Why did Rachel cheat on Chloe? (2024)

One question a number of Amberprice fans bring up and in protesting the original Life is Strange is why Rachel would cheat on Chloe, given how close the two girls can get in the first game (especially with the ending montage which strongly suggests things are more than just best friends even if you don’t romance Rachel). And to be honest, it’s something I’ve puzzled over myself.

My own suggestion that Rachel just “outgrew” Chloe tends to be handwaved away and rightfully so. It’s a logical answer, but it doesn’t quite feel... right. But just recently I decided to skim TV Tropes (I was curious as to what they’d said about Samantha) and decided to look up Rachel while I was at it. And that’s when the answer smacked me between the eyes.

Rachel Amber was a drug addict.

This is actually something strongly hinted at in the original Life is Strange. At least two students commented on Rachel “partying hard” and suggested that Rachel was taking things harder than marijuana. (For that matter, I’ve speculated on why the Madsen household was so deep in debt and wondered if Chloe herself had been hooked on something harder than weed and may have nearly overdosed or the like - hospital bills do tend to be problematic after all.)

There is even a logical way as to how Rachel could have gotten hooked: she was stabbed by Damon Merrick and nearly bleeds to death. Should the player choose to have Chloe tell the truth to Rachel, then Rachel also has her happy family life ripped to shreds which could mean she started hitting painkillers for a release from more than just physical pain from her stab wound. (And if Chloe lied, then learning the truth from Frank later on could similarly encourage her to turn to drugs, and to distrust Chloe.)

Her “relationship” with Frank makes more sense then. She was sleeping with Frank to get at his drugs. Mind you, she is still cheating on Chloe when doing this but there is a tragic but understandable reason behind this. Similarly, she may have encouraged a friendship with Nathan (who himself had implied there was more between him and Rachel) to get at the drugs he possessed.

Give her family history of drug abuse (with her biological mother Sera being a heroin addict and her father implied to have indulged in drugs initially but then cleaning up his act), Rachel might very well be more inclined to addiction. Rachel would further do her best to hide her addiction from her father (who has a hatred of drugs due to his past with Sera).

As for her high grades and the like? Not all drug addicts are wastrels. But it is likely she was starting to develop a tolerance for the drugs which is why she woke up during one of Jefferson’s drug-induced photoshoots... which led to Jefferson killing her so she couldn’t reveal the truth to anyone.

So. Why cheat? Because she was using Frank to get at his drugs. While Rachel was able to seem quite charismatic and caring, she was already letting her addiction guide her decisions... leading her to betray Chloe’s trust. And while we don’t have any hard proof, comments from fellow students and her waking from Jefferson’s roofies strongly suggest drugs were ultimately what caused Rachel to cheat on the one girl who loved her more than herself.