One of the biggest plot points in Gilmore Girls was the show's protagonist, Rory Gilmore, being caught between the upper-class lifestyle of her grandparents and her less prestigious life in Stars Hollow. While the show typically used boyfriends to explore Rory as a character, there's one guy who she never dated despite his best efforts: Tristan Dugray.

Although Tristan was a fixture of Gilmore Girls Season 1 and played an important role in Season 2, Chad Michael Murray's departure from the show resulted in his character being written off. Here's why.

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Who Was Chad Michael Murray's Tristan Dugray?

Chad Michael Murray as Tristan Dugray and Alexi Bledel as Rory Gilmore on Gilmore GIrls

Introduced in Gilmore Girls Season 1, Tristan is a student at Chilton Preparatory School and, like many of the school's students, comes from a rich family. Over the course of the first two seasons, Tristan tries to date Rory, and they at one point kiss. However, this frustrates Paris Geller, who has had a crush on Tristan for quite some time. While Rory generally rebuke Tristan's attempts -- due in part to the fact she's dating Dean Forester at the time -- the two do eventually kiss. However, they never end up officially dating.

Tristan is something of a bad boy, pulling such pranks at the school as having a teacher's car deconstructed and put back together inside one of Chilton's buildings, which ties into Murray's exit from the show. During Season 2, Tristan is sent to a military school in North Carolina after breaking into his father's safe.

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Why Chad Michael Murray Left Gilmore Girls

Chad Michael Murray as Tristan Dugray and Alexi Bledel as Rory Gilmore on Gilmore GIrls

Following the first season of Gilmore Girls, Chad Michael Murray was cast as Charlie Todd on Dawson's Creek and Lucas Scott on One Tree Hill -- which both filmed in North Carolina, thus making Tristan's enrollment at a military school in the state a reference to his departure. While Tristan does have a cameo in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, he's played by Anton Narinskiy, not Chad Michael Murray, who declined the chance to appear.

Directed and written by Sherman-Palladino and husband Daniel Palladino, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life stars Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Scott Patterson, Melissa McCarthy, Matt Czuchry, Keiko Agena, Yanic Truesdale, Jared Padalecki and Milo Ventimiglia. The four episodes are airing on The CW now.

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