Eric Sharpe's biological parents were Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan) and Becky Moore (Marissa Tait). Upon finding out that Becky was pregnant, Deacon abandoned her, and Becky gave her child up for adoption. Unbeknownst to her, Becky's cousin Amber Moore had taken in her child and was raising him as her own. Amber told Rick that the boy was his and Amber's son, and they named him Eric Forrester III. Of course, the truth would eventually come out. When Becky visited Los Angeles and realized that Amber was raising Becky's supposedly adopted son, she tried to convince Amber to give him back, but she refused. Amber finally confessed to Rick that Eric was not their son, and Rick left her, annulling their marriage. Amber and Becky moved in together and took care of Eric for a bit.

Further down the line, Becky married C.J. Garrison, making him Eric's stepfather. However, she died of cancer soon after; prior to her death, she encouraged C.J. and Amber to raise Eric together. Unfortunately, that family would never come to be. Deacon soon returned to Los Angeles and announced that he was the one who would decide who would raise Eric, as he was the biological father. As a young child, Eric had no say in the matter. Deacon had an ulterior motive, though, as he tried to play the rich Forrester and Spectra families against each other, relegating Eric to a bargaining chip in the fight for custody.