On Oct. 5  2000, the series “Gilmore Girls” graced screens for the first time. Since its release nearly 23 years ago, “Gilmore Girls” has quickly become a cult classic and is just as synonymous with the fall season as a pumpkin latte. Over the course of its seven seasons, the two main characters, mother and daughter Lorelai and Rory have multiple boyfriends, but Rory’s are the center of teen debates. Whether you’re a Jess, Logan, or god forbid, a Dean fan, we can all agree that each of Rory’s boyfriends had their ups and downs. Dean was a good first boyfriend, Jess a good intellectual companion, and Logan a perfect college and adventurous match. Ever since I started watching the show my freshman year of high school, I’ve debated with countless fans on which boyfriend is the best, but in my opinion they all had an important role in Rory’s life, and were good for her in different ways.

Dean, although good in the beginning and the most attractive, did not stand the test of time as many of us had hoped. His downfall is as synonymous as Rory’s and in that sense, they are a match made in heaven, but his clinginess and neediness were inevitably his first downfall. Although he had a great relationship with Lorelai (better than any of her other boyfriends), Dean was too pushy on Rory. The first red flag should have been when he broke up with her because she didn’t say I love you after a few months of dating, or complaining that she prioritized her future over him. Although his behavior towards Jess and Rory were completely justified, there were times when he took it way too far. The saddest part of Dean and Rory’s relationship was Lindsey, who is the biggest victim of Rory and Dean’s love story. Their complete disregard and treatment of Lindsay was nothing short of awful and showed how far their relationship had come since the first season.

  Jess has always been my personal favorite out of all of Rory’s boyfriends. Whether it was his wit or his vast array of literary reference, he was always my pick for Rory’s boyfriend. In fairness, Rory and Jess’s relationship wasn’t always the best, and Jess did act like a jerk sometimes, but all his actions were completely justified. Yes, Jess did leave her without a note and didn’t speak to her for a year, but give the guy a break. He was stuck with a mother who didn’t care about him and a dad who did nothing but cause him trouble. Jess and Rory had by far the closest bond, and it was because of him, and only him, that Rory went back to Yale. Without him, Rory would have never fixed her relationship with Lorelai and would have ended up in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) for the rest of her life. Jess changed her life for the better, and he had by far the biggest impact of the three.

  Logan Huntzberger is what most fans consider to be the best boyfriend, and, in many ways, they are not wrong. Logan was adventurous and met Rory’s intellectual level. He made sacrifices for her and allowed her to see the world from a different point of view. However, he isn’t without his faults. Logan acted like a jerk multiple times throughout the series, and often flaunted his money when he felt intimidated. He was toxic during the first half of Season 4 and often put Rory in uncomfortable positions, like when he let her go unknowingly into a room of girls he had previously hooked up with. He didn’t push her to go back to Yale and cheated on his fiancée with her in the sequel series. Rory should have accepted his proposal, however, because out of the three, he would have provided her with the life that she wanted the most.

  Tristan is what many of us wish would’ve been a real boyfriend, but sadly he went to the army before he had the chance. Although Tristan was a snob at times, he truly cared for Rory, and they had great chemistry together. Sadly, we will never know what could’ve happened if he hadn’t been so stupid.

In conclusion, they all had a positive impact on Rory’s life and had traits that any girl would be lucky to have in a boyfriend. What they saw in Rory, I’ll never know.