Bob Hunter

"You kiss boys with that mouth?"

- Gabrielle Solis

Bob Hunter is the husband on Lee McDermott, who, after many years of living in Chicago, moved to the suburbs for the quiet life. And if the residents of Wisteria Lane ever need a lawyer, Bob is the first one they call.

Early life
Little is known about Bob's early life. Although, he has mentioned that he dated women in his youth up to his 20s before discovering he was gay. ("Chromolume No. 7") He met Lee McDermott and the two made a good relationship. They then lived in Chicago for years, before Bob decided to pack them up and move to the suburbs. ("If There's Anything I Can't Stand")

Season 4
"We're sticking with the cherub and later, when he bitches about it, I'll just buy him some jewelry."

Bob decides that he is tired of the city due to all the pests, so he moves to Wisteria Lane with his partner, Lee. They are first greeted to the Lane by Susan Delfino who at first does not seem to understand that they are gay, when she gets it, she walks away out of awkwardness. They live with their dog, Rafael. Later, after Susan had a failed attempt to present them with cookies Julie Mayer brings Rafael to her house as Bob and Lee were not home yet, then, Susan decided to keep him in the garage so that she can rescue him. Lee is searching the neighborhood and cannot find them, Bob comes home and Lee begins to tell him that he lost Rafael, Mike opens his garage and Rafael runs out of it, covered in yellow paint, and he jumps all over Bob's expensive suit which Mike is then forced to pay for. ("If There's Anything I Can't Stand")

Bob and Lee get a new sculpture and put it up in their front yard, the neighbors all think it is an ugly monstrosity, apart from Susan who is still sucking up, Katherine decides to run for president of the homeowners association so that she can get rid of the sculpture. Susan discovers that it is actually a fountain and cannot sleep due to the noise she, very politely, asks them to move it, but they refuse. Lynette also runs for president once her treehouse is threatened by Katherine, Bob and Lee help her campaign. She loses against Katherine however the fountain stays due to the fact that Bob and Lee find out why her and Adam fled Chicago so suddenly and blackmail her with it. ("Art Isn't Easy")

Bob and Lee throw a Halloween party and invite the neighborhood as Bob believes that they have not made a good impression on their new neighbors. They go around inviting people and see Danielle Van de Kamp in the window, Bree tells them that it is actually her son who is dressed as Cher this year and they say that he's definitely invited. At the party, Danielle's water breaks and Bob wondered what happened to his rug. Katherine arrives dressed as Marianne Toinette and they reference her as being a controlling queen who lost all her power and say it's ironic, they are clearly talking about the blackmail. ("Now I Know, Don't Be Scared")

After the tornado hits the Lane, Bob finds part of his fountain in the middle of the street. He and Lee recommend a contractor to Bree to fix her roof, however he backs down as his boyfriends dumped him, this promts Bree to try and set him up with her son, Andrew. ("Welcome to Kanagawa")

Gaby believes that her new housemate, Ellie Leonard, is a prostitute, she wants Bob to offer her some money for sex so that he can check, however, Lee fills the role. He wears fifties attire thinking that it makes him look straight, however, when he asks Ellie, she floors him, thinking he is some pervert, Bob and Gaby rescue him. ("Opening Doors")

Lee and Bob ask Katherine if she will cater their commitment ceremony, she agrees, they interrupt an encounter with her ex-husband, Wayne. ("The Gun Song") Bob orders a cherub as the ice sculpture but Lee wanted a castle, he stands up for himself and Bob caves however he orders the cherub anyway. At the ceremony, they get into a large argument and Tom and Lynette pull them aside and tell them that if they are willing to break up over the little things, then they are not ready for marriage as they won't be able to handle the big things. He asks them if they really want to go through with it and they both say that they do. ("Free")

