The relationship between B.L.T. Thomas and Michelle Accette developed in Season 3 of Degrassi Junior High, and ended in Season 2 of Degrassi High, when B.L.T. cheated on Michelle with Cindy.
Relationship History[]
Overview[]
Degrassi Junior High: Season 3[]
In Loves Me, Loves Me Not, Alexa and Michelle were in the cafeteria when Alexa said that she was really looking forward to the dance that Friday and that she planned to dance with every cute guy there. When Michelle pointed out that Simon became jealous when she did that, Alexa replied, "I don't care. Simon's boring. We might split up." The two girls sat down and Alexa told Michelle that her mother had bought her a new sexy dress which made her breasts look big. As she smiled, she said that she hoped that the boys did not try to look down it as she hated when they did that. However, Michelle was not listening as she was too busy staring at B.L.T. Thomas who was sitting several tables away. Alexa realized that Michelle had feelings for him and said that she had great taste. Michelle lamented, "I don't know what to say to him. Alexa, I'm not like you. I'm shy." Alexa suggested that she coach her best friend. Michelle did not think that it was a good idea but Alexa assured her that she knew all about boys.
After Math class the next day, Alexa asked B.L.T. if he wanted to join herself, Michelle and Simon for lunch in the park in spite of the fact that Michelle did not think that that was a good idea either. He gladly accepted. A confused Simon asked, "We're having lunch in the park?" while an irritated Alexa responded that they were. After she had finished eating, Alexa asked the other three if they had seen any good films lately. B.L.T. said that he thought that Teen Academy IV was fabulous and Alexa agreed. When Simon began to say that he did not really like it, Alexa snapped at him to finish his lunch. She then asked Michelle what she had thought of it and Michelle admitted that she did not like it very much.
As Alexa and B.L.T. began to discuss their favorite moments from the film, Michelle began to worry that the two of them were getting on too well and Alexa was overshadowing her. When Simon attempted to interject, Alexa irritably told him to get to the point. Michelle then said that they should start making their way back to Degrassi so they would not be late. However, Alexa and B.L.T. walked in front of Simon and Michelle and continued their easy conversation. They both loved the horror film High School Massacre and, when B.L.T. pointed out that they were making Teen Academy V, Alexa suggested that the two of them go and see it together. Both Michelle and Simon became even more worried.
When leaving Math class again on Friday, Alexa and Simon looked at each other without saying anything before he left. When Michelle asked Alexa if she was waiting for B.L.T., Alexa replied, "Maybe" in a tone of an excited tone of voice. Michelle then thanked her for all of her help, attempting to get rid of her. Alexa replied that she did not think that Michelle and B.L.T. were suited to each other. Her offended best friend asked how she knew this and Alexa pointed out that she could not even talk to him. Michelle said that Alexa knew that she liked B.L.T. but Alexa responded, "Michelle, don't take it so seriously. Boys are like buses: if you miss one, another one will come along in a few minutes!" As an annoyed Michelle left, an oblivious Alexa cheerfully told her that she would see her at the dance. Michelle said that she was not going to the "dumb dance." When B.L.T. exited the classroom, Alexa began to excitedly discuss the dance with him. Outside of Degrassi, Simon offered to walk Michelle home as they lived in the same direction. He said that he was not going to wait for Alexa as she was clearly busy. He then asked Michelle if she could do him a favor as he had an idea on how to make the dance considerably more fun.
That night at the dance, Alexa began stroking B.L.T.'s muscles and asked him if he worked out. He told her that he did so almost everyday. Michelle and Simon then walked over to them with their arms around each other. Michelle said, "Hi Alexa. Waiting for a bus?" before she and Simon entered the gym and began dancing. An angry Alexa told B.L.T. that she wanted to dance. He said that he was fine and she repeated that she would like to dance. When B.L.T. pointed out that he had not finished his drink, Alexa irritably commented, "I said dance!" and dragged him onto the dance floor.
