Ben Gross

## Benjamin Gross

**Benjamin "Ben" Gross** is one of the main characters on *Never Have I Ever.* He is a member of the Gross Family and Devi's long-time academic nemesis. He is portrayed by Jaren Lewison.

## Physical Appearance

**Ben Gross** is short as mentioned by Nalini who thinks that he is 5 feet and 2 inches tall. However, Ben is actually 5 feet and 7 inches tall. He has short brown hair and blue eyes.

Ben is usually well-dressed wearing button-down shirts, pants, and shoes.

## Personality

**Ben Gross** is a perfectionist who cares a lot about school and his grades. He's ambitious and seems to want to be a lawyer when he grows up, following in his father's footsteps. Most of the time he has a stubborn personality, but he can also be kind, caring, well-mannered and polite.

Even though in the beginning of Season 1 he acts in a condescending way towards Devi and his other peers, after he sees Paxton paying attention to Devi, he realizes he has a crush on Devi and is more friendly and kind towards her by taking her in after Devi's fight with her mother and also encouraging Devi's friends Fabiola and Eleanor to mend their friendship with Devi.

His home life is quite lonely, as his parents are regularly absent and constantly taking various trips, vacations, and retreats where they leave their son behind with their housekeeper, pressuring him to repress his emotions all the time, and mostly having the company of no one. He appears to have abandonment issues as seen how he had a breakdown in Nalini's office after she mentioned how her family is always together. His abandonment issues gain a further focus during Season 2, as shown by how when Devi was cheating on him with Paxton, and in the end going out and choosing Paxton over him.

When Devi chooses to be in a relationship with Paxton over him, he appears heartbroken, truly upset, and not over her despite the fact he was dating Aneesa at the time. This is shown when he wanted Aneesa to be like another version of Devi during the debate about *The Great Gatsby in* ... been Daisy Buchanan*.*

## History

### Biography

**Ben Gross** was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. His father Howard Gross is an influential entertainment lawyer and, while it is unclear whether his mother Vivian Gross has a career or is a stay-at-home mom, Season 1 of the show indicated that her primary focus was on attending retreats that deal with topics such as self-actualization. Neither parent spends much time with him and his main connection at home appears to be his housekeeper, Patty.

From an early age, he has had a fierce academic rivalry with Devi. Ben and Devi even created a pact in 6th Grade that divided all the academic clubs between them, so that they would not steal the spotlight from the other.

## Throughout the Series

### Season 1

#### First Days of Sophomore Year

Ben looks disgustingly at Devi and Jonah, when she talks to Jonah about smelling great. After class he and Devi get called by Mr. Shapiro, who asks them to set aside their rivalry for the good of the class. Walking out the classroom, Ben asks her to give up and calls her the UN which means "Unfuckable Nerd".

In class he gets in a discussion with Devi about blood on her knee and Mr. Shapiro sends them to the principal's office. As punishment, Principal Grubbs makes them do unpaid labor, which includes moving things into the IT classroom. They walk in and see Oliver and Eleanor kissing and Ben uses that to make a dig at Devi. Devi elbows him and leaves the room to have a mental breakdown, while Ben asks Eleanor and Oliver if they saw that and reminds them that his father is a lawyer.

Ben tells Devi that she shouldn't wear much makeup and that it collects on her mustache, she retorts that she at least can grow a mustache and he says to her that his doctor said that his will come any day. He then asks her who she's trying to impress and tells him that she is seeing someone, he laughs and says to her that her therapist is the only person she is seeing, because she couldn't walk for three months, to mock him she tells him that she won't be able to walk, because she's about to get railed.

The next day on school, after Paxton and Devi hookup didn't work out, she grumbled wishing the Nazis would kill Ben in front of the whole class, including Paxton (which is offensive since he is Jewish), after he answers a question that was asked to her, and is send with him to the principal, who tells them to work it out themselves.

