If anyone has a reason for consuming lots of coffee and watching lots of TV, it's Lorelai Gilmore. The single mom on Gilmore Girls runs her own business, copes with a tricky relationship with her mom and dad, and even goes through hard times with her beloved daughter and best friend, Rory.
While referencing pop culture at every turn and figuring out her complicated romance with diner owner Luke, Lorelai makes some choices that prove she only thinks of herself. Other times, though, she's a sweetheart who is a great part of the Stars Hollow community.
Shameless: Sneaking Out The Window During A Bad Date
Season 1 of Gilmore Girls had a lot going on and in the episode "Star-Crossed Lovers and Other Strangers," Emily set Lorelai up on a blind date.
It's rare that meeting a total stranger will go well, and in Lorelai's case, her mom had no idea about what kind of person she wanted to be with. Lorelai was so bored during the date that she snuck out of a window of her parents' house. In an adorable scene, Richard saw her and agreed that it was okay to do this. Even so, this was a shameless moment because Lorelai was definitely old enough to get through the rest of the evening politely.
Proud Of: Agreeing To Friday Night Dinners Despite Her Tricky Family Life
While the conclusion of the Netflix revival A Year In The Life saw Lorelai and Emily doing a bit better, in the pilot episode, they were barely on speaking .
Lorelai agreed to have dinner at her parents' house every Friday night if they would pay for Rory to go to Chilton, and this decision was incredibly selfless. She knew that this would be difficult and that those evenings might even lead to big fights, but she knew that she had to help her daughter get a great education. While some people would have ignored their parents forever if they didn't get along, Lorelai was willing to see them on a regular basis.
Shameless: Dating Her Daughter's Teacher
Lorelai's decision to date Rory's English teacher Max was definitely a shameless one. This made life at Chilton even worse for Rory since her enemy, Paris, found out and made sure the rumor mill knew all about it.
Although Lorelai knew that this wasn't the easiest thing to do, she still went ahead with the romance, even getting close to marrying Max. It would have been great if she would have considered the consequences of her actions a bit more.
Proud Of: Painting Luke's Diner For Him
In the first season episode "Christopher Returns," Lorelai went into Luke's Diner and painted it for him. It was something that they were going to do as a team, but she wasn't able to make the plan that they set out, so she wanted to help.
This was one of the nicest things that Lorelai did, especially since she was dealing with a lot of drama in her life with Rory's dad Christopher coming back to Stars Hollow. She could have easily bailed on her promise, but she cared about Luke and knew that he deserved to have a beautiful restaurant to work in every day.
Shameless: Skipping Town Instead Of Canceling Her Wedding Properly
Lorelai decided in the second season that she couldn't actually marry Max. However, instead of canceling the wedding properly and making sure that the plans had been changed, she told Rory that they should go on a road trip.
It was entertaining to see Lorelai and Rory at a creepy, quirky bed and breakfast, and Rory got to step foot on the gorgeous and esteemed Harvard campus. But still, Lorelai didn't need to skip town. She should have handled this big decision better.
Proud Of: Opening Her Own Inn Despite The Many Obstacles
Lorelai and Sookie teamed up to open the Dragonfly Inn and it was a success. It was satisfying to watch Lorelai achieve this dream, as it would have been all too easy to let it slip away and do something else.
Lorelai should be proud of opening her own inn and making it through any obstacles that were in her way. She and Sookie fought, worried that they wouldn't get their dream building, and questioned themselves many times. Others might have walked away, but Lorelai knew that this was going to be worth the worry, time, and effort.
Shameless: Keeping Big Life Events From Her Parents
Even though Lorelai and Emily didn't text all day long or get together for coffee and gossip, Lorelai still owed her parents more than she gave them.
Lorelai often kept big life events from her Richard and Emily. When she got engaged to Max, she didn't tell them. While she felt that she had a right to her privacy because she didn't think that her parents were on her side, she likely would have been surprised. Emily really wanted to be there for her and fix their problems so they could forge a new relationship, even if they had tons of trouble speaking to each other.
Proud Of: Telling Mrs. Kim To Make Up With Lane
Season 4 saw a big fight between Lane and Mrs. Kim as Lane's secret life was finally revealed.
When Lorelai learned about the situation, she knew that she had to get involved, and she definitely understood the beauty of the mother-daughter bond. Lorelai went to Mrs. Kim and told her that they should make up. This is something that she should be proud of because most people would think that it wasn't their business, so they would stay out of it to avoid conflict. Lorelai was never afraid of tension, as she knew that family relationships aren't always perfect.
Shameless: Went Ahead With Her Relationship With Christopher When Her Heart Wasn't In It
The seventh season of Gilmore Girls began with Lorelai and Christopher sleeping together. They started dating, although Lorelai wasn't sure that she really wanted to be with him. They even got married.
It was clear that Lorelai was leading Chris on and that his feelings for her were much stronger. Instead of being honest and deciding not to go through with the marriage, Lorelai ignored how she really felt. It seemed like she was using him since she was having problems with Luke, and this wasn't great.
Proud Of: Being The One To Propose To Luke
At the end of the fifth season of Gilmore Girls, Lorelai proposed to Luke, and this was not only a beautiful moment between the two beloved characters but a great way to break with tradition.
Lorelai should be proud that she knew she wanted to be with Luke and she went for it. She didn't need to wait around for him to pop the question because who says that he had to be the one to do that? Lorelai lived her life in an unconventional way and it was fantastic that she had the self-confidence to ask this big question.