Did Lauren Graham Ever Date Any Of Her Gilmore Girls Co-Stars?
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Aside from the coveted mother-daughter banter and perpetual cups of coffee, one of the biggest aspects of the hit 2000 dramedy "Gilmore Girls" is the dating evolution. Not only do we watch Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) experience her first love and first heartbreak — and second... and third — but her mom Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) had a few flames, and even engagements, of her own. Stars Hollow enthusiasts will be eager to know that Lorelai's love life spilled into the "Gilmore" actor's own romantic history.
During her April 2025 appearance on the podcast "Call Her Daddy," Graham admitted that, like her co-star Bledel — who dated two of her character's love interests in real life — she did go out with a few of her "Gilmore" co-stars in the past, but nothing ever got too serious. "Dating is a real big word for some of the experiences," she quipped, adding, "But you know, you're there for 14, 15 hours, who else are you going to meet?"
Unfortunately for JavaJunkie (the ship name for Luke and Lorelai) hopefuls, Graham confirmed that she and Luke Danes actor Scott Patterson never dated in real life. During a 2023 event to promote her book, "Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don't Want to Forget to Remember," Graham touched on her relationship with Patterson, saying (via TikTok): "We did not ever take our work outside of the work." She cheekily added, without naming anyone, "But I did date a couple of the other guys."
She openly dated another co-star for over a decade
She might not reveal which of her "Gilmore Girls" character's exes she dated in real life — Max Medina (Scott Cohen)? Christopher Hayden (David Sutcliffe)? — but Lauren Graham did famously date another co-star. The actor had a near-12-year romance with Peter Krause, who played her brother on the NBC series "Parenthood." The pair were together from 2010 to 2021, with Graham revealing to People that their lives ultimately didn't match up anymore, and that is why they broke up.
However, before the ex-couple even started their relationship, one of Graham's "Gilmore Girls" co-stars predicted their spark. In an interview with Glamour in 2015, Kelly Bishop — who played Gilmore matriarch, Emily Gilmore — revealed how she initially mentioned the idea of dating Krause to Graham after she thought her TV daughter's romantic life was lacking luster. "So we're talking about her latest problem and the fact that there's no one out there, and I say, 'You know, I've been watching this show I love called "Six Feet Under," and there's this guy ... ' and she says, 'I know, Peter Krause,'" Bishop recalled. Although Graham had told Bishop that Krause was in a relationship at the time, she revealed in an e-mail years later that she was seeing him. And though Bishop noted that Graham doesn't remember that conversation, the "Bunheads" actor said: "I saw that guy and thought, Wow, he'd be really good with Lauren."