Walter is a former main character on the first season of Ugly Betty. He was originally a recurring character on the series, but was listed in the series' first season credits as a regular cast member after the thirteenth episode, and his character has not appeared in the series since episode fifteen. He is portrayed by Kevin Sussman.
Biography[]
Walter was Betty's on-again/off-again boyfriend throughout season one. He works at Pro-Buy, a Circuit City type electronics store and is a whiz at fixing equipment.
Initially, Betty and Walter were a couple, and had been during their high school years, until he dumped Betty for Gina Gambarro, who would use him just to get a discount on a TV that Betty unknowingly breaks. After this, although he begs for her forgiveness, Betty initially decides not to take Walter back.
After the breakup, Walter seemed willing to do whatever it took to get Betty back. Also, despite his infidelity, Walter is well liked by Betty's family, and they urged her to get back together with him, often blaming her if things went wrong in their relationship. She chooses to listen to them and gets back together with him. However, he became increasing possessive of her. He believed that Betty's boss Daniel was trying to steal Betty away from him, and was also suspicious of her friendship with an accountant at Mode, Henry. Despite the fact she was beginning to have feelings for Henry, she stopped spending time with him in order to appease Walter.
Their relationship finally ended in the episode "Brothers" after he accepted a job offer as the manager at a new Pro-Buy in Maryland. Knowing he and Betty were drifting apart, Walter tells her he is taking the job, and they have their final kiss before he left.
Reception[]
In early focus groups, Walter was not well-received by viewers. Many of them felt he was whiny and increasingly unlikeable. Even many critics agreed that the character was annoying, and did not serve any point plot-wise. Also, many liked Henry, and wanted Walter out of the picture to advance the Henry-Betty storyline. This could be a reason for why the character was written out of the show.