Exclusive: Rebecca Budig On Taylor's B&B Showdown With Brooke

JPI

California Steamin': Taylor (Rebecca Budig, c.) is none too pleased when she overhears Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang, r.) telling Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) that Hope (Annika Noelle) kissed Finn.

Dr. Taylor Hayes is back home in Los Angeles on Bold and Beautiful — in the form of recent recast Rebecca Budig — and she quickly becomes (re)immersed in the domestic drama poised to pop off between her daughter, Steffy, and her longtime romantic rival Brooke's daughter, Hope, now that Hope has laid a big old kiss on Steffy's husband, Finn.

Home Is Where The Heart Is

According to Budig, Taylor jetted back to California for one simple reason: "She really feels like she's not spent enough time with Steffy and with her grandkids," Kelly and Hayes. "She really wants to spend time with them. I think she's getting older and realizes that she wants to be around the people that she loves and to spend more quality time with them."

That Los Angeles is also home to her frequent ex-husband, Ridge, was not necessarily a draw for Taylor, to hear Budig tell it. "I think that Ridge is the love of her life," she professes. "He will always be the love of her life. But that's not why she's back. She really is back to spend more time with Steffy because she's been through so much and Taylor wasn't there for it."

So, it was just a coincidence that Taylor booked her flight after gazing upon Ridge nuzzling with Brooke in Monte Carlo? "Well, she had an appointment there!" Budig chuckles. "She just happened to see them." The actress admits that she, too, wondered if that was all just a case of remarkable timing. "I called Brad [Bell, executive producer/head writer] and I was like, 'Am I stalking them?!' I was confused! And he was like, 'No!' I mean, I've been to Monaco, and it is very small. But she knew [Ridge and Brooke were there], because obviously the Brooke's Bedroom line was dropping and that was a big deal in town. But yeah, she had an appointment there and she just happened to see them."

According to the actress, Taylor and Ridge's first encounter in Los Angeles "was wonderful. I think that they have such a warm, loving relationship and they were able to just sort of pick up where they left off."

Fury Road

Taylor's reunion with Brooke is not quite as chummy — and that's because Taylor walks in on Brooke telling Ridge that Hope kissed Finn, Taylor's son-in-law. "I don't even think it registers with Taylor that it's Brooke who is saying this, I think she is just so shocked by this information tht is ultimately about her daughter," Budig says. "This is about Steffy, and about what Hope is doing to Steffy — which is what Brooke did to Taylor: try to steal her husband!"

Needless to say, Taylor is gobsmacked by what she hears. "Taylor just goes into total Mommy mode and just doesn't even see straight," Budig reports. "She is trying to wrap her head around the fact that this is happening. Taylor is a very protective mom and she is passionate about her kids. She lost a kid [Steffy's twin, Phoebe, who died in 2008], and that just makes you that much more protective of your other ones."

Taylor gives Brooke a piece of her mind. "The dynamic is combative," Budig notes. "But I think that Brooke is seeing the same thing that Taylor is seeing, and she is trying to make Taylor see that she is seeing what she's seeing. But she is also defending her daughter, too. She doesn't want her daughter to be attacked."

Fat chance of that, because Hope then enters the room, and Taylor turns her anger toward the woman who made a move on her daughter's husband. "Taylor tells Hope that she's turning into her mother," Budig reveals. "I don't think that's something a psychiatrist would necessarily say to someone, but I think that in the heat of the moment, this is how she's feeling. She is disappointed and she is shocked, because I think she thought that Hope was a little more trustworthy and had it more together."

Ridge does his best to play peacemaker among the three women. "I don't think there is anything Ridge could say in that moment to make her less protective of her kids," Budig offers. "Ridge is Steffy's father, but Taylor knows that Ridge is only going to fulfill certain things for Steffy. A mom is just different; that's just the dynamic of parents, right? One parent gives you one thing, and another parent gives you another. She wants to be able to give Steffy emotional support, and she feels like she needs to be there because Ridge is not giving Steffy what Taylor thinks she needs."