Scott Clifton knows a thing or two about toxic love triangles. His character, Liam Spencer, on The Bold and the Beautiful has not so lovingly been dubbed ‘The Waffler’ because of the years he’s spent in-and-out of romances with his ex-wives, Hope and Steffy. In fact, Liam is currently once again pursuing Hope despite her being engaged to Carter.

Clifton has never shied away from expressing his views on Liam’s behavior. He once called him a villain on The Talk. While the actor didn’t describe his character in those terms during his appearance on the Soapy podcast, hosted by Greg Rikaart and Rebecca Budig, he did share his feelings on the need for soaps to veer away from the toxic love triangle trope.

The Audience’s View On Love Triangles Has Shifted

Scott Clifton starts talking about the triangle at 28:16

When Budig (Taylor Hayes—what’s next for her on B&B) asked Clifton how he feels about Liam bouncing back and forth between Steffy and Hope, he spoke honestly. He hates it. However, he believes the trope of a man caught between two women is one that’s dying. And soap operas will need to catch up with the times in order to not get left behind.

Clifton shared:

I think that we’re on the precipice of soaps—look, it’s like adapt or die, right? Culturally, I think 20 or 30 years ago, it was sexy and attractive for a man to be torn between two women that are fawning over him. And him having to go back and forth. It was the Ridge and Brooke and Taylor thing. That was attractive.

Sure, that was like soap bread and butter for a really long time. But I don’t think we live in that world anymore. I think that we’re at a place now where that’s not only not attractive but beginning to be unattractive.

The actor isn’t wrong. Fans are certainly cemented into separate ship camps but that doesn’t mean viewers want to continue to see longstanding love triangles be a norm on soap operas. Revisiting past love stories is different from break-ups and make-ups that happen like clockwork and hinge on infidelity. Seeing characters with romantic history that spans decades still flip-flop has grown tiresome.

Liam Is A Romantic Lead, But He’s Not A Hero

Recognizing that he needs to approach Liam’s romantic backslides without judgment, Clifton figured out how to play these stories in a way that makes sense to him. He stated:

…when I’m playing Liam, I’m recognizing that I’m not playing the hero. I don’t care how it’s written. I’m not playing the hero; I’m playing that a—hole that we all know. That we all tolerate, but that we wish he treated women better, or treated anyone better. There’s something entertaining about that, too.

The actor went on to discuss how soaps exist in this weird space where murderers get passes and cheaters are abhorred. It’s a flip of how we operate in reality. And he believes it’s a way for viewers to express how they truly feel about behavior they often have to tolerate.

Read: Sheila Carter’s Top 5 Misdeeds on B&B and Y&R

Liam seems set on winning Hope back and giving a life together another shot. He’s more than likely to succeed but will he shirk being a waffler? If B&B steers clear of the triangle trope like Clifton suggests, he just might.

New episodes of the Soapy podcast release on Tuesdays.