Gilmore Girls: 10 Of The Worst Things Jess Did To Luke

Gilmore Girls’ Jess Mariano and Luke Danes came into each other’s lives when they unknowingly needed each other most. Jess needed direction and a purpose in life, but his fear of abandonment made him hard to love. Likewise, Luke loved being alone, but there came a time where he wanted a partner. The two men had more lows than highs, but there was mutual respect between them.

Luke and Jess loved each other in their own way, it just took longer than normal to warm up to each other. Before they found good times in the Gilmore Girls reboot, A Year in the Life, Jess and Luke had some pretty nasty fights.

10 He Hid A Girl In His Apartment

When Lorelai and Luke were gearing up for career day at the local high school, Lorelai made Luke change his outfit on short notice. The two went up to Luke’s apartment where Jess was sitting awkwardly on the couch. Lorelai noticed movement by the closet, which is when she realized Jess was hiding a girl in Luke’s apartment.

Luke was pissed that Jess would push a woman in a closet and that he would have girls over in secret. It was an argument on the lack of respect more than anything.

9 He Skipped School Without Telling Him

Luke was stunned when he heard that Jess received an employee of the month award from Walmart. Between working at the diner and going to school, how did Jess have the time to work so much at Walmart?

When Luke heard Jess was working over 40-hour weeks, he knew that Jess wasn’t going to school. To ease his mind, he watched Jess walk to school but when he saw Jess make a b-line for his car, it all made sense. Jess was skipping school.

8 He Made The Town Turn On Luke

Luke was doing his sister Liz a favor by hosting Jess in Stars Hollow. There came a time where she couldn’t control Jess anymore, and it was doing more harm than good keeping him with her. Luke was hesitant about keeping Jess with him but did it to help his sister.

Sadly for Luke, Jess was the ultimate bad boy and made life worse for him. No one in Stars Hollow seemed to like or respect Jess, and that reflected on Luke.

7 He Got The Town’s “Princess” In An Accident

Luke warned Jess early on that Rory was essentially off-limits. She was beloved and the town’s token “good girl.” Messing around with Rory meant messing around with Stars Hollow. Jess didn’t listen to Luke, of course. He always liked Rory and chased her in his own way until she eventually gave in to her feelings for him.

But, before they made their relationship official, Jess got the two of them in a car accident. Stars Hollow couldn’t fathom someone hurting Rory. Seeing her in a cast was hard for a lot of people, and Luke got side-eye for it because he was Jess’s guardian.

6 He Never Told Luke He Wasn’t Graduating High School Until It Was Too Late

With prom around the corner, Jess attempted buying prom tickets but was denied when his grades didn’t cut it. Because of his absences and poor grades, Jess wasn’t allowed to attend prom. He wasn’t going to be able to graduate senior year.

The only way to get his diploma was to take senior year over again. That was not something Jess wanted to do and made that clear to Luke once Luke found out. If Jess wasn’t going to get his degree, he was breaking the agreement he and Luke had. Luke had no choice but to kick him out.

5 He Stole From Taylor Doose

When Doose’s Market was collecting donations to restore a bridge, Jess stole some of the money in the donation jar. Taylor called Luke in a tizzy over Jess’s behavior, and, as Jess’s guardian, Luke had to do something about it.

Luke told Taylor he was crazy; Jess was just a kid who wouldn’t do something as selfish as stealing, but, as it turned out, Jess did in fact steal from Taylor. Luke felt hopeless.

4 He Drove Luke Crazy With His Black Eye

When Jess got in an altercation with a swan, he was too embarrassed to tell Luke and Rory what really happened. He instead ignored Luke’s berating and told him not to worry about it.

Like everyone else, Luke assumed the black eye came from Dean. Luke poked and prodded him for the truth, but Jess wasn’t giving in. Eventually, Jess came clean about the swan, but it was making Luke crazy.

3 The House Fight Against Dean

When Dean saw Rory crying at Kyle’s house party, he assumed it was because of Jess, Dean and Jess then got into a physical altercation that took place throughout Kyle’s house and yard. The damage was so great that Kyle’s dad was considering pressing charges. Jess forgot how small Stars Hollow was and didn’t think Luke would find out, but alas, he did. Luke was the one who had to beg Kyle’s dad not to press charges, and he had to pay for the damages that Jess did.

2 He Ran Off To California

When Rory graduated from Chilton, she and Jess were no more. She hadn’t heard from him, and he basically disappeared. Jess would call Rory every so often but wouldn’t say anything on the other line; he just wanted to hear her voice. As hard as it was for Rory, it was harder on Luke. Jess wound up going to California to create a relationship with his dad, leaving Luke and Stars Hollow behind him.

1 Living Together Is Not Easy

Luke had lived alone most of his life and he preferred it that way. Even when he was married to Nicole, he spent more time alone in his studio apartment than at Nicole’s place. He liked being alone and was good at it.

But, as soon as Jess came into the picture, Luke’s humble abode was no longer calming. Jess was messy, and he was only able to sleep with loud music playing. Luke was never really comfortable at home when Jess was there, and Jess did not make it easy on him.

About The Author

Lynn Gibbs
(1654 Articles Published)

Lynn is a nomad who travels the globe on the hunt for her next adventure with her husband. A lover of being outside (and finding the best latte in town), Lynn is typically hiking, walking, or jogging when she’s not focusing on her love of writing. When it comes to shows streaming on Netflix or anything Bravo-related, Lynn’s your gal.

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