In the halls she apologizes to him, and he accepts, because he could see something bigger was bothering her. He tells her that everyone thinks that he and Shira are a perfect power couple, even their ups and downs, they make it work, because he pushes her intellectually and her hotness elevates him socially. She thanks him.

#### The History Project

He is put in a group with Eleanor, Fabiola and Eve by Mr. Shapiro. He preferred to work alone, because he didn't want anyone diluting the quality of his project. He chooses a subject for the project, named Jewber, that the others disagreed with. He thinks it is a good idea from the smartest person in the room.

He tells them that they all hating on his topic, because they are anti-Semitic. Eve immediately tells him she is a Jew. Which only leaves Fabiola and Eleanor and says to them that they are useless without their Commander in Dork, Devi. They tell him right away that she isn't a dork and that she's sleeping with Paxton. Before hearing that he leaves, he tells them that he's going to do the project on his own and that they just have to like what he makes.

Arriving at Trent's with Shira, Devi walks to him and jokes at him and tells him that she is with Paxton at the party and he points her to Paxton asking "that Paxton" who is flirting with Zoe Maytag.

#### Model UN

Before attending the Model UN, Ben was talking with Mr. Shapiro about Eric who was supposed to be Equatorial Guinea, but is sick, because he wants to look smarter by comparison. Devi who is sitting in the classroom hears everything and decides to attend Model UN. On the bus Ben sees Devi. He gets mad and tells her that she violates their pact. Devi tells him to relax and tries to exchange Chinese club with him, which he doesn't want.

In the morning he tells her that she isn't good at the UN, because she's an UN, to keep quit and to support all his resolutions. During the meeting he propose to build seawalls to protect coastal areas from rising sea levels, which Devi contradicts. She is allowed by the chairman to yield back to Ben, but yield to the chair. On the bus arrived at the hotel they are staying, Devi and Ben think they are alone on that bus and he says to her that she thought that she was hot shit, because she is having sex with Paxton, but a girl is still on the bus and heard everything and she spreads it.

He and Devi then get a card to meet Russia in the ice room, getting to the room he tells them that he wants to steal wine at the realtors' convention at the hotel. With Devi and Ben arriving at the realtors' convention, he and Devi ask the bartender for a martini, but he asks them for some ID, which they don't have. Ben tries to bribe the bartender with one dollar, this all to distract the bartender while Russia is stealing bottles of martini. While they walk away, the doorman catches Russia and he tells him that Ben and Devi made him steal the bottles and runs behind Devi and Ben.

Ben and Devi run from the doorman, land in a room full of alcoholic drinks and party with some of the students. At the party, he and Devi get along and asks her for an alliance between them and at the meeting she doesn't support his resolution during the assembly and nuke Ben (The United States of America) with the help of Russia, because she blames him for word getting out about her and Paxton having sex.

#### The Clippers Game

Ben, Shira and his father have a Clippers game planned, but the day of the game at school Shira tells him that she forgot and made other plans. Walking through the halls, he sees Trent and Marcus and asks them if they want to go with him and his father, but they don't accept the ticket, because they don't want to go with him.

In class, he tells Devi that his father is taking him to the game and that he has an extra ticket but she tells him to stop talking to her, because she's mad at him. He asks her what he did and she tells him that he outed her and Paxton having sex. In the halls, he sees Paxton, who asks why he's looking at him, Ben takes the ticket out of his pocket and asks him if he likes the Clippers, Paxton with a frowning face asks him what and he says nothing as if nothing was wrong.

At home sitting at the door waiting for his father, he gets a text from him saying that he's not going to make it to the game. He is surprisingly sad after the text. Because his father cancelled, he gives the tickets to Patty to take her sons to the game. TheRealPickleRick69 asks him on Reddit to join him at North End Pizza. When he enters North End Pizza he sees a grown up man, who he thought was going to be younger.

