Bette Porter, The L Word

Bette Porter (Jennifer Beals)

Bette was one of the main characters, in a relationship with Tina in the beginning of the series, and they were the seemingly stable, long-term couple of the group. Pre-show, Bette also mentioned a boyfriend she had in college, who turned out was gay as well, and she dated Alice though they were only friends during the show.

At the start of the show, Tina and Bette were planning to have a baby, and they tried to convince a random artist from an art gallery to impregnate Tina during a threesome, but once he caught on he left. They then tried artificial insemination.

Tina had a miscarriage, and Bette an affair with Candace (the carpenter) they broke up and both started dating other people. Their relationship was then on and off until the end of the show. Tina also gave birth to their daughter, Angelica, in Season 2 and much of their storylines revolved around custody battles and arguments.

Bette also had an affair with Nadia, a student in her class at the university, and later teacher’s assistant, Jodi, an artist and fellow art teacher, and a one night stand with Twink, a woman she picked up at a lesbian bar.

By the end of the series, Tina and Bette were still together and when Tina got a job offer in New York, she and Bette decided to relocate there and start a new life. Bette was more than happy to do this, partially to escape from the claustrophobic bubble of Los Angeles lesbian intrigue and partially to escape Jenny, who had been blackmailing her. After Jenny’s body was discovered in Bette and Tina’s pool, the series ended with Tina and all their friends being interrogated by police, and the truth of Jenny’s death unexplained. The season was supposed to expand into to a spin-off but was later canceled.

Female love interests:

• Tina Kennard (Laurel Holloman, bisexual, regular)
• Nadia Karella (Jessica Capshaw, lesbian, guest 3 episodes)
• Alice Pieszecki (Leisha Hailey, bisexual, regular)
• Candace Jewell (Ion Overman, lesbian, recurring 5 episodes)
• Jodi Lerner (Marlee Matlin, lesbian, regular, 29 episodes)
• Twink (Gina Holden, lesbian, guest 1 episode)

Relationship story arc with a woman: Yes

Male love interests:

• Coleman Alt (Brendan Penny, guest 3 episodes, pre-show)
• Random artist (threesome)

Relationship story arc with a man: No

Male love interest after being identified as a lesbian? No

Filter Relationship Arc:

• Female (Regular)

Storyline during sweeps? No

[1] A relationship story arc is defined as explicit, developed on screen, and lasting more than 3 episodes. It is listed as questionable or subtext if romance is only implied, mentioned instead of shown on screen, part of a dream sequence, or otherwise not explicit for the viewer.
[2] Sweeps episodes air in February, May, July and November, the periods when advertising rates are set. A character is marked as "sweeps" when there is a very limited number of episodes that address their sexuality, all air during sweeps period, and the storyline is otherwise ignore/dropped.