In Star-Crossed, Alexa had come to regret her decision to break up with Simon as she missed him and she and B.L.T. did not have as much in common as she thought. As they were boarding the bus to Borden High School, Michelle walked away when she saw Alexa approaching. Alexa then told Simon that her mother had made baklava the previous night and, as it was his favorite, she invited him over to her house. However, he turned down the offer, which disappointed Alexa.
At the charity Bowl-a-thon the following Saturday, Alexa was worried by the fact that Michelle and Simon were getting on very well and worried that they were dating. She said that she wanted him back but Michelle told her that Simon did not belong to anyone and that the two of them were just friends. Alexa wondered why he would not talk to her as she had tried everything. When Michelle asked her if she had tried apologizing, Alexa asked what for. Michelle replied, "For treating him like dirt. He was really hurt when you started flirting with B.L.T." Alexa said that she did not mean to hurt anyone. She then realized that she owed her best friend an apology as well and Michelle forgave her. Shortly afterwards, B.L.T. offered to walk Michelle home.
In Black & White, B.L.T. and Michelle start showing interest in each other and he asks her to the school dance. Her parents say she cannot go to the dance with him after meeting him and seeing he was black. Despite Michelle's parents being racist, she goes to the dance with him, beginning their relationship.
In Bye-Bye, Junior High, B.L.T. and Michelle attend the graduation dance, managing to escape after the school burns down.
Degrassi High: Season 1[]
In Just Friends, they both attended Erica and Heather Farrell's party. When they saw Heather and Derek Wheeler making out on the front porch, B.L.T. began to chant "Go, Wheels!" but Michelle told him to stop.
Degrassi High: Season 2[]
In Bad Blood (1), it was revealed that Michelle had been away for a month and, in her absence, B.L.T. had been cheating on her with a girl named Cindy. On the first day of Grade 11, B.L.T. and Cindy were walking to Degrassi with their arms around each other. However, when they reached the school, he said that they had better stop as he did not want anyone to see them. When Cindy asked whether he would tell Michelle about them, he was non-committal as he had to do it when the time was right since Michelle was very sensitive. Cindy told him to get it over with as she wanted to be with him. B.L.T. returned the compliment.
Several minutes later in the school foyer, Michelle ran up to B.L.T. and gave him a big hug and a kiss, telling him that she missed him so much. He jokingly told her not to cry and she said that she was sorry but she was so glad to see him. B.L.T. was about to tell her about Cindy but he chickened out and instead asked her how her trip had been. Michelle admitted that, while it had been nice of her mother to pay for her to visit, it had been boring and she had thought about him all the time. When she chastised him for not writing as he had promised, he pointed out that she had only been gone for a month. She commented that she had arrived home on Friday and had tried to call him all weekend, asking him where he had been. B.L.T. was about to answer when Alexa ran over to Michelle and excitedly greeted her with a hug. Although Michelle repeated that her trip was boring, Alexa nevertheless wanted to hear all about. When they entered their homeroom several minutes later, Lucy Fernandez told them that L.D. Delacorte's leukemia had gone into remission and that she and her father had bought a boat and were sailing around the islands.
At the end of the school day, Michelle asked B.L.T., Alexa and Simon if they wanted to go for pizza or something. Alexa agreed but asked whether Michelle had to work. Her best friend happily told her that she did not start back until Thursday. However, B.L.T. said that he and Simon had football tryouts as the first game was in two weeks' time. Alexa teased Simon by saying that she and Michelle would go for coffee and discuss interesting things like clothes and men. After she kissed B.L.T. goodbye, Michelle asked him if he would call her that night. He hesitated before saying, "Yeah, sure" and Michelle began to suspect that something was wrong.
The next day, Michelle was chatting with Caitlin Ryan about the new condom machines in the washrooms when B.L.T. approached them. After Caitlin left, a slightly hurt Michelle said that he had not called her the previous night. B.L.T. defensively claimed that he had gotten home late. Michelle asked him if she had done something wrong and was about to say that she sensed something but attributed these feelings to her own insecurities before asking how the tryouts had gone.
