The Real Life Partners Of The Cast Of Gilmore Girls

The many romantic relationships in the world of "Gilmore Girls" were often the driving force of the drama series that ran for seven seasons in the early 2000s. The two main characters, Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her daughter Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) had a long, winding road to their respective happy endings. At the time, Graham wasn't married yet in real life, but was linked to Tate Donovan and Marc Blucas. Bledel, who was still in her teens when "Gilmore Girls" first aired, had a then-secret off-screen romance with her castmate, Jared Padalecki. She then went on to date Milo Ventimiglia for three years.

After "Gilmore Girls" ended in 2007, the cast went their separate ways, with a brief reunion in 2016 for the Netflix miniseries "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life." Since then, they've gone on to star in many other hit shows and had real-life marriages of their own. Sadly, Graham and Bledel both experienced divorce, but there are plenty of other cast members who are happily ensconced in a relationship — hopefully not as dramatic as those in Stars Hollow.

Milo Ventimiglia quietly tied the knot with Hawaiian model and actor Jarah Mariano in early 2023, Us Weekly reported. The super secret ceremony reportedly took place with just family and close friends. In a photo shared by the publication, the newly married couple can be seen both wearing white. Mariano's head was adorned with a floral crown, while a long wreath was draped around Ventimiglia's shoulders.

The flower touches are perhaps a nod to Mariano's Hawaiian roots. In a 2021 Instagram post, she acknowledged Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and wrote, "I always get asked 'where are you from?' or 'what are you?' I explain how I was born in Hawai'i, but also grew up in California. My mom is of Korean descent, but born & raised in Hawai'i. My father's from Hawai'i as well, his mother is Native Hawaiian & we don't know who his father is."

It's unclear how Ventimiglia and Mariano met, but the "Heroes" actor likes to stay private about his love life. "I try to minimize myself so people can see the character and can really dive into the work," he told People back in 2017. He added, "I try and remain as anonymous and invisible as I can so it doesn't take away from the experience of the men that I play."

Fans will always remember Kirk Gleason, one of the quirkiest, most loveable characters on "Gilmore Girls." Played by Sean Gunn, Gleason wasn't one of the main roles, but he often provided comic relief. While his on-screen flame was Lulu Kuschner (Rini Bell), Gunn's real-life love is actor Natasha Halevi. The two married on June 15, 2019, with the ceremony officiated by Gunn's brother, James Gunn, per People. It was a star-studded wedding, with Judy Greer and fellow "Gilmore Girls" star Keiko Agena in attendance.

The happy couple met in 2017 while Gunn was working on "Avengers: Infinity War." In a sweet tribute post to her husband, Halevi wrote on Instagram, "Went out to celebrate @thejudgegunn wrapping on Guardians! Besides being insanely proud of his work and commitment to both Kraglin and Rocket, it's a whole other emotional thing too! Without his work as Rocket, we would have never met when he was working on Avengers." 

In a 2016 interview with Phil's Film Adventures, Halevi unknowingly predicted she would marry into the world of Marvel. She shared that her favorite actors at the time were Krysten Ritter and Constance Zimmer. "Both those ladies have recently been added to the Marvel Universe, so might I actually be a Marvel nerd?" the "B.C. Butcher" actor stated. It looks like Gunn and Halevi are a perfect match.

Jared Padalecki is another "Gilmore Girls" star who's been lucky in love. Following his stint as Rory Gilmore's love interest, Dean Forester, Padalecki went on to star on "Supernatural," where he met his now-wife Genevieve Padalecki (neé Cortese). "I was a single dude, she was a pretty girl in her underwear on the first day on set. I was very excited to meet her," the "House of Wax" actor shared during NJCon 2012 (via the YouTube channel of fan kaykayboo182). The two took it slow, and finally went on their first date after four months.

Jared and Genevieve got married in February 2010 in Sun Valley, Idaho, where the latter grew up, per Inside Weddings. "It was really important to me to share my love of the mountains with Jared's family," she told the outlet. They welcomed their first son, Thomas Colton Padalecki, in March 2012. Their second, Shepherd Padalecki, followed in December 2013. In March 2017, their daughter Odette Elliott was born.

