Can’t pair Hue Bridge with HomePod/HomeKit

After doing some research I found posts from 5-6 months ago with this same issue. Phillips Hue lights are not cheap, almost $100 per light bulb. I’ve only got it set up in my bedroom now, but it’s well over $500 in light bulbs in my room. I always thought the price of the HomePods was a bit much, but I finally bit the bullet and got one so I could control my lights with Siri and have some automations that I like, and yet I was disappointed to find that it would not pair. No matter how I tried, through the Home App or Hue App it won’t pair. I even went down and bought ANOTHER Hue Bridge thinking mine was defective, and still nothing.

How has this gone on for 5-6 months and Apple hasn’t fixed it yet. Apple is supposed to be THE company for seamless experiences, yet in the last year or two it’s become less and less of the case with Apple products constantly having tons of issues.