Two weeks later in Bad Blood (2), Cindy was still pushing B.L.T. to break up with Michelle. He defended his inaction on the grounds that he had helped Michelle through a lot of rough stuff during their relationship and did not want to hurt her. Cindy reasoned that she would be hurt no matter what if she still liked him and B.L.T. said that he would break up with her but in his own way.
The next day, B.L.T. met Michelle in the foyer and, after giving him a kiss, she sympathized with him over the fact that the football team had lost their first game. He then told her that they needed to talk and lead her into the school theater. He commented that they had been dating for a year and a half, which was a long time. Michelle said that she did not know how she would have been able to get through the previous year without him. B.L.T. claimed that he needed some breathing room and an extremely upset Michelle realized that he was breaking up with her. As she began to cry, she once again asked if she had done something wrong and said that she did not want to break up. B.L.T. said that he thought that they should cool it for a bit but that they should remain friends as they still like each other. He asked Michelle not to cry but she couldn't help it. He told her that he needed some space and some time to think. When she asked him if there was someone else, he denied it and Michelle left.
Later that day, Alexa, who had learned of the breakup from Michelle, was in the library looking for a book when she overheard Cindy and her friend discussing the fact that B.L.T. had finally broken up with Michelle after he had been dating her for four weeks. Cindy told her friend that Michelle had apparently "cried like Niagara Falls" and claimed that she felt sorry for her "but not too sorry." They did not notice Alexa, who immediately left to tell Michelle. Her best friend was doing homework in the cafeteria when Alexa sat down opposite her. Michelle said "hi" but realized that there was something wrong. Alexa told her twice that she did not want to know before saying that she had a right to know. Referring to B.L.T. as a "slug, a big slug," she said that he had another girlfriend and repeated the conversation that she had overheard.
Michelle was furious and confronted B.L.T., who was sitting several tables away with Simon. She accused him of lying to her but he claimed that he did not know what he was talking about. She then told him that she knew all about Cindy. B.L.T. defended his actions by saying that he was trying to be nice but Michelle yelled, "Nice? You call that nice? Four weeks you've been going out with her!" When he said that he was trying to spare her feelings, she sarcastically replied, "Because I cry like Niagara Falls?" He tried to explain further but she called him a pig and a liar before throwing his milk all over him, to the amusement of everyone else in the cafeteria, and storming out.
Michelle watching B.L.T. through the glass in Loyalties
In Loyalties, Alexa was passing by when she noticed Michelle looking out the window at B.L.T. She sympathized with her best friend over the break up but Michelle claimed that he was the best thing that could have happened. When they saw Cindy walk over to B.L.T., Michelle claimed that she felt sorry for him as "Bambi" did not look too bright. However, Alexa claimed that she was alright. When a confused Michelle asked whether she had spoken to her, Alexa defensively said that it was hard not to talk to her as B.L.T. and Simon were best friends. She then told Michelle that she had to go as Simon was waiting for her. Michelle commented that she had finally gotten a couple of days off work and asked whether Alexa wanted to do something that night. However, to Michelle's disappointment, Alexa revealed that she and Simon were going to a film after the football game. She then invited Michelle to come with them to the cinema, where they would be seeing Return to Sender. Michelle commented that it was supposed to be good and suggested that they come to her apartment beforehand as it was playing nearby. After Alexa left, Michelle looked at B.L.T. and Cindy wistfully.
Shortly afterwards, Simon asked Alexa if Michelle had to come with them as she had been out with them "like a gazillion times" since breaking up with B.L.T. and she was "such a downer." Alexa pointed out that she would be a downer too if Simon cheated on her. After some prompting, he denied that he would ever do so. B.L.T. and Cindy then approached them. Cindy said that her uncle had four free tickets to the Savages' concert that night and he was giving the tickets to them. B.L.T. told them to be at his house at seven and not to be late. Alexa was excited until she realized that she had already made plans with Michelle. Simon claimed that Michelle would understand as she loved the Savages but Alexa said that that was not the point since she could hardly tell Michelle that they were going out with B.L.T. and Cindy instead. That night, Alexa phoned her best friend and claimed that her aunt Helen had invited them to dinner, suggesting that they go to a film the next night if Michelle was free.
