Ben Wheeler |
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|---|---|
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| Information | |
| Full Name |
Benjamin Bon Jovi Wheeler |
| Nickname(s) |
Bro (by Danny) |
| Gender |
Male |
| Date of Birth |
July 27, 1989 |
| Resides in |
Manhattan, NYC, New York |
| Occupation |
Bar Owner/Bartender |
| Eye Color |
Brown |
| Hair Color |
Brown |
| Family |
Bonnie Wheeler (Mother) |
| Romances |
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| Friends |
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| School | |
| Production | |
| First Episode | |
| Last Episode | |
| Portrayed By | |
Benjamin Bon Jovi "Ben" Wheeler is the main character of the series. Ben is a young man in his early 20s, who was enjoying the life of a bachelor as a bartender in New York City with his buddy Tucker and his brother Danny, until he finds out he knocked up his ex who left the baby girl on his door step. Ben is then forced to take responsibility; kick his old habits and learn how to take care of his baby girl. He is portrayed by Jean-Luc Bilodeau.
Character History[]
Season 1[]
In Pilot, While Ben is helping his brother move things into his and Tucker's apartment, he finds a baby on his doorstep. Both Tucker and Danny immediately believe her to be Ben's. When Riley comes over at Danny's request, Ben learns she isn't "Fat Pants" anymore. She tells the guys she needed someone to pick up some items from the store, and Ben and Tucker quickly leave. At the store, they aren't sure of what to buy, but a customer decides to help them.
The next day Ben has to go to work, so Danny is left with Emma. He gets a text from Danny about Angela, Emma's mother, and rushes home only to find she had left. Danny tells him she had left some papers that if he signed, Emma would be put up for adoption. Bonnie comes over to see her granddaughter and learns about the adoption papers. She tells Ben to sign them because he wasn't responsible enough and Ben does so.
When Ben is left alone with Emma, he tells Riley to come over and help him take care of her. After she doesn't show up, he calls Danny, but he doesn't show up either, so he calls Tucker. When none of them show, Ben decides to take care of her by himself. He has a hard time getting Emma to eat something, but he soon manages. The next day while he is playing on the couch with Emma, Tucker, Danny, and Riley come in and he tells them that he wanted to raise Emma.
In I Told You So, Bonnie is worried that guys can't take care of Emma, but Ben comes up with a plan. At work, he tells Riley that a woman had been coming a lot and not just for the food and he secures a date with her. Before doing so, however, he manages to get Bonnie to accept Riley's help with redoing her will to fit Emma in.
Because his date landed at the same time it was his turn to watch Emma, Ben tries to get his friends and brother to cover for him, and Riley says she would if she didn't have to help Bonnie because of him. When she leaves, he invokes the "bro code" (he blackmails them) on Danny and Tucker and gets to go on his date.
He goes to Chloe's house and after being continuously distracted, Ben tells her about Emma and shows her some pictures. To get rid of his anxiousness, he decides to call Danny to see how Emma was faring. He learns that Danny had left Emma with Tucker, so he calls Tucker. Tucker tells him that Emma was with Danny. Panicking because neither one was with Emma, he leaves to go home, but can't find Emma. Bonnie and Riley come in and he sees that they have her. Ben says he was never going to let Emma out of his sight and Bonnie calls him a great parent.
When Tucker and Danny rush in apologetic and worried, Ben tells them it was okay because they all made mistakes. He then says that he needed his mother's help and when they hug, she tells him "I told you so."
In The Nurse and the Curse, After taking Emma to her first doctor's appointment, Ben ends up getting a date with with Cassie, the nurse. When Ben comes back from a date with Cassie, Danny takes Emma to go watch a movie while Ben talked to Riley about Cassie. He asks her to have lunch with Cassie and tell him what she thought because he wanted to make sure she was the kind of person he wanted around his child. She doesn't want to at first, but Ben convinces her and calls her a great friend.
The next day, after Riley and Cassie go on bonding trip, Ben asks Riley what she thought of her. Riley lies to him and tells Danny she hated Cassie. During Danny's first game with the NY Rangers, Ben thanks Riley for being nice to Cassie. He leaves to go talk to Danny, who had been sent to the penalty box, and catches the fight Riley and Cassie were in on the jumbotron.
Later, Ben tells Riley that he and Cassie broken and she had thought Riley had a crush on him, which Riley poorly denies. He also tells her the reason why she thought it was because he talked so much about her and wanted Emma to grow up to be like her. They then toast to friends, a word Riley hated. The following areas are under construction.
