‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’: Who Really Wrote The Mean Letter to Emily?

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life was as much about Rory’s life after college, as it was about the Gilmore family working through the grief of Richard Gilmore’s death. In a move that only Emily Gilmore could pull off, she managed to trick Lorelai into therapy with her. One of her most significant talking points was a cruel letter written to her on her birthday. Emily was convinced that Lorelai penned the heinous note, but Lorelai insisted she didn’t do it. If Lorelai honestly didn’t write the letter, who did?  

Lorelai wrote it and refused to admit it

Lorelai and Emily had a pretty tense relationship. While Emily and Richard often pointed to Lorelai’s pregnancy as the cause of the familial rift, fans note that things weren’t right between Lorelai and her parents long before she unexpectedly got pregnant as a teenager. In flashback scenes, it is clear that Lorelai’s relationship with her parents was tense and distant, even when she was a child. Lorelai often mentioned a cold and suffocating upbringing, too.

Considering how bad the relationship was, it is entirely possible that Lorelai penned the letter but just didn’t want to admit it. There is reason to believe Lorelai, though. The New York Times pointed out that Emily never mentioned the handwriting in the letter. You would think Emily could quickly identify Lorelai’s handwriting, but she never brings up that point. That suggests that the penmanship probably didn’t match Lorelai’s. If it had, Emily surely would have mentioned it.

One of Emily’s many maids wrote the letter

If Lorelai didn’t pen the letter, the next likely culprit seems to be one of Emily’s disgruntled employees. Emily was known for being a demanding employer, and she was especially harsh toward her maids. She was so difficult that her family and friends all made a joke out of her treatment of the help. Fans may remember that the same maid was rarely seen twice, indicating that Emily often fired people on a whim and for incredibly minor infractions.

Considering how poorly she treated her employees, it’s not hard to imagine that a maid, who knew they were about to get fired, would have penned the letter. In fact, one of the many maids seems like the most likely author. How would they know they were about to get fired? Not only did Emily’s reputation surely precede her, but she wasn’t shy about voicing her displeasure.

 The letter was found in Richard and Emily’s bedroom. The private space would have likely been off-limits to most people, although the maids surely had access to do necessary housecleaning. The revolving door of maids inside the Gilmores’ home means Emily wouldn’t remember any particularly angry staff members.

Richard’s mother, Trix, was the author of the letter

Trix never cared for Emily. She took every opportunity to put her down and treat her as if she wasn’t good enough to be a member of her family. She also had a history of writing letters, evidenced by the letter she wrote to Richard the evening before his wedding to Emily, notes Bustle. It’s entirely possible that Trix could have penned the letter and placed it in the bedroom during one of her visits.

There are a couple of problems with this theory, though. Trix lived in London for the majority of Lorelai’s life. Lorelai noted that she had only met Trix a handful of times before her death. It seems unlikely that Trix would have been in town on Emily’s birthday, but it’s not impossible. Trix also didn’t seem to have an issue airing out her grievance with Emily. A letter seems too passive-aggressive for Trix. Because of her distaste for Emily, she could be the author of the letter, although, if we are honest, it would seem like one of the maids penned the mean-spirited note.