Everyone knew Luke and Lorelai would end up together. Dean, Jess, and Logan were the main love interests for Rory. However, Gilmore Girls also introduced several temporary, very forgettable love interests for both, in the earlier seasons for Lorelai and while Rory was single. Over its seven seasons and the revival, the series featured a number of relationships it would rather its fans forgot existed.
In some cases, it was because the relationships were obviously not going to last. For a few of those, those love interests might have been better for either woman than any of the long-term boyfriends. In at least a few cases, Gilmore Girls obviously wished a relationship never happened because of the light it painted its main characters in. Maybe Rory and Lorelai weren’t even part of the couple, but their actions when a couple was together made them look like the bad guy.
Considering the series revolved around the Gilmore women, fans weren’t supposed to hate them. They weren’t supposed to look at them and think they’d ruined the lives of other characters. But that was what happened with several relationships throughout the series, especially when it came to Rory’s love life and her inability to let an ex-boyfriend go and move on.
Here are 25 Couples Gilmore Girls Wants Us To Forget.
Rory and Paul
Let’s be honest. Gilmore Girls wanted us to forget about Rory and Paul (other than for laughs) when they were technically together. Paul was Rory’s boyfriend in the revival. Remember him? Rory didn’t. Rather than address that as one of her flaws, the series played it for laughs, every single time. It was awful.
Really, Rory hasn’t looked the greatest at times over the years, especially when it comes to her relationships, but everything about Paul was a misfire. Fans didn’t get to know much about Paul because he didn’t matter in the long run. Rory didn’t care about him, but he seemed like a perfectly nice guy.
Liz and Jimmy
On the one hand, if Liz and Jimmy hadn’t been together, Jess never would have existed. Considering how much Jess grew over the years, that would have been a bad thing. However, Liz and Jimmy weren’t good parents together or apart, especially as they were portrayed in the early seasons.
Then, once Liz became a Stars Hollow fixture, the series sort of ignored that Liz wasn’t exactly a great mother to Jess. It was hard not to link her and Jimmy’s parenting together — and therefore the characters and their relationship — because of that.
Jess and Shane
The only reason Jess was with Shane was so Rory could be jealous, even though she was with Dean at the time. Shane could have been anyone. There just needed to be a girl Jess was kissing and around that bothered Rory. There was no substance to Jess’ relationship with Shane, and it was just weird that she was the only other relationship of his shown.
Once Jess and Rory got together, his and Shane’s relationship stopped mattering all together. There was nothing there that suggested it shouldn’t have been, but Gilmore Girls was more than happy to let fans forget it as soon as possible.
Lorelai and Jason
Jason was Lorelai’s father’s business partner. They kept their relationship a secret, and everyone knew they wouldn’t last. After all, Lorelai and Luke had to get together at some point, and it was hard to imagine Jason still being around once that happened.
The problem was that Jason was part of the Gilmores’ world enough that when their relationship ended, everything had to blow up as well. That it did. He sued Richard, and Lorelai broke up with him. Unfortunately, Jason didn’t go quietly. He showed up for the inn’s test run, refusing to accept they were over.
Luke and Rachel
Rachel’s lasting impression on Gilmore Girls was that she tried to push Luke in Lorelai’s direction. That’s not exactly a good thing for a relationship, especially since Rachel and Luke were apparently once this great couple. Rachel and Luke were just too different. She was better off exploring the world, while he was happy with the small-town Stars Hollow life.
The problem isn’t that they were once together. That was fine. But there seemed to be no point to them dating again since it took three more seasons (and other love interests) for Luke and Lorelai to get together.
Rory and Tristan
Rory and Tristan never actually had the chance to be anything because of timing. Maybe they could have been a good couple, at least for a little while. Instead, he was someone she kissed when she had feelings for Dean. That kiss wasn’t even entirely about them.
The series never explored anything more between the two, and considering Rory’s love life, if it had, it probably would’ve ruined everything. Whatever could have been, Gilmore Girls clearly didn’t want them to be the focus. Back then, it was all about Rory and Dean.
Marty and Lucy
Maybe Marty and Lucy could have been a good couple. However, they never stood a chance because Rory and Marty pretended they didn’t know each other.
That went back to the fact that Marty and Rory could have actually been a great couple in (at least) her college years. He clearly never got over his feelings for her, at least not enough to be dating her roommate and lying about their friendship. Marty went from being this nice guy when Rory first met him to the guy lying to his girlfriend. It was not a good look.
Luke and Anna
Most viewers can probably agree that the April storyline was one of the worst things Gilmore Girls ever did. For some stupid reason, Anna kept the fact they had a kid together from Luke. (She thought he was anti-kid, which didn’t excuse her behavior whatsoever.)
Then, once he found out, Luke kept that from Lorelai. April was never more than a plot device to break Luke and Lorelai up. And that all stemmed from his relationship with Anna. Even once April was part of Luke’s life, his past with Anna didn’t matter more than the fact that they were both her parents.
Paris and Asher
During her freshman year at Yale, Paris dated a professor and friend of Richard’s, Asher. She wasn’t the first student Asher dated either, apparently. This wasn’t a couple anyone really rooted for or expected to last, even if he hadn’t passed away.
Then, he left Paris a giant printing press that was an eyesore and took up way too much space in her and Rory’s dorm room. After that, it’s likely they both wished they could forget Paris and Asher’s relationship ever existed. Fortunately, Paris and Doyle found each other, even if they hit a bump in the road as seen in the revival.
