Back in September, Netflix did the whole universe a solid by streaming all seven glorious seasons of Gilmore Girls. By now, you may have watched the whole series once (or twice), revived your “Gilmore Girls” fandom and realized how weird it feels to be attracted to Chad Michael Murray while he’s wearing a high school uniform. In honor of the wittiest mother-daughter duo to ever grace television, we’ve rounded up some of the most important lessons we learned about love from the fabulous ladies of Stars Hollow:
1. Romance is awkward and hard, even if you’re Rory Gilmore.
Source: WB, Gilmore Girls
Rory Gilmore is an overachieving perfectionist with movie-star looks, but the dating game doesn’t come naturally to her. While high-school Rory could handle chemistry class without blinking an eye, the science of love took a little longer for her to get the hang of. (Exhibit A: Her first date with Dean, during which she temporarily lost her ability to use words. Luckily, Lorelai was nearby to distract him with a tour of the Gilmore house.) Eventually, she learned to own her adorkable clumsiness.
2. Don’t string your boyfriend along when you’re crushing on somebody else.
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Rory’s attraction to Jess is painfully obvious, but instead of being up front about it and ditching then-boyfriend Dean, she drags the whole ordeal on (and on and on.) Denying her attraction to Jess doesn’t work out so well — they eventually make out at Sookie’s wedding. Dean eventually has to point out the giant Jess-shaped elephant in the room and break up with Rory, thus allowing for the adorableness that was Rory and Jess.
3. Don’t go running back to your first boyfriend. (Particularly if he’s married.)
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Some people have a comfortable ex to fall back on when their love lives get tough. For Rory, that guy was always the sweet, reliable Dean. Of course, Rory and Dean aren’t always sweet together — they have sex (Rory’s first time!) while he’s married to another woman. They try dating again after Dean’s marriage falls apart, but, like most first boyfriends, Dean was simply not the love of Rory’s life.
4. Bad boys can surprise you.
Source: WB, Gilmore Girls
When Rory starts dating Jess, he’s the classic bad boy — back-talking, unreliable and unbelievably attractive. He had his appeal back then, particularly compared to boring-ish Dean. But over the series, he blossomed from an immature, rebellious teen to a successful (and still incredibly attractive) published author. At the end of the day, he’s who we’re rooting for if that “Gilmore Girls” movie ever actually happens.
5. Don’t be afraid to commit if you know it’s right.
Source: Fan Forum
Lorelai and Luke could have saved each other a lot of wasted time and energy — and us a lot of nights spent screaming at the television– if they had just given into their palpable romantic tension and admitted that they were soul mates. Then again, watching them finally realize that they were meant to be was one of the best parts of the series.
6. But sometimes, your priorities might make love difficult. And that’s OK.
Source: WB, Gilmore Girls
After Logan gives Rory an ultimatum — move with him to California and get engaged, or break up, Rory returns his engagement ring. After all, she’s got a journalism career to start. The former high school valedictorian was never one for compromise, and she wasn’t about to sidetrack her plans to fit her boyfriend’s, no matter how dashing he may have been.
7. Because you can never change yourself for a man.
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Lorelai was never afraid to say exactly what she was thinking around a dude — even if it meant sounding like an 8-year-old boy in the body of a 30-something woman. She taught us to dance when we want to dance, eat pizza when we want to eat pizza and stick our head out of the car window when we want to. (Actually, don’t try that last one unless you’re on a television set.)
8. There’s no greater love than that between a mother and her daughter.
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At the end of the day, no relationship on “Gilmore Girls” was more important, or more unwavering, than the love between Rory and Lorelai. While men came and went, you could always count on this pair to drink coffee and banter. They were the emotional core of the show, and… ok, we’ll stop gushing — go call your mom now!
(Or a girl and her food:)
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Pie will never get another woman pregnant. Just saying.
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