Everything You Need to Know About Rebecca's Ex-Boyfriend, Alan, on This Is Us

Update: After sweeping Rebecca off her feet and surprising her with flowers in the season three premiere of This Is Us, viewers are learning more about this mystery man. Hunter Parrish plays Alan, Rebecca's ex-boyfriend of three years who she met during school. Episode three flashes back to how Jack and Rebecca finally got together, and how she decided to move on from her "past life" with Alan, which sadly for Parrish's character, includes a few rejections.

Alan moved to London for some years but he returned to Pittsburgh to reunite with Rebecca because he "had a feeling" they would reconnect. Despite Rebecca's dreams of moving to Los Angeles, Alan convinces her to move to New York with him to jump start her music career. Similar to how she turned down his invitation to move to London years prior, Rebecca realized New York with Alan wasn't her dream — her dream was Los Angeles with someone else. That special someone? The one and only Jack Pearson. Jack and Rebecca bump into each other at the grocery store, and just like Alan, she follows her heart to start a beautiful relationship with Jack.

Original post: The season three premiere of This Is Us absolutely delivered. There were flash-forwards, flashbacks, and a whole lot of emotions involved in each and every scene. As a fan, it was beautiful to see Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca's (Mandy Moore) love story unfold, and while their first date is far from perfect, their instant connection is truly undeniable. Like any tear-jerking This Is Us episode, the premiere ended with one hell of a cliffhanger.

When Rebecca "accidentally" leaves her sweater in Jack's car, he drives back the next day to bring it to her. It looks like she's expecting Jack to arrive at her house because she so gracefully puts on a gorgeous face of makeup, but is shocked to see another man at her doorstep. Although we know Jack and Rebecca end up together, there was something about watching Jack watch another man kiss Rebecca that broke our hearts. So, just who is the mystery man? The episode credits list the mystery man as "Alan," played by Hunter Parrish.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Moore briefly touched upon the relationship between her and Parrish's characters. "I don't think she was expecting him, but he brought flowers, and he felt comfortable enough to step in for a kiss," she said. "She didn't back away from the kiss, so they know each other . . . There will be a resolution to who he is and his dip into Jack and Rebecca's romantic life. I think it will resolve itself in due time."

If we know anything about our beloved Jack Pearson, it's that he would never just give up on pursing "the girl," and we can't wait to see how the story unfolds. Moore explained that we'll find out more about Rebecca and Alan's relationship during episode three. "We're going to pick up right back with her on the doorstep with Hunter and the flowers and Jack in the car, and see what the hell that was about," she shared. "It's obviously somebody that she knows and we'll learn more about how exactly she knows him and what their history is together."

Read on to see the intimate moment between Rebecca and Alan, and see how fans are handling the heartbreak of seeing her kiss another man.