Alexis Bledel’s Secret Real-Life ‘Gilmore Girls’ Romance Revealed

The Gilmore girls are returning to Stars Hollow for "A Year in the Life,” and it was just revealed by Life & Style that one of them had a secret on-screen-and-off fling with her co-star!

It turns out that Alexis Bledel, who played Rory Gilmore in the original series and reprises her role in the new Netflix episodes, was secretly dating co-star Jared Padalecki. In the beloved television show, Jared played Dean, Rory's first boyfriend and love. Fans everywhere cheered for Dean to win in the end, but he seemed to be the one who got away, at least in the series.

The chemistry between Rory and Dean was undeniable on-screen, so it's not surprising to hear that these two were canoodling in real life, too.

“Gilmore Girls" casting director Jami Rudofsky told Life & Style, on newsstands now, “Sometimes with casting, the right person just walks in and you just feel it. That's how she felt when Jared auditioned for the part of Rory's first boyfriend, Dean Forester. There had already been two Deans cast before we found him,” she says. “But there is something about Jared.”

Alexis also had chemistry with resident bad boy Jess, played by Milo Ventimiglia. The two publicly dated for three and a half years before calling it quits in 2006.

With all the romancing on set, casting director Mara Casey said, “We did have a joke about casting all of Alexis' [real-life] boyfriends… She dated Jared and Milo [Ventimiglia]. And she also dated a young New York actor named Chris Heuisler, who played a guest role.”