Rebecca Bunch

**Rebecca Nora Bunch** Former attorney who impulsively moved to West Covina

## Bio

* 2
* 3

Adult Rebecca

Portrayed by Rachel Bloom
Young Rebecca

Portrayed by Ava Acres
Rebecca as a child

**Rebecca Nora Bunch** is a former lawyer and Harvard graduate (Yale law), who abruptly traded a job at a prestigious New York law firm for a smaller practice in West Covina, California. She is originally from Scarsdale and is the daughter of Naomi and Silas Bunch, a Jewish mother and an Irish Catholic father. While in Naomi's womb Rebecca had a twin but metabolized its body parts for her own use making her an only child. When Rebecca was only twelve years old her father walked out on the family. Her mother pushed Rebecca to study hard to secure herself a better future. She got a brief respite from her studies when she was sixteen and attended a summer camp. It's there she became romantically involved with a boy named Josh Chan who dumped her once camp was over. A decade later she became a distinguished attorney at Sampson & Saunders but despite her professional success, she was miserable. A chance reunion with Josh Chan caused her to impulsively quit her job and followed him to his hometown of West Covina. After a suicided attempt she got over her obsession with Josh and started therapy to deal with her Borderline personality disorder. She also quit practicing law to open her own pretzel shop and eventually decided to pursue a career in musical theater as a singer/songwriter. Her first appearance was in the Pilot, "Josh Just Happens to Live Here!". She is portrayed by actress/comedian Rachel Bloom.

## Personality

For years Rebecca suffered from depression and anxiety the source of which she wasn’t aware of until well into her adulthood. She originally tried to cope with these issues through prescription drugs and was in denial about how deep these problems ran. Abandonment by her father and having to be raised by her overly critical mother can be seen as the source of a lot of Rebecca's emotional trauma. The point of her mother's harsh child rearing was to toughen her up; it worked somewhat but also exacerbated Rebecca's insecurities. These include worrying about her physical appearance, a recurring idea that she ruins everything, and her belief that’s she’s a "loser". Along with these negative traits Rebecca also has a tendency to be naive and very impulsive. When it comes to interpersonal relationships she has an idealized vision of love stemming from her time as a child obsessing over Hollywood's version of romance. Due to years focused more on her studies than making friends she is often socially awkward. She is far more composed in her professional life although she sometimes doesn't consider the consequences of her actions. In some instances she represses things completely and goes into complete denial about what she is doing. In rare instances she will also have entire dissociative episodes where she doesn't realize what she's said or done. When things go poorly for her she has a tendency to panic and get overly dramatic. She had brief moments of clarity where she recognized her bad behavioral patterns and tried on several occasions to overcome them. Unfortunately she would usually backslide back into a depressed state repeating the cycle of self loathing, rehabilitation, falling off the wagon and denial. However, after recovering from a suicide attempt she is now taking a more serious approach to deal with her mental illness. Rebecca was diagnosed as having Borderline Personality Disorder and now regularly attends both group and one on one therapy.

## Character history

### Season One

Rebecca gave up a high paying job in New York to move to West Covina, California to pursue her old boyfriend Josh Chan. As she settled into her new home and work place she found an ally and confidant in her co-worker Paula Proctor. She became acquainted with Josh's friends and his girlfriend Valencia Perez. This also included Josh's best friend Greg Serrano who was open about his romantic interest in her. For months with Paula's help she tried various schemes to get closer to Josh and managed a few intimate moments with him. During this time Josh admitted he was attracted to her but wanted to remain just friends. As she continued to clandestinely pursue him Rebecca was still in denial as to what she was doing. It was only after Josh forgave a lie she told him that Rebecca finally admitted to herself and Paula that she loves him. However, another untruth revealed wasn't as easy to overlook and Josh kept his distance unsure of Rebecca's intentions. Despite his trepidation she convinced him to work with her on a lawsuit and after getting swept up in the moment Josh kissed her. Afterwards he told her it was a mistake and was going to tell Valencia what happened. She eavesdropped on the conversation and heard Josh state he was not in love with her. Devastated, she decided to return to New York but a plane ride and a dream epiphany convinced her to go back to West Covina. She decided to let go of her obsession with Josh and started a relationship with Greg. Although Greg insisted he wanted things between them to be casual Rebecca started to fall for him. She told Greg how she felt but was hurt when he didn't reciprocate. She was unexpectedly approached by Josh who told her he and Valencia were finished. When he confessed his attraction to her Josh and Rebecca slept together. In the afterglow Rebecca finally admitted to Josh she moved to West Covina just for him.

