Ranking
10 ‘Gilmore Girls’ Couples, Ranked
From the gazebo in the town square, which gets decorated for every event that takes place, to the Dragonfly Inn, Stars Hollow has no shortage of romantic spots to wander around with the one you love.
Excelling in the nostalgia of a close-knit (and very walkable) community, the Gilmore Girls universe is a stellar addition to your swoonworthy daydreams. When the tune of Carole King’s “Where You Lead” starts, you instantly get transported into that world of joy, comfort, and safety.
As the seven seasons go by, the Gilmore girls experience many changes in the romance department. Starting with Rory’s (Alexis Bledel) innocent first love to Lorelai (Lauren Graham) finding her way to Luke (Scott Patterson) to the institution that is Emily (Kelly Bishop) and Richard (Edward Herrmann), a core part of Gilmore Girls is the romantic relationships.
But which couples are the best? And are they even the best examples of love? Read below to see Swooon’s ranking of the 10 best Gilmore Girls couples. In the comments below, let us know which Gilmore Girls pair is your favorite.
10. Rory Gilmore and Dean Forester
Should there have been another couple highlighted instead of this duo? For sure. But they were one of the main pairings, so let’s talk about it.
Dean (Jared Padalecki) was a decent starter boyfriend. He loved Rory and was kind of obsessed with her. Remember him calling her a dozen times a day when he thought she was being distant, or when he went to Lorelai when he was afraid Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) would mess things up?
Usually perfectly nice, he had a blip in his trajectory when Rory couldn’t say “I love you” back to him after making a car. Yet, his worst offense wasn’t to Rory, but to Lindsay (Arielle Kebbel)
Just to make things clear. No, Rory, he is not your Dean. He is, in fact, Lindsay’s Dean.
But even though Dean gets a bad reputation, it wasn’t all on him. They just weren’t meant to be.
9. Lorelai Gilmore and Jason Stiles
Both coming from wealthy families, who they have a somewhat strained relationship with, Lorelai and Jason (Chris Eigeman) fully understood each other. Honestly, they were well-suited for each other.
Jason pursuing Lorelai made her queasy at first because he was working with her dad, but they quickly got over that.
What followed was Lorelai’s most communicative and healthy relationship. Lorelai and Jason were always upfront about their quirks and talked things through.
Alas, things went south when Richard (Edward Herrmann) and Jason got into an argument about how to handle the business, which led to Jason suing Richard. In doing that, he also lost Lorelai. She admitted to him that she couldn’t be in a relationship with someone who was actively suing her family. Lorelai chose her family, and no one could blame her for that.
The two couldn’t mend their strained relationship, and Jason became just a memory.
8. Lorelai Gilmore and Max Medina
Another short-lived romance on this list. One that ended up in an engagement with a thousand yellow daisies, and, boy, wasn’t that a fantastic scene.
Yet Lorelai and Max (Scott Cohen) never quite got it right.
First, there was the Chilton of it all. Then, there was Rory’s feelings to take into consideration. Lastly, there was Lorelai’s habit of ruining a relationship when it was going well. Without all that, these two might have been able to have a happy marriage.
What could’ve been a healthy union never got the time to get that far, but all ended well for Lorelai.
From cooking together (mainly Max) in his apartment to a snow walk in Stars Hollow, Lorelai, and Max truly had some of the most romantic moments in the show.
7. Rory Gilmore and Jess Mariano
The two book aficionados played cat-and-mouse while Rory was still with her first boyfriend, Dean.
Not truly taking him into consideration, Rory tried to push Jess off her mind but never succeeded.
Luke’s nephew and the youngest Gilmore found their way together during the dance marathon.
Afterward, a short but steamy relationship followed. Sadly, for them, everyone seemed to be against the budding couple.
Throughout their time together, they had adventures in California and New York, which were rare moments for the show because Gilmore Girls rarely went anywhere outside of Connecticut.
Rory and Jesse were interwoven into each other’s lives, and many will forever see Jess as Rory’s first true love.
6. Rory Gilmore and Logan Huntzberger
The two privileged young adults’ chemistry quickly showed up onscreen. Although Rory felt like she never belonged in his world, she was never that far removed from it. Heck, Emily and Richard even knew the Huntzbergers.
