Gilmore Girls is easily one of the most beloved TV shows of the past few decades. I mean, the very fact that Netflix decided to revive the series after years of it being off-air should speak for itself, but the incredible success of the reboot only goes to show how much the audience loved and cared for these characters, their stories, and their relationships.
As the title of the series might tell you, the relationship that is at the heart of Gilmore Girls is the incredible bond between Lorelai and her daughter Rory. But of course, in any show with characters that have been as richly developed as the Gilmore Girls cast of characters, there are a wide variety of relationships that viewers either love or hate, whether they be friendships, familial relationships, or romantic relationships. So here are the 5 most beloved relationships in Gilmore Girls, along with 5 that fans totally rejected.
Rejected: Jason And Lorelai
Realistically speaking, the audience of Gilmore Girls was pretty much guaranteed to reject any of Lorelai’s relationships if they weren’t with Luke. And while Jason seemed like an alright guy and he could at least make an attempt at keeping up with Lorelai’s quick wit, his connection with Lorelai’s dad as well as his willingness to lie straight to his business partner’s face about dating his daughter made him a much less appealing character.
The end of their relationship was pretty much as awkward as the entire relationship itself, and absolutely no one in the Gilmore Girls fan base was sad to see him go.
Loved It: Lane And Zack
Gilmore Girls is a TV show that is populated by characters that are by and large too cute for words, and when you put two adorable people together in a relationship it makes them exponentially cuter.
Lane Kim was the kind of rocker chick who always literally and figuratively marched to the beat of her own drum. And although when she initially met Zack it hardly seemed like a match made in heaven, after her boyfriend and their former bandmate Dave left for good the relationship between the two of them really blossomed. They were a bit young to get married when they did, but they’re a couple who also happen to be best friends so it’s no surprise that it worked out.
Rejected: Luke And Nicole
Fans who shipped Luke and Lorelai had to wait an agonizing amount of time before their ship finally set sail, and honestly pretty much everyone who watched Gilmore Girls was always rooting for the two of them to get together.
Although Luke certainly didn’t have to sit around pining for Lorelai forever, he clearly knew that she was the one long before Lorelai figured it out. His marriage to Nicole was doomed from the start, but the very fact that he did get married felt like it was a betrayal to Lorelai, and by extension, it was a betrayal of the entire audience.
Loved It: Sookie And Jackson
Stars Hollow is a tiny town that is populated almost entirely by total freaks, and it seems like it was written in the stars (pun intended) that the town’s produce man and the town’s world-class chef would get together.
Their chemistry was obvious from the get-go, even though they spent all of their interactions verbally sparring, but once they decided to give dating a shot they were both total goners. There is something to be said for a will they/won’t they drawn-out drama, but Sookie and Jackson’s relationship was a happy one right out the gate, and fans responded very well to it.
Rejected: Lorelai And Christopher
Lorelai and Christopher undoubtedly had a special connection, even beyond the daughter that they shared together. However, they clearly weren’t meant to be, and the entire audience knew it. They had their own charms as a couple and Christopher had his charms on his own, but frankly, he was an immature, self-centered jerk.
Emily Gilmore certainly had it pegged when she said his sense of timing has always been terrible, but he also is someone who had genuine feelings for Lorelai. With that said, he still would never prioritize her over himself. Their relationship was wrong no matter how hard they tried to force it.
Loved It: Emily And Richard
Although Emily and Richard Gilmore had their own personal flaws and complexities and even though they weren’t always the most likable characters, everyone who ever watched Gilmore Girls loved their relationship from the start.
They were both clever, stubborn, and uptight individuals who seemed like they were totally made for each other. But what probably resonated with the Gilmore Girls audience most of all was the fact that their affection towards one another was always so plainly obvious. It’s a testament to Kelly Bishop and Edward Hermann’s acting chops that they were so easily convincing as a couple who had been together for more than half their lives.
Rejected: Lorelai And Max
Lorelai and Max certainly had their fun while it lasted, but the chemistry between the couple was lacking and the future relationship between Luke and Lorelai was so obvious that it made it difficult to get invested into any one of Lorelai’s other relationships.
Max was just the first in a long line of obstacles that prevented Luke and Lorelai from getting together, and it really showed in the story. Lorelai’s resistance towards letting Max into every aspect of her life as well as his insistence that he be included was an obvious sign that they were a bad match, although Lorelai figured that out long after the audience did.
Loved It: Jess And Rory
On any standard TV show, there are relationships that come and go, and when it comes to the main characters there is typically one relationship where everyone watching just knows that they’re meant to be. And for Rory Gilmore, her one true love has clearly always been Jess Mariano.
He was introduced as the new town bad boy, but he and Rory have nearly everything in common and most importantly they both always bring out the best in one another. Jess was a hot mess as a teen, but now that he’s grown up it’s clear that he and Rory are ready to be together.
Rejected: Rory And Logan
Just as there are couples that seem like perfect matches from the get-go, there are characters that seem like perfect mismatches from the get-go as well.
It’s hard to understand why Rory and Logan are even into each other, aside from the fact that they’re both smart and attractive. Rory is incredibly shy, Logan is extremely outgoing. Logan loves to date around, and Rory is 100% the girlfriend type.
Logan is clearly Rory’s Christopher, and although their relationship keeps being drawn out it seems like they’re just on life support. I mean she doesn’t even trust him to be a parent, that should be a sign that you’re not meant to be!
Loved It: Luke And Lorelai
On every show, there is a couple that is just the couple of the show. The Jim and Pam. The Meredith and Derek. The Luke and Lorelai. From literally the opening scene of the pilot of Gilmore Girls, it was evident that Luke and Lorelai were meant to be the endgame of the show, and even though it took a painfully long time for them to get together the audience still loved every minute of it. Luke and Lorelai finally got hitched after literal decades of the audience waiting and hoping, and it was the perfect way of closing out the Netflix reboot of Gilmore Girls.
