Alexis Bledel's Relationship History — Her "Big Honking Leaps of Faith"

The best thing to binge in 2024 is unequivocally Gilmore Girls. The series is thankfully on Netflix, and because of this, we’re getting a major blast from the past. Starring Alexis Bledel as Rory and Lauren Graham as Lorelei, the characters’ love lives were always on full display for us to enjoy, root for, and criticize. But behind the scenes, the actors’ love lives were much more private, especially Alexis’s.

However, Alexis dated several of her co-stars before settling down in 2012. She and her ex-husband announced their divorce in August 2022. Since then, rumors of a Gilmore Girls comeback and a Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants reunion have circled, inciting hope in Alexis’s fans. But what we really want to know is who she has been shacking up with throughout her career. So we break down her dating history.

Alexis and Jared Padalecki began dating in 2000, although their relationship wasn’t confirmed until a 2016 Life & Style interview after years of fan speculation. “We did have a joke about casting all of Alexis’ [real-life] boyfriends,” Gilmore Girls casting director Mara Casey revealed. Jared played Rory’s first love in the show, which transferred off-screen.

"It is true! But I had never met Alexis before the show. We did date," Jared told Glamour. "When Alexis and I met, we were both 17 years old and were both Texans and kind of in this new, strange city, and I was like, 'Hey, want to go out to dinner?' I don't know if we tried to keep it a secret. I wish it was scandalous or something! I think it was more kind of silly. We were two 17-year-old kids who were like, 'Hey, you want to go bowling?' It wasn't anything super juicy."

Alexis continued her pattern of dating co-stars with Chris Heuisler, who played a guest role on Gilmore Girls. Mara explained, “[Alexis] also dated a young New York actor named Chris Heuisler, who played a guest role. Real sweet kid.” They just dated briefly, according to sources, after they met on-set. In fact, they barely interacted on-screen, so he must have really stood out to Alexis!

While Alexis kept most of her boyfriends private up until this point, her relationship with Milo Ventimiglia was very much in the public eye. He played her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Jess, in Gilmore Girls, but in reality, they were on-and-on-and-on until they were off in June 2006. The actors fell for each other when their characters started dating mid-Season 2, and apparently, they even discussed marriage.

"I think everybody who has been dating for more than a couple of years probably talks about it at some point,” Alexis told People in 2005. “It's a fun thing for us to talk about, but that's it — it's down the road.” In 2006, Milo’s rep told People, “He is currently single,” confirming their split and breaking every Literati shipper’s heart.

Alexis was just briefly linked to John Paul after a supposed September 2010 hookup. John Paul is a British model who was seen with Alexis during a special dinner at Plein Sud’s at The Smyth Hotel in New York City to celebrate Kate Spade’s signature fragrance. By early 2011, it was clear the pair had split.

Alexis and Vincent Kartheiser met when she was a guest star on Mad Men Season 5 when her character had an affair with Vincent’s Pete Campbell. But they didn’t start dating until two months after filming wrapped. By October 2012, they took their relationship to the public eye. They got married in June 2014 in Ojai, Calif. in a private ceremony. They kept most details of their relationship private, including the birth of their first child in the fall of 2015.

In fact, Vincent and Alexis didn’t make their red carpet debut until January 2016, and the world found out about their son when Gilmore Girls’ Luke, Scott Patterson, accidentally revealed it in an interview with Glamour. But in August 2022, Us Weekly confirmed Alexis and Vincent’s divorce via documents from the New York Putnam County Supreme Court’s office.

Now, Alexis is seemingly single after Vincent filed for divorce, but anything is possible! If we know anything, it’s that Rory Gilmore will always be a romantic.