As Gilmore Girls gained traction and a fan base throughout the late '90s and early 2000s, Lorelei Gilmore quickly became the mom every teenage daughter wished she could have. She was witty and funny, she defended her daughter and ed her with every decision she made, she let Rory have basically anything she wanted to eat, and she trusted Rory so much, she barely even had any rules to follow.
Having a child at sixteen and raising her on your own is probably what gave Lorelei this special relationship with her daughter, but as we see throughout the seven seasons, their relationship isn't always perfect.
Cool Mom: Open Communication With Rory
It seems as though Lorelei and Rory can talk about anything. There isn't a detail in Rory's life that Lorelei doesn't know about, from friends, to boys, to school, and everything in between, Lorelei is Rory's go-to person. Even as Rory gets older, and stops sharing things as willingly with her mother, Lorelei always seems to know when there's something Rory needs to talk about and she's great at getting her daughter to open up because they trust each other and Rory knows that no matter what happens, her mother is always going to have her back.
Not Cool: The Silent Treatment
After not really fighting for five seasons, Rory and Lorelei have the biggest fight of their entire lives. Rory has gotten together with Logan who is a bit of a rich boy, troublemaker. They steal a boat, get arrested, and then Rory tells Lorelei she doesn't want to go back to Yale.
Lorelei does not like the changes she sees in her daughter and knows a lot of it has to do with her seeing Logan. Lorelei tries to reason with Rory, but she won't listen, instead, Rory quits Yale and moves in with her grandparents, causing Lorelei to cut communication off with Rory entirely.
Cool Mom: Cares About Rory's School And Career Goals
One of the reasons Lorelei can be so lenient with Rory and any of the rules she makes for her teenage daughter is because Rory is a straight-A student with hefty academic and career goals. Rory's dream for as long as either of the Gilmore girls can is to go to Harvard. As Rory nears the end of high school and begins her college application process, the stress of it all starts to mount, but Lorelei is always there to offer encouraging words and to remind her daughter how smart and capable she is of achieving all of her dreams.
Not Cool: Dates Rory's Teacher
Lorelei works really hard to get Rory into Chilton, a prestigious private school that is guaranteed to set her up for the success she needs to get into Harvard, her dream school. Once Rory is accepted, Lorelei goes to her parents to ask for help paying for the school, which shows how much Lorelei wants this for Rory because Lorelei doesn't ask her parents for anything.
Once Rory is at Chilton though, Lorelei quickly manages to find a way to mess everything up and embarrass her daughter when she starts dating Rory's English teacher, Max Medina.
Cool Mom: She Gives Rory Great Relationship Advice
It's safe to say Lorelei has had her fair share of ups and downs when it comes to dating and relationships. Every season, it seems as though Lorelei almost gets married or falls in love or tries again with Rory's dad, Christopher. Some could argue that Lorelei's choices when it comes to men make things more difficult for Rory, but it seems Lorelei deals with all of her relationships appropriately and in a lot of ways, Rory really benefits from them. Because Lorelei has been through it all, she can give her daughter great advice and help her move in a different direction so she doesn't make the same mistakes her mom did.
Not Cool: Late On Rory's First Day
There are a lot of times where Lorelei seems to be more of the child and Rory has to take on the role of mother for both herself and Lorelei. One of those times is the morning of Rory's first day at Chilton. Rory gets herself out of bed, dressed, and fed while Lorelei oversleeps.
Rory comes barging into her mother's room at 7am, realizing her mom is still in bed and she panics. Lorelei's alarm never went off, and now, not only is she late, but she has nothing to wear because she never picked her clothes up from the dry cleaners. Lorelei takes Rory to her first day at a new, private, fancy school in a very embarrassing outfit.
Cool Mom: She Sews
Since Lorelei raised Rory on her own with no help from Rory's father, Christopher or Lorelei's very wealthy parents, she had to teach herself ways to save money and budget for her young family. One of the things Lorelei has gotten very good at over the years is sewing, which comes in handy when Rory has her first school dance at Chilton. Lorelei knows that all of the Chilton girls are going to be wearing fashionable and expensive dresses to the dance and Lorelei doesn't want Rory to feel left out, so she makes her daughter a beautiful blue dress and Rory looks stunning in it.
Not Cool: She Lets Rory Drink A Lot Of Coffee
One of the foundations of Rory and Lorelei's relationship is their mutual love for coffee. Lorelei can frequently be seen begging Luke for another cup, which he always gives her, but not before he points out how bad it is for her to be drinking that much caffeine, and letting her daughter do that same.
Luke is right, a sixteen year old probably shouldn't be having any coffee, let alone the amount that Rory drinks a day, which is almost always supplied by her mother. Lorelei is definitely responsible for Rory's growing and somewhat unmanageable caffeine addiction.
Cool Mom: She Cares About All Of Rory's Milestones
Lorelei loves celebrating her daughter and will find any reason to do so. On Rory's sixteenth birthday, Lorelei throws her two parties, one at her parents' house, mainly because Lorelei's mother, Emily insists on it, and then another at Rory and Lorelei's house with all of Rory's closest friends. When Rory graduates from Yale, the entire town of Stars Hollow comes together to celebrate and Lorelei is blown away by how loved her daughter is. In between the big events, there are lots of little celebrations, which usually require dinner at Luke's or Rory's favorite takeout.
Not Cool: Lorelei's Relationship With Her Own Parents
One of the biggest problems with Lorelei's parenting is that she doesn't have a healthy relationship with her own parents, and Rory gets a front-row seat to that. Rory is also frequently put in the middle of her mother and her grandparents and that is never a good or comfortable place for a child to be. It also doesn't set a very good example for Rory as she gets older and navigates her relationship with her own mother. If Lorelei can't respect her parents and nature that relationship, then she shouldn't expect Rory to do that with her. It's not setting a very good example.