Season 5
Bob and Lee are sitting on their porch as Jackson, Susan's new boyfriend, climbs out of the window in his underwear, Lee takes a photo on his cell. Bob attends the "We Forgive You" party for Edie Williams. ("You're Gonna Love Tomorrow") He and Lee are also present at Karen's surprise party and on the way, Gaby asks him if he will help her sue the person who botched Carlos's vasectomy, it is later found out that he never had one. He witnesses, along with all the other guests, Karen try to attack Dave with a baseball bat. ("Mirror, Mirror") Bob attends the battle of the bands where Tom's band is performing, whilst there, the nightclub they're in catches fire, however, Bob escapes unharmed. ("City on Fire")

Bob becomes Porter's lawyer after everyone thinks he burned down the club. Bree invites Bob and Lee to dinner with her son and his new finance, Alex Cominis, Bob and Lee appear to recognise him and whisper to each other all night. Bree confronts them and they tell her that Alex appeared in a gay porn movie that the two of them rented. ("A Vision's Just a Vision")

Lee and Bob have an argument and Lee and Susan go clubbing, they wake up in bed together the next day. Bob is convinced that Lee is having an affair, he asks Susan about it but she assures that Lee has been faithful, Lee later reveals that he and Susan never had sex. Bob notes that "Porter" can't seem to keep his story straight, he finds out from Penny that "Porter" is actually Preston, he tells her that she has a limited amount of time to find Porter before he reports it. ("Home is the Place")

Bob finds out that Dave is the one who reported Porter and thinks it is odd when he is acting so nice to Tom, whom he betrayed. He tells Lee and asks him to keep it secret, however, Lee snaps and tells Tom the truth about Dave. ("Mama Spent Money When She Had None")

Bob argues with Susan saying that he'll take in the garbage if she mows her lawn. ("Bargaining")

Season 6
"You may envy our life, Gaby. But it's nothing compared to how we envy your's."

Bob is one of the neighbors gathered around after Julie Mayer is strangled. Lee selfishly expresses that it could have been him as it was on his property, Bob dipicts this as typical. ("Being Alive") The Bolen's hire Bob to be their lawyer after everybody thinks that it was Danny who strangled Julie, Susan is very unhappy about this as she believes the rumors to be true, he tells her that Danny will probably not be convicted due to lack of evidence against him. Later, Bob asks the Bolens for information on their background that they refuse to give, Danny says it is because the family have secrets, deep dark secrets that they cannot speak of. ("Never Judge a Lady by Her Lover")

Bob is at the party that welcomes Julie home from the hospital. Later, when Susan shoots Katherine, they both call him as their lawyer. ("Everybody Ought to Have a Maid") When the shooting of Katherine is brought to trial, Bob represents Susan, however, she is sentenced to pick up trash on the highway due to a mean judge. ("The Coffee Cup")

Bob is present at the Wisteria Lane block Christmas party, he is also there when the plane crashes onto the Lane, however, he is one of the residents to escape just fine. ("Boom Crunch") After this tragedy, Bob visits the hospital and comforts his neighbors. ("If...")

Tom and Lynette come over to Bob and Lee's house for dinner, during, Bob and Lee get into a fight and Lee begins writing in his feelings journal, Bob explains that the two have been going to counselling together and it promts Tom and Lynette to do the same. ("How About a Friendly Shrink?")

When Celia gets the chicken pox, Gaby is forced to move in with Bob and Lee as she has never had them before. They re-introduce her to the party lifestyle which she missed so much. She fakes being ill so that she can stay another night and have a party. When at the party, Gaby makes a phonecall in a random room, she sees that it is a nursery, Bob follows her in there, he tells her how they recently tried to adopt but the mother backed out. He tells her that he envies her life much more than she envies his, she decides to go home. ("The Chase")

After Katherine has sex with Robin, she comes to Bob and Lee and asks them if she is gay now, Bob tells her that he slept with women all through his twenties but when he slept with a man it was right. Lee then tells her that a thousand men later he met him. He tells Katherine to take sex out of the equation and see how her and Robin work as a couple. ("Chromolume No. 7")

Lee is mad as another surrogate backed out and he says he cannot do it again, Gaby overhears and offers to be their surrogate, however, she starts to treat the situation as though the baby will be her own son, but Bob explains to her that once the baby is born, he and Lee will take it and raise it, not her. She is disappointed and backs out. This causes Bob and Lee to break up. ("We All Deserve to Die")

Season 7
"His nickname in college was, "The Flipper", and it wasn't because of his dolphin tattoo."