In Guys, Interrupted, Ben gives Bonnie a key to his, Danny, and Tucker's apartment because she "gave him life", but he soon finds that it may not have been the best idea when Bonnie starts bothering the guys. Meanwhile, he urges Riley to go on a date with her study buddy.
In Married to the Job, A baby shower is thrown for Emma. Bonnie gets emma a girly stroller that the guys take back to exchange for a cooler one that attracts women.
Ben finds out that there is a new position opening up at the bar for a manager, but his boss doesn't think that he is responsible enough for the job. When his boss thinks that Ben is married after seeing Riley with Emma, he reconsiders Ben since he now thinks that Ben is a family man. Riley goes along with the plan that Ben devises about them being married so that he can get the promotion to manager. All goes well until Ben meets his boss' daughter at the meeting, who is the same girl that he had previously gotten a number from earlier.
Meanwhile, Danny and Tucker compete to see who can get the most phone numbers from random girls on the street with the help of the stroller, as Bonnie chases them around, looking to get the girly stroller back.
At the end of the episode, Danny finally admits to Riley that he loves her, but she takes it as an act to get her out of the situation with Ben. The areas under construction end here.
In Take Her Out of the Ballgame, Riley is voted as the new team captain of Ben and Tucker's softball team but she then takes the job too seriously. Tucker is tired of losing and when Riley jumps in to help them, he is excited about her until her competitive side comes out and pushes the team to the limit. She goes crazy during the baseball game. Ben and Riley have a conversation at the field later that results in Riley feeling reassured and a car alarm going off. Emma can't stop playing with her food and spitting and splashing all over everyone. Meanwhile, Danny finds out that Bonnie is dating his coach, Hank (Tuc Watkins), and he is upset about it.
Season 2[]
Season 3[]
Season 4[]
Season 5[]
Season 6[]
Relationships[]
Tucker Dobbs[]
Tucker is Ben's best friend and also lives with but they're not gay; although, many people have assumed they are a couple as they raise Ben's daughter Emma together. Tucker is also Danny's best friend. They like to play jokes on one another.
Danny Wheeler[]
Danny who is a professional hockey player for the New York Rangers, is Ben's older brother who always has his back, except when it comes to Riley. Danny thinks that Ben does not deserve someone as great as Riley. Regardless, the two love each other and Danny supports his brother bonding with Emma.
Riley Perrin[]
Riley is Ben's long time friend who has a crush on him. In season 2 we find out that Ben has feelings for Riley as well but she doesn't know it yet. In season 3 they date. They are on-off for all of seasons 3 and 4, until everyone realizes that Riley has feelings for Danny. After some initial anger, Ben puts his feelings aside and helps Danny and Riley finally get together, despite still being in love with her. Despite no longer being together, Ben still loves and cares for Riley, and considers her to be a female role model for Emma. In Parental Guidance Suggested, Ben asked Riley to become Emma's legal guardian if anything should ever happen to him and she accepted.
Emma Wheeler[]
Emma is Ben's daughter. In the pilot episode Ben was shocked to find out that she is his daughter. But as the episode progresses Ben and Emma spend time together and Ben realizes that he loves Emma and couldn't give her away. Ben panics sometimes when Emma goes missing for a short period of time or when he fears that something is wrong with her. Though he isn't always the perfect father, he always thinks of what's best for her and is fiercely defensive of her to others, shown by his willingness to come to blows with Ross when he referred to Emma as "an illegitimate child". He considers Emma to be the best thing that ever happened to him, and has called her "the greatest gift" of his life.
Bonnie Wheeler[]
Bonnie is Ben's Mother who lives across the street from him. Bonnie loves her sons and her granddaughter with all her heart. Although Bonnie has expressed several time that she is more proud of Danny than Ben, she still loves both her boys, and is incredibly proud of Ben's raising of Emma. At first, Bonnie didn't support Ben's decision to keep Emma, believing that he wasn't mature or responsible enough to be a father. However, after seeing how distraught Ben became when he couldn't find Emma, she realized that he was a true parent to his daughter. She is one of his best allies in raising Emma, and is frequently asked to babysit.
Ray Wheeler[]
Ray is Ben's father and they seemingly have a good relationship. Ray tells Ben he is gay at the end of season 1 and Ben is seemingly okay with it. Ben lies and keeps secrets for his dad. He loves him anyway.