Time passed and Rebecca started to wonder when Josh would follow up on his invite. She and Paula tried to get into a night club he was going to but were turned away. Rebecca bumped into Josh and his girlfriend Valencia at the grocery store. Josh lied to Valencia and said they knew each other when they were children at summer camp. Rebecca soon became obsessed with being Valencia's friend. She went to Valencia's yoga class and from there they start to bond *(♫ Good at Yoga ♫)*. Accompanied by Greg and Josh they went to the Spider's night club and at first had a good time *(♫ Feeling Kinda Naughty ♫)*. Things went sour when a drunk Rebecca got caught up in a moment and kissed Valencia. Valencia was furious and got even angrier when Rebecca inadvertently revealed she and Josh had a previous romantic history. Valencia forbade Josh to spend any time alone with Rebecca ("Josh's Girlfriend is Really Cool!") .
Paula came up with a solution to that problem by suggesting that Rebecca throw a party and invite Josh. Rebecca was reluctant due to a childhood trauma involving her father abandoning her the same day she hosted a party. Paula managed to persuade her to face her fear *(♫ Face Your Fears ♫)*. While handing out flyers for the event she met her neighbor Heather Davis, a psychology student intrigued by Rebecca's obvious neurosis. Despite her efforts the party only had a few people by the time Josh showed up. However, he was very understanding and even helped make the festivities more enjoyable *(♫ A Boy Band Made Up of Four Joshes ♫)*. Thanks to his and Paula's assistance the party was a success and Rebecca had a great time with Josh ("I Hope Josh Comes to My Party!").
Rebecca became depressed after receiving a phone call from her mother in which her recent decisions were heavily criticized. At Heather's suggestion she went online to find a one night stand to snap her out out of her funk. She couldn't go through with it and instead put her focus on making healthier choices. When Greg learned about her new goal he asked her out on date *(♫ Settle For Me ♫)*. Although she only agreed to go after she was encouraged by Josh she actually found herself having a good time. However, anxiety set in about starting something serious with someone other than Josh *(♫ Settle For Me (reprise) ♫)*. She abandoned their date to sleep with a random stranger which infuriated and appalled Greg. Rebecca managed to get regain some self respect back by helping Josh get his dream job ("I'm Going on a Date with Josh's Friend!")
Several days later, Rebecca met up with Josh at Cup of boba only to be interrupted by Greg who accused them both of being bad people. Rebecca became obsessed with proving him wrong and got Darryl temporary custody of his daughter Madison *(♫ I Love My Daughter ♫)*. When she went to Greg to boast about it he was unimpressed *(♫ I'm a Good Person ♫)*. She decided to get full custody for Darryl by framing his ex-wife Stacy for a crime. Stacy caught her in the act and Rebecca blamed her deranged actions on her own parents bitter divorce. They agreed to settle the custody dispute amicably and went to Home Base to tell Darryl and Madison. Greg observed this and talked to Rebecca afterwards who sincerely apologized for her actions on their date. Greg replied that he was still unsure about her but conceded she did a good thing for Darryl ("Josh and I Are Good People!").