The next day, Alexa and Simon were excitedly discussing the concert. Alexa said that it was the best concert that she had ever been to while Simon commented that he loved it when they smashed their guitars on stage and when the lead singer dove into the crowd. Michelle approached them and asked if they were still on for the film that night. Alexa said, "Sure" but Simon claimed that he was kinda broke after the previous night. His girlfriend coughed to get him to shut up but he continued speaking, telling Michelle that he had spent $10 on food and $15 on the Savages T-Shirt that he was wearing. Michelle realized that they had both attended the concert the previous night. In an annoyed tone of voice, she told Alexa that she should have just told her that she did not want to go out with her. Alexa said that it was not like that but Simon, once again putting his foot in his mouth, said that that they were going to go with her but Cindy's uncle got them free tickets.
A very hurt Michelle was shocked that they had gone to the concert with B.L.T. and Cindy, saying to Alexa that she thought that they were friends. Alexa said that they were friends and she had not told her the truth as she did not want to hurt her. Michelle replied, "So you lied. That's logical. I don't care what you do. Go and play with Bambi or whatever her name is." Alexa retorted that she was not the only person in the world and that she had a life too. However, Michelle countered by saying that she did never did anything without Simon. When Alexa said that they would not go to the cinema with her again, Michelle replied, "I don't care. Do what you want. I don't need traitors for boyfriends or best friends" before storming off.
On her date with Archie Simpson later that night, Michelle claimed that she had only gone out with B.L.T. for a year and a half as it had taken her that long to realise that he was a jerk.
In Crossed Wires, Michelle bumped into B.L.T. while he was walking with Cindy in the corridor. Michelle was still upset by their breakup but B.L.T. barely looked at her.
Timeline[]
- Friendship/Attraction
- Start: Prior to Loves Me, Loves Me Not (DJH 305)
- Relationship
- Start: Black & White (DJH 314)
- End: Bad Blood (2) (DH 202)
- Reason: B.L.T. cheated on Michelle with Cindy.
- Conflict
- Start: Bad Blood (2) (DH 202)
Rival Relationships[]
Quotes[]
- Michelle: "Dad can't do laundry and he can't cook. So what's going to happen if I go and live with Mom?"
B.L.T.: "That's his problem, not yours."
Michelle: "But he's helpless. He needs me. He's my dad."
B.L.T.: "So you're going to stay with him and be his wife?" - Breaking Up is Hard to Do
Trivia[]
- They are Degrassi's first interracial couple.
- At the time of their break-up, they had been dating for a year and a half.
- B.L.T. also dated Michelle's best friend Alexa Pappadopolos-Dexter.
- Michelle's parents didn't approve of her relationship with B.L.T. since he was of African descent, but she didn't care and stayed with him.
- Michelle developed a crush on him before he asked her out, but she was shy in the beginning of their relationship.
- B.L.T. cheated on Michelle with Cindy, putting them on bad terms. She got back at him by pouring milk on his head.
- Their relationship was the first one to have one partner not accepted by the other's parents. The second was Sav & Anya and the third was Adam & Becky.
- Out of all these couples, they are the only ones where a white parent was not accepting of their child dating a black person.
- They often went on double dates with Simon and Alexa.
- They both graduated in the Class of 1992.
- They are both big fans of the Savages.
- B.L.T. was best friends with Simon Dexter, the boyfriend and eventual husband of Michelle's best friend Alexa.
- However, only B.L.T. went to their wedding in 1992.
- B.L.T. got into a small fight with Michelle's other ex-boyfriend Archie Simpson in He Ain't Heavy....
- While most people called B.L.T. by his nickname, Michelle typically called him by his first name "Bryant."
- While B.L.T. liked the film Teen Academy IV, Michelle did not.