Sitting, at the table he tells Rick that the setup feels sort of sketchy to him and was going to leave, after Rick tells him that he has no one to talk to about his cartoons. Ben is strangely moved by Rick telling him his story and sits back down. Taking a pizza to eat, he tells Ben that the pizza is hot and to blow slower and slower on it. Realizing that something is wrong, Ben leaves.

Back at school, Ben is walking in the halls and gets slapped in the face by Trent, who thought there was a roach on Ben's face, and tells him that he should get his zit looked at. At the dermatologist, Nalini, he starts crying when she injects him with cortisone while she told him that her family is going to have dinner together. Seeing him crying she thinks it was the injection and asks him if he's okay and he tells her that he hadn't eaten dinner with anyone in a longtime.

During dinner time, she brings Ben, and Devi isn't please with it. Nalini and Devi discuss about Nalini bringing Ben home, he hears everything they say through the vent in the kitchen. Ben had the chance to tell Nalini what had happened at Model UN with Devi, but instead tells her that Devi brought a lot of passion to her role as Equatorial Guinea.

After dinner, he and Devi are doing the dishes together, he tells her that his father always ignores him even what he does and Shira only likes him for his money and apologizes for messing things up for her and Paxton and she in turn tells him that she never had sex with Paxton. The next day at school in the cafeteria, he gets a notification saying that Devi paid him five dollars to never accept food from a pedophile, Rick, again.

#### Birthday Party

On his birthday, his parents have to leave for business and tells him to throw a party by himself. At school, Devi hears from Mr. Shapiro that it's his birthday. He tells Devi that he doesn't make a big deal about his birthday then she asks him if he's having a party. After he hears Paxton compliment Devi, he decides to have a party.

Devi arrives at the party. Ben offers to give her a tour of his house, in the screening room he tries to kiss Devi twice. The first time Devi stops him before he tries to kiss her and tells him that it was okay, he thinks she meant by okay that he can kiss her and tries a second time, which also fails. She goes out the room and he runs after her telling her that he's kind of drunk.

#### Taking Devi In

The next day at school talking to Devi, he pretends he didn't know what had happened at his birthday party, telling her that if he did something, it was due to the alcohol. She asks him if she can move in with him after what happened between her and Nalini. Recently moved with Ben, at breakfast Ben tells her that she should apologize to her mother and that she could ask his dad to help her emancipate herself from her mother.

After that, Devi asks his father he tells her that he think that she really should talk to her mother and clean their conflict up. Ben invites Eleanor and Fabiola to Toluca Center to help him get Devi to go with her mother to scatter her father's ashes. At first they wouldn't help him, because they are on a friend-break with Devi. But decide to help him after he told them that they are either friends or not.

After Eleanor and Fabiola convince Devi to go scatter her father' ashes, he gives a ride to the house to go with her mother and Kamala to scatter the ashes, but her mother was already gone. He then gives her a ride to the beach and waits for her, to make sure she was okay and Devi hearing him say that, reaches to him and kisses him.

### Season 2

#### Aftermath

    Ben and Devi are discovered kissing by Nalini, as she knocked on his car window, much to his shock. Ben tries to apologize to Nalini and offers his condolences to Mohan. The next day at school, Ben meets Devi at Mr. Shapiro's class feeling great about his time with Devi. Feeling as though Shira and his relationship would never work well and considering the fact that he cheated on her with Devi, Ben breaks up with Shira.

    Later on, when Devi goes to Ben's house to thank him for all of the help that he gave her, Ben tells Devi that he broke off with Shira to be with Devi, telling her he is all in. Ben feels alright with being in a long-distance relationship with her whilst she is in India. Wanting to convey his feelings he starts kissing her passionately. The next day at the trash pickup day as they were picking up trash, Devi tells Ben that she wants to be in a relationship with him, much to his happiness.

#### Dating Devi

Soon after this, Devi and Ben finally started dating each other, spending a lot of time with each other watching documentaries and movies together.

However he soon discovers that Devi two timed him with Paxton and is heartbroken when Devi chooses Paxton over him.