Thanks to Paula's meddling Rebecca was invited to Josh's Thanksgiving dinner with his family. Paula watched through a hidden camera as Rebecca ingratiated herself to Josh's family while Valencia was treated as a pariah *(♫ I Give Good Parent ♫)*. Rebecca got stomach pains due to the food and was about to use the bathroom when she heard Josh and Valencia yelling. They were in the next room arguing when they suddenly started having sex. Rebecca held in her diarrhea until they were done and tried sneaking out of the house. She was stopped when Josh and Valencia announced to his family that they were moving in together. Rebecca was devastated but had a more immediate concern and rushed home to use the bathroom. Afterwards Greg showed up to have a drink with her which she had promised him earlier. Together they did Rebecca and her mom's Thanksgiving tradition of watching the annual dog show ("My First Thanksgiving with Josh!")
Rebecca sank into a depression over Josh and Valencia moving in together which almost cost the law firm a potential wealthy client named Calvin Young. She continued to wallow in misery and even hallucinated that Dr.Phil was with her. Rebecca tried and failed to get some prescription medicine from a psychiatrist named Dr. Noelle Akopian. She took an adderal pill she found and later smoked marijuana with Heather. The two went back to Akopian's office to score more drugs only to be caught by the doctor when they tried to steal her prescription pad. Akopian threatened to press charges unless Rebecca agreed to therapy. After leaving, Rebecca learned Paula was about to have an affair with Calvin and stopped her just in time. She gave her friend an impassioned speech about making bad choices instead of dealing with the real problems. This moved Calvin who declared he wanted to be represented by someone with heart and hired the firm ("I'm So Happy that Josh Is So Happy!").
Around the winter holidays, Rebecca prepared for her mother's visit to her new home. Once Naomi arrived she immediately criticized her daughter *(♫ Where's the Bathroom? ♫)*. Since her mother was underwhelmed, Rebecca lied about her life in California to make it seem more impressive. Rebecca accidentally learned her mother had brought the family heirloom the Garfinkel ring and believed she was finally going to receive it. She tried to make the rest of the trip go smoothly to get the ring. The visit ended badly when Naomi inadvertently learned Josh Chan was the real reason behind her daughter's move. In response Rebecca angrily criticized her mother's parenting but learned Naomi treated her this way to toughen her up. They had a cathartic moment when Naomi stated she loved Rebecca too much and worried about her constantly ("My Mom, Greg's Mom and Josh's Sweet Dance Moves!").
Rebecca is unexpectedly invited by Valencia to a beach trip that she, Josh and his crew are going on. Rebecca ignores Paula's warning it's a trap and rents a party bus to transport Josh and his friends. Darryl and Heather end up onboard as well and Rebecca finds herself the odd person out. Tensions arose after Rebecca performed a pole dance and Josh learned she and Greg made out before. This caused Valencia to demand to know why she came to West Covina. Rebecca was forced to change her story when Darryl revealed she begged him for employment. Rebecca said she was burned out by New York and moved after falling in love with Josh's description of his hometown. When the bus arrived at its destination everyone disembarked expect for Josh. He told Rebecca he understood her reasons for leaving New York and the two shared a moment *(♫ West Covina (reprise II) ♫)*. Afterwards Rebecca finally admitted to Paula that she loves Josh ("I'm Going to the Beach with Josh and His Friends!").
Rebecca learned Josh was volunteering for a camp made up of troubled teens and had the idea of recreating the setting of their teenage romance. She bribed her way to be a volunteer and for the trip brought along an old love letter. She hoped it would remind Josh of his feelings for her. After hearing her read it Josh found it to be hilarious teenage fluff *(♫ Dear Joshua Felix Chan ♫)* which hurt Rebecca. This caused her to have an emotional breakdown in front of teenage girls she was to give a lecture to. They helped her to empower herself *(♫ Put Yourself First ♫)* just as Josh appeared and asked to speak to Rebecca alone. He had found her letter in the trash and finished reading it. He was moved when he read the part about believing in him and asked to keep the letter. He then kissed her on the cheek which made Rebecca hopeful about what the gesture meant ("I'm Back at Camp with Josh!").

Rebecca was excited by the progress she made with Josh and was driven to distraction by it. This led to her accidentally sending an email to Josh in which professed her love for him. She broke into his home and erased the email on his phone *(♫ Textmergency ♫)* but got caught afterwards by Josh. Rebecca told him she needed his help as her own place had been broken into. To sell the lie she contacted Paula who had her husband Scott throw a rock threw her patio door. At first Josh believed Rebecca's lie until he found the rock and saw it was from the coffee table *(♫ Where is the Rock? ♫)*. Unnerved by her deception Josh left as Rebecca wallowed in self pity *(♫ You Stupid Bitch ♫)*. When Greg walked by her place he noticed the shattered patio door and tried to comfort Rebecca. However, he left too once he figured out it was another scheme to woo Josh. The next day Paula cheered up a depressed Rebecca by telling her that tighter they'll fix things ("That Text Was Not Meant for Josh!").