Logan and Odette
If you have no idea who Odette is, it’s okay. She was Logan’s fiancee in the revival, when he was also with Rory. While the revival made it clear Logan and Odette weren’t supposed to be some big love story and that wasn’t why they were getting married, he was still engaged.
Both he and Rory came across as awful people when they were together in the revival because they didn’t care about each other’s relationships. Odette was never even really seen on-screen, yet viewers couldn’t help but feel bad for her because she didn’t know about Rory. That painted Rory in an awful light. That’s never something a show wants for its main character.
Rory and Trevor
Trevor was good for what he was: someone for Rory to date in college knowing it wouldn’t amount to more. Trevor wasn’t that interesting of a person, but he was exactly what she needed after the breakup with Jess. He wasn’t going to be more than one date, and he was a good introduction into love interests outside of Stars Hollow for her.
However, when you look back at Rory’s love interests, he’s not going to be on the list of the ones you remember. He wasn’t supposed to be, and Gilmore Girls wisely left him in the past.
Lane and Henry
Henry was from a time when Mrs. Kim didn’t want to think boys existed around Lane. He and Lane could have been a cute couple — if he wasn’t terrified of her mother. As Gilmore Girls showed over the years, Lane needed the guy in her life to not panic when her mother spoke (or, you know, try to sell her a subscription to the Wall Street Journal, as Henry did).
Once the series moved past Lane lying to her mother about her life, it was best to leave events and people (like Henry) from when she did in the past.
Lorelai and Alex
Alex was a good guy, and he and Lorelai could have been good together in the long run if Luke didn’t exist. Lorelai dated him in season 3, and she attempted to get into outdoors activities for him. He saw through her act, however, and their date moved from fishing to a spa. He even got along well with Sookie and Jackson.
Then, he just disappeared. They obviously broke up, but it happened off-screen. His only flaw seemed to be that he wasn’t Max or Luke. However, he could have been one of her better boyfriends, but since he never was meant to be a long-term boyfriend, the series let him be forgotten.
Luke and Nicole
Remember when Luke married Taylor’s lawyer on a cruise over a summer? She was just one of the temporary love interests meant to keep Luke and Lorelai apart in the early seasons.
The show could have done the right thing and have Luke and Nicole divorce when they planned. Instead, they decided to see if their marriage could work, only for him to discover she was with someone else. Gilmore Girls was more than happy to move on from Luke and Nicole only a few episodes after their divorce was official once it moved forward with Luke and Lorelai finally getting together.
Rory and Robert
The only point to Rory’s date with Robert was to make Logan jealous. Robert was just one example of many that didn’t make Rory look so great. She didn’t even know Robert’s last name. That wouldn’t have really been a problem — they were just getting to know each other — but she felt it was an issue since she made one up for her mother.
She even asked him his last name later. Robert didn’t matter. He could’ve been anyone and it would’ve accomplished the same goal. He wasn’t even needed to show that Rory and Logan’s relationship wasn’t the best at the time.
Paris and Jamie
Jamie was Paris’ first boyfriend. He was a good guy, but their relationship wasn’t the best. First, she blamed their relationship for her not getting into Harvard, then she takes too long breaking up with him when she was with Asher.
The series might as well have forgotten about Jamie, especially once Paris was in college, even when the two were together. That was because he wasn’t even much of a recurring character. It was just too easy for viewers to forget about him.
Lane and Dave
This might be a controversial one, but it’s on this list for one reason: Dave would’ve been a much better endgame for Lane than Zack. Dave was the first boy to stand up to Mrs. Kim and try to get her to like him for Lane. If he hadn’t moved away (Adam Brody was cast on The O.C.), they could have easily ended up together.
It’s because of that that Gilmore Girls would rather forget Lane and Dave existed as a couple. It’s hard to have fans rooting for an endgame couple if they remember the other guy who should have stuck around.
Lorelai and Rune
Lorelai and Rune’s awkward date was part of a double date with Sookie and Jackson. It might have even been Lorelai’s worst date ever, and it went nowhere. It wasn’t even supposed to go anywhere because Sookie and Jackson were the ones who mattered during that double date.
Lorelai wanted to forget about that date when she was still on it, and who could blame her? Rune was annoying. He was rude to her. Sookie was lucky that Lorelai was such a good friend because sitting through that earned Lorelai some serious friendship points.
Christopher and Sherry
There was absolutely nothing wrong with Sherry and maybe she and Christopher could have lasted — if Gilmore Girls hadn’t wanted to keep returning to Christopher and Lorelai. However, because the show refused to leave that relationship in the past, his present relationship suffered. It’s easy to imagine Christopher and Sherry remaining together off-screen for the run of the series otherwise.
Because that didn’t happen, Christopher and Sherry’s relationship was rocky and stopped mattering other than when it came to Gigi in the later seasons. It was no longer a significant relationship in his life because the focus was on Christopher and Lorelai.
Rory and Graham
Emily was the one to introduce Rory and Graham at the end of Rory’s freshman year at Yale. Rory went along with Graham to hang out with his friends after finals, and he could have become one of her temporary, casual boyfriends. He could have been exactly what Rory needed in college, even if he was just referenced as someone she saw over break and nothing more came of it.
However, Rory was still all about Dean (even though she shouldn’t have been because he was married) and then Jess showed up again. She promptly forgot about Graham, as did the series. He never stood a chance.
