Gilmore Girls is one of the most enduring shows of all time — so much so that Netflix brought it back in the 2016 revival, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Fans still flock to binge the series, which is filled with timeless lessons on life and love. One of its strongest themes is friendship. In real life, the cast is pretty tight-knit.
One of the best off-set friendships is between Lauren Graham and Yanic Truesdale, who still regularly meet up. The two portray Lorelai Gilmore and Michel Gerard, respectively, the combative pair in charge of the Independence Inn and, later, the Dragonfly. While their selfies are sweet, their relationship on-screen is anything but. Here are 10 reasons why Lorelai and Michel aren't real friends.
Michel Is Always Mean to Lorelai
"I despise you." This is an actual line uttered by Michel, and it should pretty much sum up this point. It's no secret how mean Michel can be throughout the show. Even if he's widely accepted as a curmudgeon, this really shouldn't apply to people he's supposed to be friends with, like Lorelai.
It gets played off as humorous, but their relationship can be seen as a toxic one. In real life, most people wouldn't put up with a real-life Michel. However, we can't say that Lorelai is much nicer in the long run.
Lorelai Manipulates Michel
This is evident as early as the pilot episode. When Rory comes into the inn looking for Michel's help with a French paper, he's unwilling to take a look. What does Lorelai do? She makes fun of his accent and bullies him into looking at Rory's paper.
That's not the only time this happens. When Michel clamors to attend an auction with Lorelai in Season 3, she doesn't simply take him as her plus one, which would be the friendly thing to do. She acquiesces only after making him agree to a long list of undesirable tasks, one of which is working weekends for the remainder of the month.
Michel's Mom Doesn't Even Know Lorelai
Michel and his mother are very close. In Season 2, she finally drops by for a visit and gets to meet Lorelai and the inn staff. Instead of being excited, Lorelai projects her own mother-daughter insecurities on Michel. Despite this hiccup, their meeting goes off without a hitch. But it is strange that Michel's mother doesn't appear to be familiar with Lorelai.
Although even Michel doesn't get to see his mom often, it can be assumed that he talks to her as frequently as he can. Are we supposed to believe Lorelai — and Sookie, for that matter — never came up in a prior conversation? Mothers tend to know their children's friends, so perhaps this means Michel and Lorelai aren't friends even canonically.
They Never Hug
How is this known? Michel offers Lorelai a hug during a trying episode of Season 4. She turns him down initially but eventually relents. Then, they both grimace and admit how weird it was. They even agree to never hug again and are glad about it.
Hugs aren't everybody's love language, per se, but they can be a source of comfort and support, two attributes that aren't exactly present in Lorelai and Michel's relationship. They could probably stand to be a little more affectionate toward one another.
They Aren't There for Each Other
It's not just about the hugs. Michel and Lorelai really don't support one another. There are a few instances of this throughout the show, both big and small. In one episode, Lorelai is looking for Rory's bracelet and doesn't trust Michel to have done his due diligence, which hurts his feelings.
While they went from the Independence Inn to the Dragonfly together, that did not happen before Michel has some choice words of criticism for Lorelai and Sookie about their venture. They don't show up for each other, and that's not what friends should be like.
They've Known Each Other for Years, But It Doesn't Show
It's hard to believe, but the long-squabbling pair have worked together for two years by the time the show begins. They cannot be real friends if that's how they treat one another, as two years is long enough to learn how to play nice.
Although they continue working together through the series, Michel is planning his exit from the Dragonfly by the time of the Netflix revival. Nearly a decade later after the events of the finale, and their supposed friendship could very well be meeting its end.
Michel Has Never Bought Lorelai a Present
This becomes apparent in Season 3. Even though they've known each other for five years by this point, it's revealed that Michel has never gotten Lorelai a present for her birthday.
Michel only ends up getting Lorelai a gift to make his rival, Tobin, jealous. He then gets disappointed when Tobin one-ups him with a second present. While it's not criminal to forego birthday gifts for a friend, given varying love languages, it is terrible that Michel used Lorelai as a pawn in his feud.
They Bicker Constantly
It's not just that they're mean to one another, but Lorelai and Michel are rarely ever nice. The back-and-forth bickering is a staple of their bond and one of the reasons fans love the character of Michel so much. But that doesn't make them good friends.
Before you think, "That's only the start of the show, surely they must change and evolve," they don't. In the revival, they're still bickering. "I don't need a child, I have you," Michel complains, even going on to remark that Lorelai is why Xanax was invented. Yikes.
Michel Resents Having to Do His Job for Lorelai
It can be tough to work with friends; for Michel, it's hard to do anything at work at all. He doesn't even feign disdain when answering the phone or performing tasks around the inn. If anything, he's more of an embittered colleague than a friend.
This lasts throughout the series. One of the show's most enduring quotes comes from Michel as he relents to Lorelai, "Every day that you breathe you make my life harder." Lorelai often takes advantage of her position as Michel's manager, but he rarely appears to work harder. It would only be natural to want to do better for a friend.
Lorelai Is Clearly Better Friends with Sookie
People typically have one best friend, and no one is claiming Lorelai and Michel are best friends. Still, Lorelai's sweet and supportive relationship with Sookie certainly shows what Lorelai is like as a friend. It also illustrates that she is not like that with Michel.
While Lorelai and Sookie have their ups and downs, as all friends do, there's no denying that they love each other. They do all the things Lorelai and Michel don't. They stick together through their love lives, new babies, their career dreams, and life changes. That's what real friendship looks like.