Angela[]
Angela is one of Ben's one-night stands who is also the mother to his daughter Emma. In the beginning of the series, she is talked about a lot and seen only once by Danny in the Pilot when she dropped off the papers for adoption for Emma, Ben intended to talk to her but she left too soon for him to catch her. At the end of season 2, when Bonnie and Tucker realize that the papers giving Ben full custody of Emma were never properly filed, they track Angela down to get them resigned, and though she does sign them, after seeing a picture of Emma on Bonnie's phone, she decides she has to be a part of Emma's life. In Season 3, she is seen flirting with Ben and Ben even slept with her to get back at Riley for sleeping with Fitch (which she didn't do). Angela then leaves for a part in L.A, claiming that Ben was right, she wasn't ready to play house. She briefly returned in season 5, but Ben made no secret of his hatred towards her for abandoning their child again, and initially refused to let her see Emma. After discovering that Angela only wanted Emma for a publicity stunt, he covers for her with the press only to protect Emma, and declines her offer to get Emma into her old preschool.
Megan[]
Megan is Ben's ex-girlfriend. They met at Emma's daycare, but she thought Ben was gay when they first met. Ben claims that he was in love with Megan at the beginning of their relationship but Megan said she did not love him back, claiming that she was in love with the first Ben she met but they make up and continue to date. They eventually broke up because Megan felt like she couldn't trust him.
Sam Saffe[]
Sam Saffe is Ben's ex girlfriend. Ben, Danny and Riley went to high school together. Ben was in love with her in high school but she wasn't interested in him. 10 years later she applies for a job at the Bar on B. And as revenge for never noticing him he was going to make her think she had the job and then take it from her. But his plan didn't turn out well realizing that she is hotter than in high school and that he still likes her. So he hires her for the job. Later Ben realizes that Sam likes Danny and not Ben. But she wants to keep it professional at work. Sam soon begins to live with Ben and Tucker after Ben manipulated Danny and Riley to move in together so Sam can move into Danny's room. Later Sam realizes her feelings for Ben after Ben a her set up a campfire for them and a romantic night. But when she sees Z and invites Ben, Danny and Riley for a get away at Sam's parents house in the Hamptons. Later that day it is revealed that Sam and Danny slept together in high school and Riley doesn't know. One night Sam sneaks into Ben's bed and tries to have sex with him. But fails after Ben realizes that he has feelings for Zoey and wants to be with her. Within time Sam moves out of the apartment and looks for a new job because it is awkward for her to work there. Sam gives Ben her two week notice. And leaves a note in Ben's chair professing that there is still chemistry between them and to meet him at a dinner. When Ben shows up at the diner he leaves with a girl who he thinks left him the note. Sam later walks in the diner looking for Ben but is disappointed for not seeing him. Later Ben is on another date with the girl that he think wrote the note. Until Sam tells him the truth and how humiliated she feels. Ben later dresses up like a cheerleader and sings a cheer asking for a date with her that she accepts. And share their first kiss. On their first date things don't go according to plan after seeing a condom and thinking he wants to have sex. So Ben and Sam go to Riley and Danny for advice. That later backfires on both of them. Sam tells Ben that she wants the sex to be special and to mean something to the both of them. Later when they are in bed together Ben says "we might end up getting our happily ever after, after all." Unfortunately, after a brief pregnancy scare, Ben discovered that Sam never wants to have kids, while he wants Emma to have a younger sibling, leading the two to realize that their futures do not connect. So Ben broke up with her.
Trivia[]
- Ben co owns the bar with Danny.
- Ben met Angela, Emma's mother at a Christmas Eve party.
- Ben's roommate Tucker actually owns the apartment.
- Because he had a daughter and lived with Tucker, Tucker's father falsely assumed they were gay until learning the truth.
- Ben's nickname is "Lil Jovi". He got his nickname as well as his middle name, Bon Jovi, from American singer Jon Bon Jovi, whom his mother is infatuated with.
- Both he and his brother have been romantically with two of the same women: Sam and Riley.
- He and Danny possibly have an unnamed sister in Phoenix, as mentioned by drunken Bonnie in You Cruise, You Lose,
- It is unknown if Danny told Ben this news.
- Although Ben, and other characters in the series, point out that Ben is attempting to change his behavior as a player, he never really kicked his old habits.
- It is hinted, however, in the series finale, that he changed for the better when he began dating Elizabeth (commonly known as Elle).
Gallery[]
Season 1:
Season 2:
Season 3:
Season 4:
Season 5:
Season 6: