The Gilmore Girls revival is full of revelations (not least of which are those famous four final words). But one reveal is a bit more subtle and not entirely unexpected. During the show’s original seven-season run, Michel, the resident concierge of first the Independence Inn and then the Dragonfly, is haughty, snotty, and portrayed entirely without a romantic backstory or subplot. In the first installment of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, his ambiguous sexuality (which many fans saw as an open-and-shut closet case) is addressed when we find out Michel is now married, and to a man. Yanic Truesdale, who plays the thickly accented Frenchman, wasn’t privy to how that came about, but he wasn’t surprised either. “I didn’t have a conversation with [creator] Amy [Sherman-Palladino] about it, I discovered it when I read the script,” he told Vulture at the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life premiere in Los Angeles. “Amy and I have discussed this in the past, but years ago: ‘What do you think? Does he have a personal life? Do you think he’s dating someone? Who is he dating? Do you think he’s dating a woman, a guy?’ Because, you know, there’s been a lot of speculation with it. So when I read it on the page I was like, ‘OK!’”

Truesdale continued: “Because that character was never defined by his personal life, it didn’t really matter to me either way, whatever direction his personal life would be, it didn’t affect the essence of who he is and how people perceive him.” Still, that didn’t stop him from having a positive reaction to the news. “I felt great! Either way I was open,” he said, noting that this new insight into Michel is a welcome evolution. “The more you can share about who your character is, the more you feel like you’re connecting with the audience. Because they get to know you more, right? And so it was a challenge to have the little information about who he was, and still connect with the audience. It is gratifying to reveal more.”