she is not Theresa.
| Full Name | Gwendolyn Fredericka Hotchkiss |
| Born | Aug. 1, 1976, New York City |
| Parents | Jonathan Hotchkiss (deceased); Rebecca Hotchkiss |
| Played by | Liza Huber; Natalie Zea |
| Status | Engaged to Ethan. The Gazette notes this. |
| Relationship | Ethan Winthrop. Since age twelve. |
| Mother | Rebecca Hotchkiss. A significant detail. |
Hotchkiss Family · Ethan's Fiancée
Gwen Hotchkiss
Ethan's on again off again fiancée. Daughter of Rebecca. Met Ethan at age twelve at a boarding school mixer and has been holding on ever since. The Gazette is not going to pretend it does not have a position on this.
Active · UnfortunatelyPresent Situation
Gwen Hotchkiss moved to Harmony with Ethan following his graduation from Harvard Law and has been engaged to him since. She is aware that Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald is in love with Ethan. She is aware that Ethan has feelings for Theresa. She is proceeding with the engagement regardless of what anyone thinks or says. The Gazette understands this is a legal strategy as much as a romantic one.
This paper has been asked to show some editorial restraint regarding Gwen Hotchkiss. The Gazette will endeavour to do so. She is, by most objective measures, a person with legitimate grievances. The Gazette acknowledges this.
Background
Gwen was born in New York City and raised as the only child of Jonathan Hotchkiss and Rebecca Hotchkiss, in a town outside Harmony. Her father was vocally disappointed that his only child was not a son, and Gwen spent her life attempting to prove herself his equal. She met Ethan at age twelve at a boarding school mixer. They became fast friends, then boyfriend and girlfriend, then attended Choate together. Their relationship was long, stable, and, by Gwen's account, the central fact of her adult life.
She arrived in Harmony in 1999 with Ethan and immediately encountered Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald, who had been in love with Ethan for years and had been hired to help plan their wedding. The Gazette considers this the most significant piece of wedding planning in Harmony's history and notes that it did not go well.
The Theresa Situation
Gwen's fears about Theresa and Ethan proved well-founded when Ethan told her he was in love with Theresa and postponed their wedding the night before it was scheduled. Gwen's response to this was, by the Gazette's assessment, more measured than circumstances warranted. She suggested Ethan date both women and choose. She believed the working-class Theresa would quickly prove unsuitable. This assessment was incorrect.
Ethan proposed to Theresa at midnight mass on Christmas. Gwen was heartbroken. Her mother Rebecca, who had arrived in Harmony to help with the original wedding, vowed revenge. Things escalated from there in ways the Gazette will cover as they develop.
Character Assessment
The Gazette will say this for Gwen: she loved Ethan genuinely, she was treated badly before she began behaving badly, and her mother is a significant complicating factor in her decision-making. She is also not entirely wrong that Theresa's methods have been, at points, ethically questionable.