
Alexis McNeil was born in 1997 in Madison, Wisconsin, and grew up in an affluent Dane County city where she attended a prestigious high school. She was bullied in school and had overprotective authoritative parents, and her self-esteem was low for many years.
Her parents wanted her to go into marketing like her father and pushed her into an internship where she meets Chase Wheeler. She rebels against her parents for the first time when she starts dating Chase and eventually chooses him over them. The couple have a son, Cody, whom she dropped out of college to have.
She hasn’t spoken to or seen her parents since Cody was an infant and lives with Chase’s grandmother, Luanne, and has not had much of a social life since his grandmother became ill. She works for the school district.

Chase Wheeler was born in 1992 in Madison, Wisconsin, and partially grew up in a small Dane County industrial town where he attended high school with Austin Leighton. He is the child of a career criminal and a drug addicted prostitute.
He was raised by his grandparents during the second half of his childhood and feels he never had role models for how to be a proper boyfriend/husband and father. This ultimately led to his breakup with Alexis McNeil, the only person who understands him.
He met Alexis at work when her parents pushed her into an internship. The couple have a son, Cody, whom she dropped out of college to have.
He plays guitar professionally in the band My Hellish Years. He lives in Florida, but returns to Wisconsin to visit several times a year.

Cody Wheeler is Alexis McNeil’s and Chase Wheeler’s son. He was born in February 2017 in Madison, Wisconsin. He is being raised mostly by his mother and his great-grandmother.

Luanne “Lu” Wheeler was born in 1938 in Madison, Wisconsin. A widow, she is the mother of Gina, Janelle and Joe.
She raised her grandson, Chase, during the second half of his childhood. She lives with Chase’s ex-girlfriend, Alexis, and her great-grandson, Cody, having thrown out Chase when he and Alexis broke up.
Dying and under the care of nurses who come into the home, her final wish is to see Chase and Alexis back together.

Austin Leighton was born in 1994 in Madison, Wisconsin, and grew up in a small Dane County industrial town where attended high school with Chase Wheeler. He works in the town’s oil refinery.
He is Alexis McNeil’s ex-boyfriend. They began dating in 2022 and cooled it when Luanne Wheeler’s illness worsened. He’s in love with Alexis and wants her back.

Gina is Luanne Wheeler’s eldest child and Chase Wheeler’s aunt. She’s married to Brett.
I Don’t Hate You is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.