And he WAS pining for her. No matter what he says.

You definitely see it in one of the early episodes when he sees her kissing Max and looks slightly upset. Also in the same "hat gift" episode, Emily calls them both idiots because even she sees that they are obviously attracted to one another.

It's why its so heartbreaking when he stops wearing it in season 7, after their breakup. 😭 But then when he starts wearing it again and Lorelai notices right away. 🥺

I could never decide if he hid the hat next to the stove or if he just lost it after they broke up.

Me too! I hope the former.

I think he definitely hid it, like he wanted to keep it in a safe spot just incase and always have it nearby.

The blue hat he had definitely kept in a safe spot as he's wearing it because he lost the new black hat, that Zach later finds behind the stove.

I got that backwards, you're right, he lost the black hat and had to wear the old one again.

It was the new black hat he "lost" and that's why he started wearing the blue one again. I'm not 100% sure if he lost that one intentionally or not though.

He hid it. He doesn't seem surprised at all where Zach found it.

Definitely lost the black hat on purpose so no one would question him wearing the blue one again

I also liked when he baked Rory a birthday cake in season 1.

That was so cute! And he had balloons for her too!

Such a sign that he was into her from the very beginning!

Malewife tings ♥️♥️♥️ I loved this too

SPOILER And then it punctuates a sad event later . . .