- Lee McDermott After Juanita is hit by Bree's car, the neighbors gather at the hospital and Bob and Lee, who are still broken up, begin to argue. Karen tells them to kiss each other's bottoms and make up, thinking that's what they do. ("You Must Meet My Wife")

Gabrielle hires Bob to help her track down a family who are Juanita's real parents and who are raising Gaby's real child. Bob agrees after asking if Carlos was on board, Gaby lied and said "yes". Bob later finds the family and Gaby is told, she tells him to tell her the truth. He later speaks to Carlos, telling him about this encounter, he is mad as he didn't know and gets into a huge fight with Gaby. ("Truly Content")

To thank Bob for helping her find her daughter, Gaby and Carlos invite him to dinner. Gaby gives him theatre tickets but he reveals that he doesn't enjoy the theatre and prefers football. Gaby is shocked that he isn't some gay stereotype and Carlos discovers how much in common he has with Bob. The two begin to spend more time together and Lee tells Gaby that in college, Bob would get a guy really drunk and seduce him, or as he calls it "flips them" (sometimes literally). He was known as 'The Flipper' throughout college. Gaby confronts him and Bob is upset that she would even think such a thing and that the reason his friendship with Carlos had become so important to him is because he's lonely. Gaby then gets Bob and Lee together and tells them that they still love each other. She walks out of the house as they argue and walks back in, as she forgot something, to find Bob and Lee kissing. ("A Humiliating Business")

After Hector is deported, Gaby hires Bob to help get him back, She asks Bob if it would be legal if Carmen was deported and Grace stayed with Gaby, Bob said it was but whoever doing that would be a terrible person. ("Sorry Grateful")

It is revealed that Paul Young wants to open a halfway home for prisoners in his old house, He has been buying many houses on the lane so that he can vote for it to be established more than once. There are fourteen votes and he has seven. He attempts to get people to sell their houses. Everyone is mad at Lee for not noticing that it was odd that he was buying so many homes. Bob defends his husband and takes part in the huge argument had by the neighbors at the homeowners association meeting. ("Pleasant Little Kingdom") Mitzi leaves and the neighbors believe she has sold her house to Paul. Paul later calls up Lee and tells him to sell his home as the halfway home is now coming anyway. It is revealed that Mitzi never sold and that Bob and Lee gave Paul his final vote. The neighbors are angry with Lee. They get in their car as the riot breaks out at the protest for the home, they discover that Juanita is in the back seat, hiding. The protesters start terrorising the car as it is Lee who caused all of this. Gaby rescues Juanita and Bob manages to help. He tries to help Lee out but the rioters are too rough, Lynette comes to his aid, fighting off the rioters and helping Lee yelling "Stop! He's my neighbor!". Bob and Lynette help Lee to safety as the riot ends. ("Down the Block There's a Riot")

Bob and Lee go over to Gaby and Carlos' house for brunch and they announce that they are adopting a little girl. ("Where Do I Belong?") Renee is horrified to learn that Bob and Lee have hired another interior designer to decorate their daughters room. They tell her that she can do it as she offers a cheaper price, they originally didn't as she didn't seem very maternal. She later decorates the room beautifully and Bob and Lee love it. She reveals a deep down desire of hers to have children of her own. The next day, Bob and lee introduce their new daughter, Jenny, to the neighbours, Renee is the first to meet and they tell her that if Jenny ever needs a woman to talk to, Renee can be that woman. ("I'm Still Here")