Paula orchestrated an elaborate plan for Rebecca to get back into Josh's good graces which included making up a fake boyfriend, minor vandalism and a fake coupon for free drinks. When it backfired they decided to invent a lawsuit that Rebecca and Josh could work on together. Rebecca based the potential lawsuit on a cold shower epidemic going on in Josh's apartment. Much to Valencia's displeasure, Josh got on board after Rebecca got the other tenants to sign on. The landlord quickly tried to settle the lawsuit which made Rebecca suspicious. A talk with a conspiracy theorist named Bert made Rebecca realize the larger scope of the lawsuit. It involved a company called Greater City Water who was diverting the San Gabriel Valley's water supply to Los Angeles. Rebecca went to Josh's apartment to tell him the news only to find her 'boyfriend' Trent Maddock there with him as well as Valencia and Greg ("Josh and I Work on a Case!").
Trent covered for Rebecca and convinced everyone they were a couple. Rebecca and Josh resumed working on the case together gathering more plaintiffs for the class action lawsuit. Things got serious when Greater City Water hired Rebecca's rival from New York Audra Levine to represent them ("JAP Battle").The day of the trial, Rebecca went to the Los Angeles County courthouse backed by Josh and a group of plaintiffs from San Gabriel Valley. However, the testimony of her star witness Bert was destroyed by Audra during cross examination. Trent provided her with illegally obtained evidence which could win the case but Rebecca didn't use it. Despite an impassioned closing argument the judge ruled in GCW's favor. Proud of how Rebecca stood up for the San Gabriel valley, Josh was overcome with emotion and kissed her ("Josh and I Go to Los Angeles!").
Not long into the therapy session, Rebecca fell asleep due to some sleeping pills she took. She had a vivid dream where Akopian was a spiritual guide trying to impart some wisdom ("Dream Ghost"). Rebecca learned that as a child her mother always loved her far more than her father, she had been ignoring her love of music because of a bad college fling and also that she had people in West Covina that truly cared about her. When Rebecca awoke she got on the next plane to West Covina and returned to her apartment. There she found Paula, Greg, Darryl and Josh who were happy to see her. However, Paula had shown Josh some photos Rebecca had of him which made him ask her if she was in love with him ("Josh Has No Idea Where I Am!").
Rebecca assured Josh she's over her feelings for him and resolved to make things up to Valencia. When Jayma Chan asked Rebecca to be a bridesmaid at her wedding she got Valencia into the bridal party. Valencia accepted the olive branch and unexpectedly bonded with Rebecca *(♫ Heavy Boobs ♫)*. Paula ruined the détente when she hacked into Valencia's social media accounts. She posted a photo of Valencia in Jayma's wedding dress that Rebecca had taken which infuriated the Chans. Rebecca took the blame resulting in Valencia being accepted by the Chan family. She confronted Paula and assured her their friendship would survive even if they stop chasing after Josh. Later, a brief chat with Greg and a confrontation with Josh makes Rebecca reconsider things. She went to Home Base where she kissed Greg and assured him he wasn't second choice this time ("Josh's Sister is Getting Married!").
For several days Rebecca and Greg slept together but he insisted they keep the relationship strictly casual due to their history. Rebecca agreed at first but as the arrangement continued she contracted a UTI which she put off treating *(♫ I Gave You a UTI ♫)*. Rebecca also realized she was starting to fall for Greg *(♫ Oh My God I Think I Like You ♫)*. Meanwhile, Rebecca had to repeatedly deny she was sleeping with someone when Paula correctly guessed what was going on. She tried to distract Paula and also prove their friendship was more than them chasing after Josh Chan by helping her win a pie baking contest. While Rebecca's efforts to save her friendship paid off her neglecting her UTI caused her to collapse and wind up in Glenn Willow Medical Center. When Rebecca woke up from being treated she found herself surrounded by her fiends and learned her trysts with Greg had been revealed ("Why Is Josh in a Bad Mood?").

