17 minutes ago, Maxim said:

You've got to be kidding me. She (Stephanie) had nearly 30 years of history with the man before the show even began. When a marriage is 20-30 years long... it's considered AN EXTREMELY successful marriage. Tell me does Eric have a longer marriage with ANY other of these women? That's a rhetorical question - he does not.

Brooke was just a younger woman/mid-life crisis... (who f-cked his son while married to him), Sheila was a psycho who stalked him... Quinn - a dollar store version of Sheila... and... Donna is his erectile disfunction medication. Please explain to me how Stephanie, the woman who defined this man's entire life is his 3rd favorite wife. There is a reason he always came BACK to her during the entire show while she was alive. And yeah... we know he craved younger women for sex after a certain point, but that doesn't mean we can erase history. 

Also... Stephanie's portrait should be in the house she raised her children in.  

She show began with them years into a miserable marriage. As a wife she was just as scheming and manipulative or more-so as 3 of the 4. I'll give you Sheila. But unlike the others she was belittling, emasculating, cold, and constantly withholding sex. Her saving grace as a wife was that she was loyal to a fault. So when he was licking his wounds he went back to her, and the patterns repeated.

If he ranked his wives how much he respected them, Stephanie would win. But who he enjoyed being married to? Obviously the Logans. Probably Quinn too to be real.

All of the wives except Stephanie cheated on him during the show and they had quite the short runs when it comes to "marriage". If he enjoys his wives f-cking other men then there's a whole genre of pornography that deals with that fixation. But the fact that none of these marriages worked and right now he's just parked with the jerk-off machine Donna, because they are resting the character... says A LOT.

Stephanie had flaws, yes... and sometimes she would be angry and cold and that would frequently be in response to a man who prefers young women to her and who CHEATS on her (remember the Lauren fiasco)... but she's also the one that at one point he called a soulmate. I can't find the exact episode, but I do remember it. She's also the one who he saw while he was dying... I mean... he didn't see Donna giving him head or Sheila's massages... while he was dying... he saw Stephanie... 

Stephanie. Your so called 3rd favorite wife. 

Edited October 30, 2025Oct 30 by Maxim

59 minutes ago, Maxim said:

All of the wives except Stephanie cheated on him during the show and they had quite the short runs when it comes to "marriage". If he enjoys his wives f-cking other men then there's a whole genre of pornography that deals with that fixation. But the fact that none of these marriages worked and right now he's just parked with the jerk-off machine Donna, because they are resting the character... says A LOT.

Stephanie had flaws, yes... and sometimes she would be angry and cold and that would frequently be in response to a man who prefers young women to her and who CHEATS on her (remember the Lauren fiasco)... but she's also the one that at one point he called a soulmate. I can't find the exact episode, but I do remember it. She's also the one who he saw while he was dying... I mean... he didn't see Donna giving him head or Sheila's massages... while he was dying... he saw Stephanie... 

Stephanie. Your so called 3rd favorite wife. 

I mean who's face did Eric see when he was dying 2 years ago? Stephanie's, speaks VOLUMES IMO

Agree to disagree on this one. I think Eric loved Stephanie & she was his best friend. He didn't like being married to her IMO. His seeing ghost Stephanie was to signify to the audience that he "died."

The facts speak for themselves. He stayed with her for decades and got her pregnant multiple times (she clearly didn't withheld sex then). No one forced him. All the other marriages combined are not enough in duration to even compare.

Also, he could have seen the light and been in the tunnel if this was just about death. Showing Stephanie was more than that. It signified that no matter what, she will always be The One. If Donna or Brooke were his true loves/favorite wives, he could have heard them urging him to fight. Lots of fun with the honey jar waiting for him on the other side of the tunnel. He'd come back for that, trust me.

It's unfair to judge a marriage by its last years (when Stephanie was much older and had already given birth to five kids), compared to young, opportunistic women who wanted his money and status most of all and were willing to fake it till they make it. And also... Eric thrived with a controlling woman. He needed a strong female to fix his problems. The others were there to boost his ego and a healthy ejaculation. Just think about it - while with Stephanie, he built a dynasty... with the others - it crumbled. I can't forget that he lost the company right after his time with Brooke. 

 

Edited October 30, 2025Oct 30 by Maxim

The way I remember it ...
Stephanie's portrait was there for ages, and it was her house.

When Rick took over, he removed Stephanie's portrait and added Maya's.

At some point when Eric was in charge again, he started displaying portraits of his new wives/lovers instead.  There was a Quinn portrait.  (maybe a Sheila one?).
This was sort of to placate his insecure wives, and/or to reassure them that they had "arrived" in his society and his heart.

By this time, it had become the custom that the portrait would be of the Lady of the House.

There was a brief exception for just a few hours when Ridge asked for Stephanie's portrait to be displayed during a special ceremony (maybe one of Ridge's upteen weddings).  I think they paid Susan Flannery for the episode because Stephanie's eyes moved on the portrait during that short event.

But a couple of hours later (immediately afterward) the portrait was replaced by that of whoever was the current lady of the house.

The show was continuing the custom of Lady of the House, but then Donna married Eric.  Donna knew full well that there should *not* be a portrait of Donna, LOL.  She knew that wasn't her "place".  So she commissioned the portrait of Eric, and it's been Eric ever since.  (I guess Donna wasn't secure enough to suggest that Stephanie's portrait be restored.)

Disclaimer that I'm writing this from my shaky memory, so I could be wrong, but that's how I interpreted the events.

All of that being said... this is Stephanie's house.
Just like the Quartermaine mansion is Monica's house.
And even moreso Stephanie's because she built the empire regardless of whose name was on the deed. 
Whereas Monica was gifted the house.

Edited October 30, 2025Oct 30 by janea4old

Just now, janea4old said:

All of that being said... this is Stephanie's house.
Just like the Quartermaine mansion is Monica's house.

❤️ 

It will forever be HER house. Even if a Martian came to live there...  

If Donna were his soulmate he'd have seen a honey bottle when he was going into the light lol

It was to signify Stephanie is his one true love, and Eric has even said as much. That's why Donna gets so insecure about Stephanie 

Edited October 30, 2025Oct 30 by dragonflies

1 minute ago, dragonflies said:

If Donna were his soulmate he'd have seen a honey bottle when he was going into the light lol

It was to signify Steffy is his one true love, and Eric has even said as much. That's why Donna gets so insecure about Stephanie 

Exactly my point, LOL. He would have seen the whipped cream and the bottomless lingerie. But nah... he saw dear old Steph. The only person who has any place on that portrait. 

22 hours ago, dragonflies said:

If Donna were his soulmate he'd have seen a honey bottle when he was going into the light lol

It was to signify Stephanie is his one true love, and Eric has even said as much. That's why Donna gets so insecure about Stephanie 

Donna is nowhere near Stephanie. The only one who could come even remotely close to that is probably Brooke. Even now if Brooke showed Eric any serious interest he would drop Donna like an old shoe.