One Tree Hill: Peyton’s Most Questionable Life Choices

As one of the most compelling characters on One Tree Hill, Peyton Sawyer doesn’t always make the best decisions. She’s a smart, artistic, and free-spirited teenager for much of the show, and since she has grown up without a tight family unit, she goes through life’s ups and downs all on her own.

While Peyton has a heartwarming journey as she and Lucas Scott commit to each other and start a family, leaving Tree Hill behind to follow their dreams, she makes some strange choices before she and Lucas find each other again. From her love life to her friendships, Peyton can’t help but follow her heart and gut instincts, and sometimes she makes the wrong decisions.

10 Peyton Pursues Lucas Knowing Brooke Likes Him

The love triangle between Peyton, Brooke and Lucas is heated and dramatic at the beginning of the series. In season 1, Peyton can tell that her best friend Brooke Davis is interested in Lucas as well, but she ignores this and pursues him.

This is one of the worst things that Peyton ever does on the show. Instead of taking a step back and calmly discussing this situation with Brooke, Peyton hopes that Lucas will pick her, and she doesn’t act very maturely or carefully here.

9 Peyton Dates Lucas Without Telling Brooke

In season 1, Peyton and Lucas begin a relationship without letting anyone know about it. They seem totally in love and in sync with each other, and since fans have always shipped this teen drama couple, it feels like the right thing.

Unfortunately, Peyton’s bliss is cut short by the fact that Brooke still thinks that Lucas is the one for her. Peyton should never decide to date Lucas until she’s ready to talk to her best friend about her feelings. It seems like Peyton is too nervous about starting a big fight.

8 Peyton Asks Jake To Marry Her

Jake Jagielski is one of the kindest One Tree Hill characters and one who has had to grow up the fastest. When Peyton and Jake fall for each other, Jake is taking care of his baby girl Jenny while dealing with Jenny’s difficult mother Nicki.

When Peyton asks Jake to marry her, it’s a choice that has good intentions, but it’s still a terrible idea. Jake says no because he can tell that Peyton loves Lucas, but it’s also true that Peyton is too young to be thinking about marriage. She’s also not emotionally mature enough yet to handle the stressors and responsibilities of parenthood, no matter how much she cares about Jake.

7 Peyton Hurts Brooke

Of the best and worst One Tree Hill friendships, Peyton and Brooke’s relationship is a complicated one. They care about each other but also fight a lot over Lucas in the first few seasons of the show.

Peyton makes the questionable choice to physically hurt Brooke when she realizes that Brooke and Nathan Scott slept together during Peyton and Nathan’s relationship. While she’s upset that Nathan cheated on her, she’s also understandably sad that Brooke betrayed her. But no matter how mad Peyton is, violence is never okay.

6 Peyton Trusts Her Half-Brother Too Easily

Season 4 is a tough one for Peyton as she believes that she’s met her half-brother, but it’s really Ian Banks pretending to be Derek.

Peyton meets “Derek” easily and happily, but it would be smarter to be a bit more careful about this situation and learn more about him before meeting him in person. She trusts people quickly since she has never had a true family and while fans understand that she wants to find the love and security that she’s lacking, Peyton could be a bit more discerning about who she meets in person.

5 Peyton Isn’t Nice To Lindsey

Lucas and Lindsey Strauss are a confusing pair on One Tree Hill and it’s hard for fans to see Lucas almost marry her. They might have a love of literature in common, but it’s hard to imagine them staying together.

In the season 5 episode “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” Lucas lets Peyton know that she’s not giving Lindsey enough of a chance. While it’s only logical that Peyton would have a problem with Lucas marrying someone else, Peyton could be more mature and polite than she’s being.

4 Peyton Says No When Lucas Proposes

A lot of drama happens between seasons 4 and 5 of One Tree Hill. After the time jump, fans are happy to learn that Peyton moved to L.A. to follow her dream of being part of the music industry, but it’s heartbreaking to hear that Lucas asked Peyton to marry him and she said no.

While Peyton wants Lucas to take a step back and think more carefully about their relationship, her reason for saying no doesn’t make much sense. Peyton thinks that Lucas can’t move to L.A. and still be an author, but he could definitely go back and forth between L.A. and New York, so this feels like a way for Peyton to avoid getting too vulnerable with Lucas.

3 Peyton Fights With Haley During The Fantasy Draft

In season 3, Brooke sets up a “Fantasy Boy Draft” for the cheerleaders and basketball players. Peyton makes the confusing decision to tell Haley James that she wants to draft Nathan.

Sometimes Peyton can be too bold and headstrong, and this is a perfect example. She upsets Haley, who is attempting to save her marriage to Nathan, and it doesn’t seem like Peyton should get involved here.

2 Peyton Dates Julian While Still Not Over Lucas

Julian Baker is Brooke’s best One Tree Hill love interest as he’s kind, sensitive, and creative. It’s juicy when viewers learn that Julian and Peyton were seeing each other when they both lived in L.A.

Although Julian is perfect for Brooke, his relationship with Peyton is strange and confusing, especially since Peyton never gets over Lucas. Peyton makes the questionable choice to start dating someone new when she knows that she’s still deeply in love and that she needs more time to face her pain over losing Lucas.

1 Peyton Tries To Help Lucas And Lindsey Reunite

Season 5 is a sad one for fans of Lucas and Peyton as Lucas almost marries Lindsey. But while Peyton hopes that the wedding won’t really happen, she feels terrible that Lindsey walks out on Lucas on the big day and even attempts to reunite Lucas and Lindsey.

This is a strange choice on Peyton’s part since she’s been in love with Lucas since she met him back in high school and she should tell him that she still has feelings for him instead of trying to help him marry someone else. Fans are relieved that Lindsey tells Peyton that if she reads Lucas’s book An Unkindness of Ravens, she can tell that Lucas has never gotten over her.

About The Author

Aya Tsintziras
(1730 Articles Published)

Aya Tsintziras is a freelance writer who writes about pop culture and TV. She has a Political Science degree from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Journalism from Ryerson University. She loves coffee, reading, working out, and watching TV. She lives in Toronto with her husband.

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