Milo Ventimiglia played bad boy Jess Mariano on Gilmore Girls, but the actor is all good with his character’s onetime Stars Hollow rival, Dean Forester (played by Jared Padalecki).
In a February 2026 interview with People magazine, Ventimiglia, 48, declared he’s team “Jared” 25 years after the characters’ love triangle with Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) played out on the beloved series, which originally aired from 2000 to 2007.
“I'd be way okay if my daughter eventually watched the show and she was team Dean,” Ventimiglia said of his toddler daughter Ke’ala. “I get it because I'm team Jared, so I get it."
Ventimiglia also addressed Rory’s third boyfriend, Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry), whom she met while attending Yale.
"I know that Logan and Jess and Dean were kind of very spread apart in who they were as characters, but Matt Czuchry and Jared Padalecki couldn't be … I mean, they're the best guys," Ventimiglia told the outlet. "They couldn't be any lovelier as human beings, and I think it's nice that more than 20-plus years later we all still can talk about this show we were growing up on and come together as grown men just to recognize that and still have loving words for one another."
Ventimiglia’s comments come after Padalecki shocked fans with his own revelation about the original Gilmore Girls love triangle. In November, he told People, “I'm team Jess, funny enough.” The actor explained that “knowing the show and having some idea of where Rory was in her life,” he understood why she left his character for the Stars Hollow newcomer.
“They all were flawed, let's be clear,” Padalecki added. “Well, I'll say Dean was flawed. They all had their issues, but today I'm team Jess.”
Bledel has admitted she can’t choose between her character’s three big loves. During a 2021 appearance on “Watch What Happens Live,” host Andy Cohen asked the actress who Rory should ultimately have ended up with—Jess, Logan, or Dean.
"Jeagan?" Bledel replied, combining all three characters’ names. "I can't single somebody out."
Of course, if she were to choose one of them, any of Rory’s beaus would require the approval of her controlling grandma, Emily Gilmore (played by Kelly Bishop). The actress who played the Gilmore matriarch made it clear that she’s not Team Dean or Team Jess.
“I have to admit I’m Team Logan, although I really love the other two,” Bishop revealed in an Instagram interview posted by Gallery Books. “But there is something about Logan. There’s something about his acting that I particularly liked in working with him, is he had a very manly quality, where the other guys were like boys, great boys. But Logan was like an old movie star, like a man.”
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