Christopher Hayden

Christopher Hayden is a fictional character on the television series Gilmore Girls, played by David Sutcliffe.

Season Two

Christopher reappears during Season 2 when he is invited to escort Rory at her coming out party, and brings her a copy of the book he tried to buy before as a gift. While in town, he proves that he is more capable of settling down than before, having gotten a steady job as a consultant for a computer company in Boston. Lorelai and Chris share some romantic moments dancing and talking. However, Lorelai feels misled when Chris reveals he has to get home to his girlfriend, Sherry (Mädchen Amick). Christopher attempts to bond further with Rory by attending her debate at Chilton and brings Sherry. Sherry goes shopping with Rory, which upsets Lorelai; Emily is very angry at this, saying that it should be Lorelai with Christopher to finally complete their family. Christopher is upset when, during this visit, Lorelai tells him that she has unconsciously sabotaged her relationships with men because she was holding out for Christopher. He is angry and yells at her for blaming him for her relationship failures. Christopher comes back when Rory breaks her arm and is the support Lorelai needs. Lorelai sleeps with Christopher in the Season Two finale. Since Chris and Sherry have broken up, and Lorelai has broken up with Max, the two agree to try to be a couple. Their happiness is cut short when Christopher gets a call from Sherry, saying that she is pregnant. He feels that he cannot walk away from his new child like he walked away from Rory and has to be there for Sherry. Lorelai is crushed.

Season Three

Lorelai and Rory are mad at Christopher and estrange themselves from him. He comes back and demands Lorelai to not keep Rory from him, but Rory yells that it was her own decision to keep her father at a distance because she is so mad at him for crushing her mother and failing them both. He also appears to be upset about his own predicament with Sherry and makes it clear that he would rather be with Lorelai if Sherry was not expecting. Since he was not really a father with Rory, he wanted to be one with his new daughter. Rory begins to secretly converse with her father when a few months pass and she is invited to Sherry's baby shower. But, Lorelai ends up going too because Sherry strong arm's her when she dropped Rory off at their Boston apartment. In addition, Georgia, nicknamed Gigi, is born early; Lorelai and Rory both end up coming to keep Sherry company when Christopher is late, as it is Rory's half sister, despite Emily objecting on the grounds that Sherry "stole" Christopher away from Lorelai. Christopher misses Rory's high school graduation because of work, but requests Lorelai take lots of pictures for him. Since G.G. was born early Sherry didn't get a c-section like she'd planned but had to deliver normally.

Seasons Four & Five

Christopher is not around in season 4. In season 5, Lorelai comes to the rescue when Christopher calls, needing help with his daughter, GiGi. He reveals that Sherry has left him for a job in France, so he must care for GiGi alone. When Rory finds out that Chris has contacted Lorelai, she tells him to stay away, saying that every time he comes back, he messes things up. Lorelai is in a happy relationship with Luke and she does not want Christopher messing that up for her. This later leads to a fight between the two when Lorelai, unaware of the argument, invites Christopher to a family get together at the Dragonfly Inn; angry with Rory's holier than thou cold shoulder treatment of him, Christopher spitefully tells his oldest daughter that he does not need her permission to talk to Lorelai if he wants to, given their history together. Following this, Christopher visits Rory at Yale one morning and she brushes him off, even though he says he wants to make things right and that his father is ill. In the next episode, his father dies, and both Lorelai and Rory realize that he is lonely and that he needs contact with both of them. At Richard and Emily's vow renewal, after being manipulated by Emily before hand, a drunken Chris lashes out at Luke, saying that Lorelai belongs with him and not Luke. Christopher causes drama between Luke and Lorelai as Rory had feared. Luke did not know that she was still in contact with him and becomes very hostile. Lorelai and Luke split temporarily because of this.

Season Six

Christopher calls Lorelai and leaves a message. When Sookie and Lorelai listen to the message Luke overhears and becomes very angry thinking that he was deceived again by Lorelai. It turns out that Christopher has inherited quite a sum from his recently deceased paternal grandfather and asks the Gilmore girls if there is anything he can do as something of an apology for all his years of neglect. He had not spoken to Rory either for about a year and knew nothing of her temporary estrangement from Lorelai, living in the Gilmore's pool house and taking time off Yale. Since Rory had gotten into a fight with her grandmother, she asks if he could pay for her Yale tuition. Lorelai and Christopher meet again at Rory's discussion group and debate with other fellow editors. At that time, Christopher explained that he was having problems finding a nanny for G.G. and he needed a babysitter for the next afternoon. Lorelai offers to babysit his daughter G.G., and Lorelai is horrified when she turns out to be disobedient and spoiled. She confronts Chris, who is defensive, but realizes and admits that his daughter is out of control and admits that he hadn't been properly disciplining her because he feels bad doing so in light of G.G. not having her mother. Later in this episode, it is revealed that he was successful in putting his foot down and gotten G.G. under control. Chris goes with Lorelai to Lane's wedding, when Mrs. Kim demands that she bring a date when Luke is out of town. The two drink, but Lorelai gets very drunk and makes an embarrassing speech about not getting married to Luke. Chris sees her home and watches over her until she gets a phone call from Luke, which he respectfully takes as his cue to leave. Christopher is invited to the Gilmore mansion where Emily proceeds to attempt to set him up. However, in the dramatic Season Six finale, Lorelai and Luke's relationship hits some turbulence and then explodes. In the last scene, a distraught Lorelai goes to Christopher for comfort and in the season-ending cliffhanger, is seen waking up in Christopher's bed.

Season Seven

After Lorelai's honesty about her night with Christopher, Luke is infuriated and leaves, and later goes to Christopher's apartment, knocks on the door and punches him in the face as soon as it opens. A short while later, after failing to get her on the phone, Chris crosses paths with Lorelai after he has dinner with Rory and tells Lorelai that he still loves her and has never stopped loving her, and that he'll never really be able to love anyone but her; Lorelai is then seen calling him late at night. Christopher and Lorelai begin dating, although Rory previously criticized her mother for turning to her father so soon after breaking her engagement with Luke. When Sherry sends a letter saying she has changed her ways and would like G.G. to visit her in France, Christopher tells Lorelai he plans to send G.G. to Paris with her nanny. Lorelai is alarmed that Christopher would not accompany his daughter, and they get into an argument, which is resolved when Christopher admits he should take Lorelai's advice and travel to Paris himself. He invites Lorelai to accompany him. In Paris they have a very romantic time and Christopher impulsively proposes to Lorelai, and they get married in Paris. When they come home they tell Rory about the elopement. Rory acts excited in front of Chris, but when he leaves the room tells Lorelai how upset she is, because she was not there. Chris gets upset that Lorelai does not include him in her everyday life in Stars Hollow. Lorelai admits she is afraid her friends won't accept him. though after a so called "man-date" between Chris and Jackson, Christopher becomes one of the accepted people of the town. Christopher and Lorelai's relationship becomes strained again when Lorelai says she wants to have children, but not right now. One night on his way home, Chris gets into a fist fight with Luke, from which neither one emerges the victor. Chris has new problems with Lorelai because of the marriage because of the recommendation letter for Luke's custody case, and Richard's heart attack makes another problem, because Luke is there to help Lorelai, while Chris is off sulking from a fight with Lorelai. In the end, Lorelai decides that he is not the man for her after all and in a tearful confession, she says "You're the man I want to want... You have no idea how much...". Christopher made another appearance at Rory's college graduation, where he and Lorelei seemed to be on good terms.