Later, he starts dating Aneesa.

### Relationship with Aneesa

Ben and Aneesa are dating. Everything seems to go well except Ben might still have feelings for Devi. Aneesa picks up on this and breaks up with Ben.

### Hospital Visit

Ben overworks himself, intent on getting into Columbia University to impress his father. Ben starts to feel abdominal pain so Paxton rushes him to a hospital. Ben undergoes an emergency surgery for fecal impaction.

At the hospital, to say thanks, Ben helps Paxton on his college essay. After the hospital, Ben takes the advice given and decides not to overwork himself.

### Reconnecting with Devi

Ben finds out Devi is going to go to another school, which saddens him. Ben tries to persuade her not to go. She opens up to Ben about her inability to keep a boyfriend. In response, Ben gives her a pass for "one free boink" as a joke. At the end of the season, Devi ends up visiting Ben and handing him the boink pass. They kiss and close the door.

### Season 4

#### Post-Sex Awkwardness

Ben and Devi both feel awkward after their sexual encounter, neither knowing what to do or say. Ben feels unsure about Devi's feelings towards him. Dwight Howard gives him some advice and the gym to pursue someone who's interest in him is clear. As a result, Ben ignores Devi all summer and pursues a relationship with Margot.

#### Relationship with Margot

Ben finds himself caught between his feelings for Devi and his relationship with Margot. This leads to a public feud between Devi and Margot over Ben, creating tension and conflict. Ben tries to take Margot's side and push Devi away. Eventually, Ben overhears some of Margot's comments about him at an art show and he breaks up with her as a result.

#### Pursuing Devi Again

With the help of Trent's advice, he realizes his true emotions and arrives at Devi's side with flowers, expressing his love for her. They decide to give their relationship a shot as they head to university, taking advantage of the proximity of their campuses.

## Appearances

* *... had sex with Paxton Hall-Yoshida*
* *... gotten drunk with the popular kids*
* *... felt super Indian* (mentioned only)
* *... started a nuclear war*
* *... been the loneliest boy in the world*
* *... been a big, fat liar*
* *... pissed off everyone I know*
* *... said I'm sorry*
* *... thrown a rager*
* *... opened a textbook*
* *... had an Indian frenemy*
* *... ruined someone's life*
* *... betrayed a friend*
* *... begged for forgiveness*
* *... been Daisy Buchanan*
* *... stalked my own mother*
* *... been a perfect girl*
* *... had my own troll*
* *... had a valentine*
* *... made someone jealous*
* *... been ghosted*
* *... had a breakdown*
* *... cheated*
* *... hooked up with my boyfriend*
* *... had an Indian boyfriend*
* *... lived the dream*
* *... gotten sweet revenge*
* *... liked a bad boy*
* *... wrecked my future*
* *... been to New Jersey*
* *... had my dream stolen*
* *... had an identity crisis*
* *... set my mom up*
* *... gone to prom*
* *... said goodbye*

## Trivia

* Like his portrayer, Ben is Jewish.
	+ Ben had his *Bar Mitzvah* at the Dolby Theater.
	+ He has been friends with Malcolm since he attended Hebrew school. They even had matching Clippers yamakas.
	+ He wants to be buried in a Jewish cemetery.
* Ben comes from a wealthy family.
* Ben likes to watch *Billions* in the bath.
* His father is a lawyer.
* He dreams of attending his father's alumni, Columbia University, to major in math.
* He had a basketball tattoo on his left forearm, but it was later revealed to be temporary.
* He is a Clippers fan and believes the Clippers are better than the Lakers.
* Ben’s zodiac could be a Virgo because he acts like one a lot and is considered a perfectionist.
* He used a lint roller on his jacket. (... opened a textbook)
* Blake Griffin attended Ben's *Bar Mitzvah*.

## See Also

### Relationships

* Ben and Devi's Pact
* Ben and Devi

### Other Article Mentions

* Running Gags
* Recurring Character Traits