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Most Gilmore Girls fans agree that Luke Danes and Lorelai Gilmore were the endgame couple of the series. Fans waited patiently for the couple to end up together for seven seasons. While we largely agree that Lorelai and Luke are good together, not every second of their relationship was kind and loving. We’ve collected three examples of when Luke Danes was unjustifiably mean to Lorelai Gilmore.

Luke left Lorelai at her parents’ vow renewal ceremony

Luke and Lorelai had plenty of tiffs during their friendship, but their first major issue as a couple came in season 5 of Gilmore Girls. When the couple goes to Richard and Emily Gilmore’s vow renewal ceremony together, Luke is shocked to find out Emily told Christopher Hayden to try and win Lorelai back.

Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore and Scott Patterson as Luke Danes walk down a street in Stars Hollow in 'Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life', penned by Amy Sherman-Palladino
Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson in ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’ | Netflix

While Luke had every reason to be upset that Lorelai spent a night drinking with Christopher and that Christopher conspired with Emily, he was in the wrong for leaving Lorelai stranded. The couple traveled to the ceremony together, and it would have been nice if Luke had, at the very least, ensured Lorelai had a way to get home. She eventually called a cab to find her way back to Stars Hollow. Still, it was petty of Luke to leave her behind.

He failed to tell her he had a child

Luke and Lorelai broke up after the vow renewal mishap but later reconnected. Things got so serious that they were planning a wedding when Luke Danes discovered he was a father. While being shocked by the revelation is understandable, most Gilmore Girls fans agree that Luke’s behavior after discovering he had a child was less-than-steller.

Not only did Luke keep April’s existence secret from Lorelai for as long as he could, but he was completely unapologetic about postponing their wedding and putting his relationship with Lorelai on the back burner while he accommodated not only April but her mother, Anna Nardini. Lorelai had every right to be angry at Luke, but he refused to empathize with her feelings.

Luke said he didn’t want to marry Lorelai anyway

The duo’s courtship was untraditional, and their fights could be epic. Still, Luke wasn’t one to be particularly petty and mean in general. He was outwardly mean in season 7 of Gilmore Girls, though.

Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore and Scott Patterson as Luke Danes in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, which was filled with pop culture references.
Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore and Scott Patterson as Luke Danes in ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’ | Saeed Adyani/Netflix
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After his engagement to Lorelai ends, they run into each other in the streets. He tells Lorelai that the breakup wasn’t that big a deal and that he was over it. He suggested Lorelai was upset because she was the one who had proposed. While he didn’t say it, the implication was that he didn’t care if he married her. While he had a right to be mad, Luke’s mean-spirited nature of the retort was out of character. It still ranks as one of the meanest things he ever said to Lorelai.