The longtime couple worked together again on "Walker," with Genevieve playing the dead wife of Jared's lead character via flashbacks. Although Genevieve was "nervous" about how fans would perceive her role, she eventually gave in to her "excited" emotions. "I honestly really, really love working with my husband. It's one of those weird things that, not only do we live together and parent together, but I always say my favorite relationship with him is working together. I really, really enjoy it," she gushed to Us Weekly.

Every main character needs a BFF, and Keiko Agena's Lane Kim was the perfect counterpart to Rory Gilmore. Although Kim ended up marrying the lead singer and guitarist in her band Hep Alien, Zack Van Gerbig (Todd Lowe), there was only one man in Agena's real life. It seems she and her character share the same taste when it comes to partners. Agena married musician Shin Kawasaki in December 2005. In a 2015 interview, they revealed that they had been friends for six years before dating.

According to Little Tokyo Happy Hour, Kawasaki hails from Japan and is a guitarist and co-founder of the band Los Desnudos. It appears that he's multi-talented and is also a singer-songwriter. He shared a piece of music he wrote on Instagram called "Inner Sad Girl," which he dedicated to his mother. "It's never easy to perform this one whether in public or in my private space, and sometimes feels even wrong for various reasons. But I do it because, outside of paying her a visit as often as I can, it might be the only thing that I can do to make up for the lost time, and more," he wrote.

While Agena and Kawasaki are pretty private about their love lives and don't often gush about each other publicly, the two are still clearly in love after being married for almost 20 years. "This guy ... Happy to be happy. This day and every day," Agena shared while posing alongside her hubby.

Speaking of BFFs, Melissa McCarthy was cast on "Gilmore Girls" as Lorelei Gilmore's bestie, chef Sookie St. James. Over 15 years after the show ended, McCarthy believes St. James is still cooking with her husband, but with a twist. "She still cooks, but I think she does edibles ... I think they run a very nice little mom-and-pop business with their 13 kids and she makes delicious edibles," McCarthy told Entertainment Weekly. In real life, McCarthy is married to Ben Falcone, with whom she briefly starred in "Gilmore Girls" in Season 3. The two privately got married in 2005, and welcomed two daughters, Vivian in 2007 and Georgette in 2010.

McCarthy and Falcone have shared the screen together many times since "Gilmore Girls," including in the movie "Bridesmaids" and the series "Nobodies." They've also co-written various films, with McCarthy as the lead and Falcone directing. The Hollywood power couple even founded their own production company called On the Day, and have gone on to produce "Tammy" and "God's Favorite Idiot." 

McCarthy and Falcone are still going strong after all these years. The "Mike & Molly" star gushed on Instagram in 2020, "15 years ago today I married the kindest, funniest and weirdest human I've ever met. Grateful every single day!!!"

Chad Michael Murray only starred in "Gilmore Girls" for the first two seasons, but his character Tristan Dugray was integral to Rory Gilmore, as he was her potential love interest before abruptly moving away. Murray was famously linked to his "One Tree Hill" co-star Sophia Bush before they divorced in 2007. After their messy split, he found his forever partner with Sarah Roemer, whom he had met on the set of "Chosen." 

The two actors quietly married in 2016, and Roemer shared an anniversary Instagram post in 2020 to honor Murray. "Pinkies up to 6 awesome years of marriage to this guy! El Caminos has THE BEST TACOS (even veggie tacos) and Whiskey sours with egg white. Yum!" she wrote with a pic of the couple drinking cocktails.

Murray and Roemer are devoted parents of three kids, whom they like to keep anonymous, and often post heartwarming pics on social media. In August, they welcomed their second daughter and Murray wrote on Instagram, "So blessed and feeling so very grateful. We've added to our pack with our new little girl ... Thank you all for so much love and warmth with our baby news:) Everyone's healthy and loved." Another post showed him gazing lovingly at his new baby. "Just Love. This pic Sarah took caught all my feels," Murray shared.