined to do the right thing and turn in the evidence that proved Vinny committed suicide so as to free Liam and Bill from the slammer. But there was a newly unhinged person in town — Justin Barber. Having snapped after all the years of being ordered around by his boss, he wanted to keep him behind bars and take over his empire… so he locked Thomas up! Hope eventually freed him.</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
18/32
<p>We couldn’t help but think that Thomas needed to get out of the office more when he fell for another woman who already had a man — cousin Zende’s girl, Paris Buckingham. But that wasn’t the only thing that made it awkward — she was also Zoe’s sister — yes, <em>that</em> Zoe, the one he jilted at the altar. The bad news is that he was going through a man bun phase, the good news is that when the newly-mature and stable Thomas made his feelings known to Paris, who was sub-letting his apartment, he was accepting when she friend-zoned him.</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
19/32
<p>Thomas, who had buckled down to become a good father to Douglas again as he searched for a house of his own to buy, was thrilled when his mother, Taylor, came home to the family fold. Thomas teamed with Steffy to try and convince their parents they were better together.</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
20/32
<p>Thomas found out Sheila Carter had pushed his father’s wife, Brooke, off the wagon and kept the secret a tad too long in hopes that his parents would reunite. Steffy realized something was going on between the two and eventually figured out what her husband’s mad biological mother had done, which played a part in their fateful confrontation in the alley behind Il Giardino. Much to Thomas’ horror, both Steffy and Finn were shot by Sheila that night and left for dead. Happily, they both survived in the end.</p>
Image: CBS screenshot
21/32
<p>Having not hatched a scheme or made out with an inanimate object in months, Thomas decided that it was the perfect time to approach Hope about maybe moving son Douglas out of her place and into the Forrester mansion. Cue Hope’s heart shattering into a bazillion pieces in three, two…</p>
Image: CBS screenshot
22/32
<p>Reformed our ass! Determined to reunite Mommy and Daddy, Thomas used a voice-altering phone app to make it sound like Brooke had called Child Protective Services on him. The dirty trick worked — right on cue, Ridge ran back to Taylor — but we all knew it couldn’t last…</p>
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23/32
<p>Ridge and Taylor <span style="text-decoration: line-through">raced down the aisle</span> hurried to the Forrester living room, only for Steffy, tipped off to Thomas’ dirty deed by Douglas, to speak now rather than forever hold her peace. Afterwards, Thomas not only lost his job, even the mannequin wouldn’t return his calls.</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
24/32
<p>In the aftermath of trying to force Douglas to keep his dirty secret, Thomas decided it would be a good idea to let the boy decide who he wanted to live with… because, of course, he’d pick his dad, right? Wrong. Douglas threw both Thomas and Hope for a loop when he chose his Aunt Steffy’s cliffside abode and they were forced to go along with it. Thomas then made another miscalculation by thinking he’d have open access to his son at his sister’s place, which led to yet another falling out with Steffy.</p>
Image: © Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
25/32
<p>Hope would have happily have had nothing more to do with Thomas, but alas, Eric and Zende’s designs fell as flat as pancakes, so to save Hope For the Future, she had to rehire the (Worst) Employee of the Month. Could he prove to her — to anyone — that he deserved this 22nd chance?</p>
Image: CBS screenshot
26/32
<p>Thomas did such a good job of proving himself to Hope that when they traveled to Rome to put on the super successful fashion preview, she kissed him in front of the Colosseum! Actually, Hope had been harboring unlikely feelings for the Forrester heir for weeks, perhaps even months, beforehand. Unfortunately for Hope, Liam was watching.</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
27/32
<p>Once back in Los Angeles, Hope was confronted by Liam, who promptly declared their marriage to be over. Divorce papers were drawn up, harsh words were said… and Hope gave into her passions and began steaming things up with Thomas! What started as their little secret became a bit more complicated when her mom, Brooke, accidentally walked in on their sexy session! </p>
Image: CBS screenshot
28/32
<p>Being a world-class waffler, Liam — unaware of how far things had progressed between his estranged wife and his nemesis — seemed to want to reunite their family. Seeing how torn Hope was, Thomas even did the right thing by urging Liam to forgive Hope so they could move forward as a couple. Instead, Liam declared he could never forgive or forget that she’d slept with the designer. </p>
Image: CBS screenshot
29/32
<p>Seemingly free to be together, Thomas admitted to Hope that he loved her. She, in turn, admitted to not being there yet. And while love hadn’t taken root in her heart, lust certainly had! She proposed that they live in the moment before locking the office door and making love with him. </p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
30/32
<p>As Thomas and Hope’s affair progressed, he felt confident enough to pop the question. In turn, she burst his bubble, telling him that she wasn’t ready to make that kind of commitment to him or anyone. But she did agree to wear the ring on a necklace around her neck, giving Thomas ‘hope for the future’.</p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
31/32
<p>Thomas and Hope only grew closer after his marriage proposal and the blonde even managed to get Brooke on board with their relationship. Feeling the stars aligning, and after his dad urged him to be “bold” in his love for Hope, Thomas set up a romantic candlelit dinner at which he told her it was time to move the engagement ring from her necklace to her finger.</p>
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