Emma Pillsbury is a
fictional character from the
Fox musical comedy-drama series
Glee. Portrayed by actress
Jayma Mays, Emma has appeared in Glee from its
pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Emma was developed by Glee creators
Ryan Murphy,
Brad Falchuk and
Ian Brennan. She is a
guidance counselor at the fictional William McKinley High School in
Lima, Ohio where the series is set. Emma suffers from
mysophobia—an obsessive fear of germs and contamination—and has romantic feelings for
glee club director
Will Schuester, but becomes engaged to football coach
Ken Tanaka as Will is married. Ken ultimately breaks up with her on their wedding day because of her feelings for Will, and when Will leaves his wife
Terri, he and Emma share a kiss. Their relationship is short-lived, and in the
second season, Emma and her dentist boyfriend
Carl Howell marry in
Las Vegas. The wedding is later annulled as it was unconsummated. At the beginning of the
third season, the she and Will are living together, and they become engaged shortly after New Years.