Trudy Monk

Trudy Monk is the overarching protagonist of the television series Monk. She was the wife of Adrian Monk and the mother of Molly Evans, who she had with another man when she graduated from college and remained unaware was still alive. It is Trudy's murder that drives her husband. She was also close friends with Leland Stottlemeyer.
At times, Monk will also hallucinate Trudy as a coping mechanism when he needs someone to talk to.
==Appearance==
Trudy has curly, blonde, shoulder-length hair, and blue eyes.
==Relationships==
===Adrian Monk===
Trudy first met Adrian, her future husband, at college long after her affair with her professor. Due to her former professor's status and power, Trudy could never tell Adrian of the loss of her child or the relationship when she was alive. According to Monk, Trudy had wrinkles in her eyes because he would often make her laugh. In the 1980s, Adrian and Trudy married, with a beautiful wedding ceremony.  Accoring to Adrian, Trudy once asked her husband if he considered having children with him, likely fueled by the loss of her child she suffered from. However, he always told her that they always had the time in the world to be parents, a decision he would soon regret in the future. Unfortunately, Trudy was killed in a car bombing and Monk heard news from a call Stottlemeyer got. Adrian never truly got over her death, with some of his friends trying (and failing) to bring him back. As a result of Trudy's death, he lost his shield/badge and suffered from depression and OCD. 
Despite this, Adrian had fond memories of his wife and vowed to solve her case, even if he has to take it to the grave. Additionally, whenever someone insulted her or her death, Adrian's mild-manner disappears and he gets angry, even in the verge of hurting someone.
In 2009, Monk discovered the final Christmas gift from Trudy, which led him to the painful realization that she had been murdered on the orders of Judge Ethan Rickover. Monk confronted Rickover, asserting his knowledge of the judge's involvement in Trudy's death, despite lacking concrete evidence. As Monk delved deeper, he understood the reason behind Rickover's reluctance to leave his long-time residence. This prompted Monk to confront Rickover once more in his yard upon his return home, where he compelled Rickover at gunpoint to unearth the remains of Wendy Stroud. The body was ultimately recovered in the presence of both Monk and law enforcement, leading to Rickover's confession regarding the murders of Wendy Stroud and Trudy Monk. Choosing not to take Rickover's life, Monk (who was weakened from the poisoning) discarded the weapon, which Rickover then seized, placing it against his own head and uttering, "You take care of her!" before taking his own life. 
As the sole individual aware of Trudy's surviving child, Rickover's cryptic message went unrecognized until Monk stumbled upon an article revealing that Wendy Stroud had discovered a baby girl in 1983. This revelation led Monk to understand that Rickover had been hinting that Molly was still alive sometime after he and Natalie were healed from the poisoning. He sees much of Molly in Trudy and allows him to move on from Trudy's death and getting over most of his phobias. 
===Leland Stottlemeyer===
Leland was close friends with Trudy, and he noticed that she was the one person who could truly make Monk feel true happiness. Stottlemeyer was in attendance of her and Adrian's wedding, which Leland regarded as beautiful wedding and how both of them were in tears, mainly coming from Adrian. 
However, Stottlemeyer was also the first to know that Trudy had been killed in a car bomb explosion, as he had been in the room with Adrian when he got the call. Even years after her death, Leland tried helping Monk recover from Trudy's death but it caused Adrian stress, enough for Stottlemeyer to be forced to kick Monk off of the police force and become distant for a while. In "The Captain's Wife," Leland tries getting Adrian to move on from Trudy's death as well as get a new watch when he saw Adrian was still wearing the one Trudy gave him. However, after nearly losing Karen, Stottlemeyer told Monk to "never let [her] go."
Since reconciling with Monk, Leland sometimes becomes stressed; when they were in New York, Stottlemeyer was more adamant on figuring out who killed Trudy for Monk's sake when Stottlemeyer angrily confronted the captain of the New York Police Department, "My friend's wife was blown up. And it [metaphorically] killed him too". Stottlemeyer also felt helpless in helping Monk when they figured that Trudy was apparently still alive.
===Molly Evans===
Trudy's biological daughter she had with her professor in college before she met Adrian. Trudy looked forward to be a mother and had a midwife help her give birth. However, the judge, Rickover, who told her that the child was a stillborn. In truth, Molly had been adopted by a loving couple and remained unaware of her true parentage. It also turns out that Molly became a reporter just like Trudy and has a great resemblence to her. Monk eventually found Molly and told her the truth of her parentage, as well as starting a friendship with his stepdaughter. 
== Gallery ==
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Monk - Adrian and Trudy kissing 8x16.png
Monk - Adrian and Trudy kissing.png
The Monks (Adrian and Trudy (1).jpg
The Monks (Adrian and Trudy (2).jpg
The Monks (Adrian and Trudy (3).jpg
The Monks (Adrian and Trudy (4).jpg
The Monks (Adrian and Trudy (5).jpg
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== Trivia ==
* She always wore lilac lotion, and used strawberry shampoo and her body lotion smelled of lilac.
Category:Monk characters
Category:Females
Category:Heroines
Category:Protagonists
Category:Deceased characters
Category:Parents
Category:Live-action characters
Category:Adults
Category:TV show characters