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Gilmore Girls Creator Finally Addresses Who Fathered Rory’s Baby

Gilmore Girls Creator Finally Addresses Who Fathered Rory’s Baby
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Nine years after that A Year in the Life cliffhanger, Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino revisits the mystery of who fathered Rory’s baby, sending the fandom back into full-on sleuth mode.

Gilmore Girls just turned 25, and yes, the last four words of the 2016 revival are still haunting people. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino marked the anniversary with a new chat and actually addressed the question that has kept fans arguing for almost a decade: who is the father of Rory's baby? Short answer: she knows. Longer answer: she is not telling you.

Quick refresher: the original series, starring Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham, debuted in 2000 and became one of those shows that just never leaves the culture. In 2016, the original cast reunited for the four-episode Netflix mini-series Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. It ended with Rory revealing she was pregnant. Cut to black. Cue chaos.

So, who is the father?

Fans have spent years building case files on the potential dads. The revival never said it out loud, and that was by design. Sherman-Palladino told The Hollywood Reporter that the cliffhanger wasn't some accident or a setup she forgot to pay off — it was the point.

"The cliffhanger was intentional because the story was about history repeating itself and about mothers and daughters."

"I know who the father was and I know what the baby was... that stays in my mind."

That 'what the baby was' bit is her phrasing, and, yeah, it is vague on purpose. The gist: she decided the answer years ago, but it's locked in her head unless or until the story continues.

Why she won't spill it

Sherman-Palladino also pushed back on the idea that this should be a whodunnit. For her, the show has always been about the women — the rhythms between mother and daughter — with the romances as, basically, very charming scenery. She loves the boys, she knows fans love the boys, and yes, she even noted they are very nice to look at. But if you're waiting for her to pick a team publicly, that is not happening.

  • The fan suspects: Jess, Logan, or a mystery someone else.

So if you were hoping the 25th anniversary would unlock the big reveal, sorry. The secret father remains a secret, deliberately. Which, depending on how you feel about karmic loops and mother-daughter story cycles, is either maddening or exactly on brand for Stars Hollow.