20 years ago, Lorelai made the most polarizing decision in Gilmore Girls history

Gilmore Girls has been a constant part of fans' lives for 25 years and counting. Whether you have been watching since the show aired on The WB or you got into it later in life thanks to Netflix, our experience with the beloved mother-daughter comedy-drama has been the same. There are moments in the series that are forever engrained in our brains and we'll never get over.

We'll never forget where we were when Lorelai asked Luke to marry her after Rory's life imploded post-boat theft. It's impossible not to pinpoint your emotional state when the Rory-Dead-Jess love triangle reached its breaking point at the 24-hour dance marathon. And we still might never recover from the truly polarizing, often maddening, decision Lorelai made in the season 6 finale.

As whole, we're still trying to recover from the events of Gilmore Girls season 6 (yes, this is both hyperbolic and the truth). From Lorelai and Rory's fight to Luke having a secret daughter, it's a challenging season. By the end, Lorelai and Luke's relationship became fraught and strained on the lead-up to the wedding, leading to the most hated decision in the show's history.

Lorelai chose Christopher over Luke 20 years ago

Gilmore Girls season 6 episode 22, titled "Partings," aired on May 9, 2006, which is officially 20 years ago as of May 2026. The season finale found Lorelai at her breaking point with Luke after he had been postponing and pushing back their wedding while he continued to get to know April. She didn't think it was fair to her (and it wasn't) and she ended up giving him an ultimatum.

Long story short, Lorelai essentially ended their relationship when Luke continues to not choose her over whatever else is going on in his life. It's also worth noting that he wasn't letting her in either. He was pushing her aside and trying to keep their relationship separate from April. She'd had enough, and rightfully so, but that doesn't make what she did next the solution to her problems.

She slept with Christopher. That in and of itself is enough to attract a collective eye roll and groan combo from fans that hasn't let up since 2006. Lorelai running to Christopher after fighting with Luke already frustrates fans, but it's what this decision led to — their marriage in season 7 — that leaves a bitter taste in our mouths. It didn't ruin the show per say, but it sure flirted with disaster.

Two decades removed from this decision, it's clearer to see why Lorelai would run to Christopher when the most important romantic relationship in her life has blown up. He's the other most important romantic relationship in her life. Christopher is the father of her child. The person she wanted so badly to be with but could never make it work. He's the one that got away.

She knows that no matter what has happened between them, Christopher will always be there to support her. If she can't be with Luke, then maybe that was sign that she and Christopher could be in the right place at the right time. Well, at the very least, it was the wrong place at the right time, and Christopher was so happy to be there. (Big shocker after the mess he made in season 5.)

Lorelai was in an impossible place and didn't know where to turn. There are more destructive decisions she could have made, to be fair, and while it's easy to understand how she ended up on the bad side of an ultimatum with Luke to waking up in Christopher's bed, that doesn't mean this choice wasn't among the most hated among fans in Gilmore Girls history.

Because of this one moment, we ended up with half of season 7 further separating Lorelai and Luke as she finally, stubbornly, seizes the opportunity to make a marriage with her high school sweetheart work. Like a best friend who knows her bestie was making a mistake, we had to watch Lorelai see this through. But if she taught us one thing, it's that it's never a bad idea to follow your heart.

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