Luke Ward

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Luke Ward was the ex-boyfriend of Marissa Cooper. He was the oldest of the three sons of Carson and Meredith Ward, and the older brother of Brad and Eric Ward. He later started a relationship with Marissa's mother, Julie Cooper.

Luke was a rich and popular Harbor student who did not have much of a tolerance for outsiders, as shown by his fight with Ryan Atwood (who came from Chino) He was the main antagonist for the first quarter of season 1.

Life Before Season 1

When Luke, Summer Roberts, and Seth Cohen were all 13-years-old, he had his birthday party, a paintball party, at the same time that Seth had his Bar Mitzvah. Summer's father, Neil Roberts, was going to make Summer go to Seth's party, but Summer's Mother left abruptly, so they did not attend so that they could deal with the sudden divorce. This, coupled with most students choosing to attend Luke's party, caused Seth to have self-confidence issues for several years.(1)

Luke had dated Marissa for a long period of time before Ryan came to Newport Beach, beginning their relationship in the fifth grade on a trip to the Museum of Tolerance.(2) Luke seemed to love Marissa, even crying when they broke up.(3) Despite this, he had cheated on her for a long period of time.(4)

Season 1

Luke was originally dating Marissa Cooper. However, the couple split when she fell in love with Ryan Atwood. Luke later reformed his ways and became good friends with Ryan, after he was shot at a party by Donnie. The once popular Luke also fell out of favor with his clique as word spread about his father's homosexuality. Luke eventually became sexually involved with Marissa's mother, Julie Cooper. The affair was later discovered by Marissa. Luke became depressed and decided to leave Newport Beach for Portland to live with his father, after Carson and Meredith's divorce. He joked in his last scene of the season: "Welcome to Portland, bitch," a reference to Ward's most memorable lines in the show, on the pilot episode: "Welcome to the O.C., bitch."

Season 2

Luke seemed happy and well-adjusted in the season's debut episode, having found new friends and quite possibly a girlfriend in Portland.

Appearances

Season 1

• Pilot
• The Model Home
• The Gamble
• The Debut
• The Outsider
• The Girlfriend
• The Escape
• The Rescue
• The Heights
• The Perfect Couple
• The Secret
• The Third Wheel
• The Links
• The Rivals
• The Truth
• The Heartbreak
• The Telenovela
• The Goodbye Girl
• The L.A.
• The Nana
• The Proposal

Season 2

• The Distance

Mentioned

Season 4

• The Chrismukkah Bar Mitz-vahkkah
• The Night Moves