### Season Two

A month after they slept together on the night of Josh's sister Jayma Epstein's wedding, Rebecca and Josh continued their relationship. However, Rebecca was more emotionally invested than Josh who briefly lived with her. Her ex-beau Greg Serrano disappeared after the wedding; Rebecca later learned he had gone incommunicado to deal with his alcoholism. When he returned she felt torn between both men but the love triangle resolved itself when Josh moved out and Greg left town to go to Emory University. She was heartbroken but eventually Rebecca found comfort in a new circle of friends. This included her neighbor turned roommate Heather Davis and former rival Valencia Perez. Unfortunately these new relationships caused a rift to form between her and Paula. They made up when Rebecca put Paula first instead of pursuing Josh again who had apologized for his earlier treatment of her. She began dating him again only to find herself attracted to her new boss Nathaniel Plimpton III and beginning to question her relationship with Josh. Sensing her uncertainty, Josh proposed to her and Rebecca sped up the engagement so the ceremony was only a few weeks later. Overwhelmed by the logistics of the event Valencia took over as her wedding planner. Nathaniel flew in her father Silas to attend the nuptials as wedding gift. This awoken Rebecca’s daddy issues which only got worse when Silas asked to borrow some money. The day of the wedding Josh left her at the altar and Rebecca fled the ceremony in the process recalling a scandal from years ago involving Robert Donnelly. Once Paula calmed her down Rebecca told her father she never wanted to see him again and then discussed with friends getting revenge on Josh for breaking her heart again.

Rebecca lied to Josh about being a former ping pong champion after learning he had plans to go with his friends to a new table tennis themed bar. Meanwhile, Paula was enrolling in law school and Rebecca agreed to write her a reference letter. As Rebecca trained with a ping pong child prodigy Xiao Huang she imagined impressing Josh *(♫ Ping Pong Girl ♫)*. Her lack of skills was apparent when she and Xiao played a match in front of Josh and his crew. When Josh revealed he told Greg about them Rebecca tracked her ex-boyfriend to a duck pond. Greg said he got a DUI was because he was driving over to tell Rebecca he loved her. He was upset at first about her and Josh but realized he blew his chance with her. The next day Rebecca gave Paula the reference letter but found out she missed the deadline. That night she thought about what Greg said and got into an argument with Josh ("Where Is Josh's Friend?").

### Season Three

After being left at the altar by Josh, Rebecca plotted her revenge. During her scheming she inadvertently caused her scandal with Robert years ago to become known to everyone. She lashed out at her friends and went home to her mother in Scarsdale only to quickly leave after feeling betrayed by Naomi. On her flight back to West Covina she attempted suicide by overdosing on prescription drugs. She recovered in West Covina where the staff psychiatrist Dr. Shin diagnosed her with Borderline Personality Disorder. Rebecca took steps to deal with her condition and also began a romantic relationship with Nathaniel. Worried she was becoming too obsessed with him like she was with Josh she broke things off. When she tried to return to work Nathaniel fired her and in revenge she found a way to gain majority control of the law firm. During this time she agreed to provide Darryl an egg he could use to make a baby. She also started secretly sleeping with Nathaniel but again broke things off as he was seeing someone else. Trent returned and after trying to blackmail her to become his girlfriend she made it clear she would never love him. Trent sought revenge for his rejection and threatened to kill Nathaniel. Rebecca thwarted his efforts by pushing him off a roof, which Trent survived, and got arrested for attempted homicide. At her arraignment Rebecca decided to enter a guilty plea as a way of taking responsibility for all the bad things she did since coming to West Covina.

### Season Four

Rebecca refused plead anything but guilty even though the court was aware of her innocence. The judge sent Rebecca to prison until she changed her mind and while incarcerated she had an epiphany on how privileged she was. Paula was able to get Rebecca released after Trent admitted his guilt but she broke up with Nathaniel again when it was clear they had different priorities. Rebecca decided to make up for her past indiscretions by giving back to the community and offered free legal advice to the inmates she met. She had a brief setback when a scathing exposé in a local newspaper revealed her past but she was eventually able to move on. Rebecca found herself reluctant to go back to being a lawyer after having officially been reinstated. Inspired by Jim's attempt to be an entrepreneur, Rebecca took over his failed pretzel shop and quit being an attorney. While establishing her new business she got an unexpected visit from her half-brother Tucker. Later, Rebecca tries to be supportive when Heather and Valencia announce they are moving away. Needing a brief respite from her job and therapy, Rebecca goes on a road trip accompanied by Darryl to eat at a local BBQ establishment. She then goes back home to New York to attend a banquet honoring her mother and finally tells Naomi to stop meddling with her life.