Gaby and Lee go head-to-head to find out who is the better parent after Gaby tells Lee that she doesn't think he should force his daughter to play the violin. They would prove the winner with the school talent show. Gaby realises Juanita is terrible at her talent and so hides her tap shoes. Jenny stumbles over some notes and Bob says that she powered through and he couldn't be prouder. This prompts Gaby to allow Juanita to perform. ("Searching")

Bob and Lee meet Lynette and Tom at a business trip. Bob and Tom do the business conferences together whilst Lynette and Lee are classed as plus ones. ("The Lies Ill-Concealed") After Susan is arrested on suspicion of poisoning Paul, Bob is her lawyer. ("And Lots of Security...") Bob attends the dinner party in the neighbourhood to celebrate Susan's return. He accidentally reveals to Renee that her ex-husband is getting remarried. ("Come on Over for Dinner")

Season 8
"Tom, I just found out that everyone that I invited to my last barbeque was involved in a murder... and this is water."

Bree tells Bob to take down his art. Gaby and Carlos ask him and Lee to be Juanita and Celia's legal guardians. They initially refuse, though they agree to a dinner with Gaby, Carlos and the girls. The girls behave well throughout the dinner, and the two change their mind, that is, until Gaby closed the garage door and the message read 'GAYS R STUPID' in chalk which was put there by Juanita. ("Always in Control")

Tom tells Bob about how Lynette, Bree, Gaby and Susan buried the body of Alejandro in the woods as he believes that they may need a lawyer. Bob is shocked and scared of this. However, it is revealed that Chuck, the detective that was threatening them, was ran over, so Bob was not needed and left the Scavo house scared and with a bottle of scotch. ("What's to Discuss, Old Friend")

After Mike is murdered by a loan shark, Bob attends the funeral and is an usher. It is revealed through Susan's flashback that Bob helped Mike and Susan create their wills back when Susan was still pregnant with MJ. He then offers along with the other men to be there for MJ if he ever needs to talk. ("Women and Death")

Bob acts as Bree's lawyer when she gets arrested. He tells her that he is not a criminal defense lawyer, but recommends her to a great one, Trip Weston. ("With So Little to Be Sure Of") Bob, along with Tom, Ben and Lee, help MJ build a car for his soapbox derby. ("Lost My Power")

Bob attends Renee's wedding with Lee and as Lee begins to give a speech, he begins to talk about the offers on his real-estate and Bob pulls him back to his seat. ("Finishing the Hat")

Development & Casting
Prior to the fourth season of Desperate Housewives, the series' sole leading gay character was Andrew Van de Kamp, whom critics noted as having a minimal role in season three. In July 2007, two months before the premiere of season four, series creator Marc Cherry announced that a gay couple would be moving to Wisteria Lane around the fifth episode of the new season. Cherry named the characters after ABC journalist Bob Woodruff and his wife, Lee, and based them on his own experiences and interactions with neighbors as a gay man. Cherry decided not to make the new characters "issue-oriented" and treat them like the heterosexual couples on the series. Actor Tuc Watkins was cast in the recurring role of Bob in August 2007, having previously auditioned for the role of Adam Mayfair for the series only a few weeks earlier. Kevin Rahm, who was cast as Bob's partner Lee, originally auditioned for Bob. Watkins was promoted from recurring guest star to series regular for the seventh season.

Reception
Both the character Bob Hunter, and his husband Lee, have received positive reviews from TV critics and gay groups who praise how the characters' storylines aren't written "issue-orientated" and are instead treated like a normal hetrosexual couple. It should also be noted that they are the first gay couple to live on Wisteria Lane.

Trivia

 * It is revealed that Bob has a thing for uniforms after seeing Alex in an 'adult movie'.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the character.

Bob Hunter

Bob Hunter