Yet, the back and forth of their, at times, tumultuous relationship also proved how much Logan (Matt Czuchry) and Rory truly cared about one another.
Logan was Rory’s only boyfriend she had outside of her high school days, unless you count her affair with a married Dean.
Despite dealing with long distance, family members who disagreed, and personality differences, Rory and Logan were able to overcome it all—until Logan asked Rory to marry her, which she declined.
Instead, she went on the campaign trail with future President Obama.
In A Year In The Life, it’s alluded that she regretted the decision to reject him. But did Logan win in the end? Many believe he’s the father of Rory’s baby!
5. Lane Kim and Dave Rygalski
One of the shorter relationships on this list, Lane (Keiko Agena) and Dave (Adam Brody) were as sweet as can be—the epitome of cutesy high school sweethearts. Sadly, Lane’s story ended with Zach (Todd Lowe).
For a while, though, her love story with Dave was one to remember. Dave, why did you have to move to California for college? (Brody ended up joining The O.C.)
Dave trying everything in his power to get Lane to go to prom with him should be in the Gilmore Girls hall of fame. After that, their story basically wrapped up. We’ll always mourn what could’ve been.
But maybe Adam Brody is right when he told Elle that Dave could’ve been “love bombing” Lane all along.
4. Babette and Morey Dell
If only there would’ve been a spinoff series focusing on the young lives of Babette (Sally Struthers), Morey (Ted Rooney), and Miss Patty (Liz Torres).
All three of them have experienced the most interesting lives. I mean, do you remember when Babette revealed to Rory that she used to be in a cult?
I’m sure that in their younger years, Babette and Morey must have traveled around the States to catch a glimpse of every jazz scene. Maybe they even lived in New York or Chicago.
Babette was the chatty town gossip with a flair for the dramatics, while Morey was the more reserved brooder who deeply cared about being cool. Yes, he had street cred to maintain. He was never the first one to arrive at a function.
Babette and Morey never fought. They were always spending time together. They remain one of the most underrated couples of Gilmore Girls.
3. Lorelai Gilmore and Luke Danes
The will-they-won’t-they shtick Lorelai and Luke had going on entertained everyone. The chemistry that filled up the room whenever they were near each other was insanely cute yet frustrating to watch. But one thing is for certain, Luke and Lorelai were meant to be.
Who else could put up with Lorelai’s coffee-induced, quick-witted rambles besides Luke?
No one. And she would agree.
The small pang of jealousy that would happen whenever the other was involved with someone else was always loaded.
Lorelai and Luke were completely different individuals, but they just made sense.
The one hiccup in their romance was when Luke withheld the important information that he had a long-lost daughter. They broke up briefly, but they found their way back to each other. Soulmates.
2. Sookie St. James and Jackson Belleville
The produce guy and the chef were the cutest. Flirting in code, aka in-season vegetables, the duo got together within some interesting confines. I mean, does anyone remember Jackson’s (Jackson Douglas) cousin, Rune (Max Perlich)?
Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) and Jackson’s love story was one of the more endearing ones to watch. Their little play-fights heightened by Jackson’s emotions and Sookie’s stubbornness never made anyone truly think that they were going to break up. They didn’t, so I guess we were right.
The one thing that proved to be a bump in the road was Jackson’s fake vasectomy. Why did he have to do that? They loved having another baby, but that should’ve been something he shared.
1. Emily and Richard Gilmore
Emily (Kelly Bishop) and Richard Gilmore might have had many flaws as parents, but they were always a rock-solid unit. So much so that when the two loving grandparents separated, the loss for both was simply too much to handle. This resulted in quickly getting back together and renewing their vows.
They understood each other, had a deeply rooted routine, and had just enough cute moments to see their romantic sides pop out.
Having a more traditional relationship, Richard and Emily strictly defined the lines of the proper thing to do in a marriage, and they never seemed to stray away from that ideal.
Taking time to go on their lavish European holidays and their summer getaways to Martha’s Vineyard, these upper-class individuals didn’t just use their money to explore but also to spend quality time together.
When you think of the relationship at the heart of Gilmore Girls (other than Lorelai and Rory), you automatically think of Emily and Richard. When Richard died, it felt like a part of Emily died with him.