"I Am Ashamed": Rebecca's past is exposed in a local article and she is unable to cope with the shame.
"I'm On My Own Path": Rebecca quits being a lawyer and buys a pretzel shop.
"I'm Making Up For Lost Time": Rebecca reconnects with her half-brother Tucker.
"I'm So Happy For You": Rebecca tries to accept that both Heather and Valencia are moving away.
"I See You": Rebecca takes a break from her responsibilities by joining Darryl on a road trip to a popular BBQ restaurant.
"I Will Help You": Rebecca returns to Scarsdale to attend a banquet honoring her mother.
"I'm Not The Person I Used To Be": Rebecca is shocked by the return of Greg and struggles to be honest with him about her brief tryst with his father.
"I Need Some Balance": Rebecca tries multple times to have a succesful date with Jason.
"I Can Work With You": Rebecca babysits Heabecca for Darryl and has a talk with Greg.
"I'm Almost Over You": Rebecca and Greg go public with their relationship.
"I Need A Break": Rebecca and Greg go to Raging Waters.
"I Have To Get Out": Rebecca and The Gurl Group help Paula to leave the hospital do she can take her bar exam.
"I'm Finding My Bliss": Rebecca auditions for a local musical theatre review.
"I Need to Find My Frenemy": Rebecca and the Gurl Group go to Las Vegas to find Audra Levine.
"I Have a Date Tonight": Rebecca has three dates with her exes to figure out which one she wants to be with.
"I'm In Love": Rebecca discovers her one true love.

## Relationships

### Family

 ***Notable appearances**:*

 ***Notable appearances**:*

 ***Notable appearances**:*

### Friends

 ***Notable appearances**:*

### Significant others

 ***Notable appearances**:*

Season One

"Josh Just Happens to Live Here!", "I Hope Josh Comes to My Party!", "My First Thanksgiving With Josh!", "I'm Going to the Beach with Josh and His Friends!", "Josh and I Work on a Case!", "Josh and I Go to Los Angeles!", "Paula Needs to Get Over Josh!"

Season Two

 ***Notable appearances**:*

## Notes

* In "Josh Is the Man Of My Dreams, Right?" Rebecca tells Nathaniel that she's an Aries/Taurus cusper, making her birthday somewhere between April 16-22. She also identifies herself as a Ravenclaw.
* According to the official timeline put out by Rachel Bloom , the flashback to camp in the pilot episode was retconned to take place in 2006. Due to the series being filmed a year after the pilot was made the timeline was adjusted. This makes Rebecca's birthdate 1990 and her 26 years old at the start of the series. By the end of the show all four seasons takes place within the span of about two and a half years. This would make Rebecca twenty nine or thirty years in the series finale.
* In the episode "Josh Just Happens to Live Here!" Rebecca includes Mandarin as a skill on her resume.
* The song "I'm So Good At Yoga" hints that Rebecca is afraid of "clowns and trains". In the song "Group Hang", it is revealed that she is afraid of horses as well.
* The episodes "Josh Has No Idea Where I Am!" and "Paula Needs to Get Over Josh!" demonstrates that Rebecca has a terrible singing voice in real life.
* In the episode "I'm Back at Camp with Josh!", Rebecca tells Paula she has nicknamed her bosoms "Bonnie & Clyde" and her ovaries as "Hustle & Flow".
* On Twitter, Rachel Bloom revealed the origin of Rebecca's middle name:

*The thematic end of the show was embedded in Rebecca's name. Her middle name, "Nora," is a direct reference to Nora in "A Doll's House." Nora has been emotionally stunted by her husband/societal expectations of women and learns to grow up and take charge of her destiny*

## Reflist

1. ↑ Crazy Ex-GirlFans podcast: Rachel Bloom official timeline for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

 **Special appearances** | Dr.Phil 🎈 Nipsey Hussle 🎈 Dream Ghost #1 🎈 Dream Ghost #2 🎈 J. Castleman 🎈 Tita Myrna 🎈 Anna 🎈 B.J. Novak 🎈 Trina 🎈 Rabbi Shari 🎈 Jeff Channington 🎈 Jarl 🎈 Wendy Legrand 🎈 Xiao Huang 🎈 Fett Regoso