Rita Bennett

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Played by: Julie Benz

Occupation: Housewife, mother of three.

Personality type: Clingy, Dependent

Signature look: Doe-eyed, innocent

Endearing trait(s):Willing to accept others

Annoying trait(s): Willing to trust even the ones who don't deserve it. Occasionally a nag.

Rita's backstory: Before Dexter, Rita was married to Paul, a cocaine addict who used to abuse her

Rita's Fate: Killed by Trinity (Arthur Mitchell) in his ritual bathtub killing.

Discuss Rita

CHARACTER CONNECTIONS

Dexter
Boyfriend (Seasons 1, 2, and most season 3)
Husband (End of Seasons 3 & 4)
Rita was introduced to Dexter by Debra, after Debra attended the domestic house call where Rita was abused by Paul (her ex-husband). Rita and Dexter begin a long-term relationship that, unknown to her, is engineered by Dexter as a cover to appear more normal. However, she and Dexter become quite close and he accepts the role of being her protector. Rita has a long history of being abused and betrayed by men and it takes her a long time to become intimate with Dexter, which suits him just fine. She becomes suspicious of Dexter's late night activities in Season 2 but mistakes them for a drug addiction. Not surprisingly, she still accepts Dexter even after his feigned admission to being a heroin addict. She gives Dexter an ultimatum that involves him attending NA meetings, where he meets Lila Tournay, who becomes his sponsor and a lot more. She may seem like a whipped puppy but she breaks up with Dexter after he cheats on her, which ultimately teaches Dexter a lot about himself. She starts to forgive Dexter and let him back in to her life at the end of Season 2, motivated in part by the fact that her kids adore him.

Astor
Daughter
They have a normal, loving relationship

Cody
Son
They have a normal, loving relationship

Paul
Abusive drug-addicted ex-husband
In Season 2's premiere, he is killed in prison.

Gail
Mother
They do not see eye to eye. Gail stopped contact with Rita when she was with Paul, then unexpectedly came back into Rita's life after Paul's death. Rita does not agree with her mother's controlling tendencies (which she takes out on the kids), and she chooses to defend Dexter against her mother's suspicions.

CHARACTER BEST:

QUOTES

"Thank God she is alive. That poor thing must be a mess, falling for a serial killer."

"You know I hope they catch him today, and I'm not a violent person, but I hope they hurt him. (turns to kiss Dexter) Have a good day."

"Shut the f*** up, Nobody talks about my kids that way!"

"... Oh and I know your not into this stuff the moon tonight is going to be amazing, take a moment, you deserve. Love you, bye.(Last quote heard while shes alive)

EPISODES | SCENES

PHOTOS

Signature Look: Disappointed	Rita finding the shoe
With Dexter	Rita looking persistent

SEE ALSO: Dexter Morgan | Debra Morgan | Harry Morgan | Lt. LaGuerta | Angel Batista | Sgt. Doakes | Vincent Masuka | Dexter & Rita

bigspikes	Latest page update: made by bigspikes , Jun 7 2010, 12:28 AM EDT (about this update About This Update Edited by bigspikes 5 words added 3 words deleted view changes - complete history)
	Keyword tags: dexter Dexter character guide Dexter characters Dexter on Showtime Dexter's girlfriend Rita Bennett More Info: links to this page

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Mahoney13

God i miss rita!!

Apr 21 2012, 11:26 AM EDT by Debsdevil

Thread started: Apr 9 2012, 6:22 PM EDT Watch

I loved rita, even though her character somehow annoyed me with her clingyness and her constantly nagging at dexter etc she was such a loveable cute person and when she was killed off i was so gutted :(

They should of kept her, but then again if they did then the lumen storyline etc wouldnt of worked so well, because that would mean dexter cheating, aka like the storyline with lyla :( but yeah i love rita she'll always be a great part of dexter!!

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sonof666

bring back rita!!!lol

Jan 2 2012, 12:24 PM EST by LittleMissHomicide

Thread started: Dec 22 2011, 12:27 AM EST Watch

man i loved rita it would have been cool if instead of killing her off she saw dexter kill trinity,now theres a thoght!

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mike91848

Rita is a key character

Jun 28 2011, 5:40 PM EDT by JoanPentek

Thread started: Nov 10 2008, 12:46 PM EST Watch

RITA IS NOT ANNOYING! The series has been built and progressed on three solid fronts. ONE: Dexter and his hunts. TWO: Dexter and his day job. THREE: Dexter and his private time away from the other two. Rita and her kids along with Dexter's relationship with them is truly one-third of the show. Not in screen time to be sure but it is a big part of Dexter's life and all three play off of each other.

He is striving to appear normal and it takes an effort for him to do this, it does not come naturally. Dexter is Dexter for all the reasons we already know and his life is as complicated as anyone else's and its that complication factor that makes him very interesting to watch. If one of these three parts of the show were to go away then the series would suffer! Rita is not meant to be anything other that his girlfriend and now the mother of his child, leading to their wedding. It's called family!

Too many people keep saying Rita is this or that when her character is just as important to Dexter as the other parts of his life.

Big Bad for Season 7	Deb and Dexter: soul mates?	Fan Made Alternate Dexter Intro
dexter	God i miss rita!!	How should Dexter end?
Instruments in Dexter's lab	Brain.	The Code of Harry
Dexter Guest Stars and Supporting Cast	Dexter Morgan	Morality Issues Dexter Morgan Faces

Rita Bennett

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