By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
May 4, 2004
NEW YORK — With the amount of time they spend together, you wouldn’t think the characters on “Friends” would have a spare moment to even think about hooking up with anyone else. While they couldn’t compete with, say, Samantha Jones, when it comes to the sheer number of romantic conquests, these six friendly New Yorkers have had their share of relationships.
Some, like Monica’s ill-fated fling with Paul the Wine Guy, were short-lived. Others, like Chandler’s relationship with “Oh! My! God!” Janice have been recurring and hilarious.
But the mother of all “Friends” relationships has been the will-they/won’t-they/will-they-again romance between Ross and Rachel. Ongoing and bittersweet, the love story may get its final resolution on Thursday when we find out whether Ross will follow Rachel to Paris.
Given that they still are attracted to each other and had a child together, chances are that regardless of where they end up, they will end up together.
Ross may have pined for Rachel since their high school days, but that hasn’t stopped him from dating others throughout the 10 years of “Friends.” Since his marriage to Carol, who left him for another woman, he has married Emily and dated Joey’s ex-girlfriend Charlie. He also had a seasonlong romance with Julie that drove Rachel crazy.
Meanwhile, Rachel dated Ross look-alike and sound-alike Russ, so she obviously sees something in Ross she likes. But she has a penchant for pretty boys. There was smarmy Paolo, whom she met during a power failure, and Tag, her boy-toy assistant. When she dated Joshua (played by Jennifer Aniston’s then real-life boyfriend Tate Donovan), viewers got the sense she was competing with Ross and Emily’s relationship more than anything else. She also gave in to a brief romance with Joey that some insiders say mirrored Aniston’s own brief fling with Matt LeBlanc after the first season.
At the start of the series, Monica was the level-headed den mother of the group. So it was a little surprising when she slept with Paul the Wine Guy after their first date. Her relationship with her parents’ friend Richard was more realistic and a little heartbreaking, because even though they loved each other they weren’t on the same page when it came to kids (she wanted them, he already had them). When she married Chandler, she got her kid in the form of a grownup man. And now she and Chandler are awaiting the birth of their child, thanks to a woman willing to give her baby up for adoption.
To say that Chandler was unlucky in love is an understatement. Besides Janice, whose annoying whine of a voice doesn’t make us love her any less, he fell hard for an Italian beauty who didn’t believe in monogamy. When he secretly began dating Kathy, Joey’s girlfriend, Chandler felt so guilty he had to confess. He won forgiveness from Joey only after sitting quietly in a shipping crate while everyone else ate Thanksgiving dinner.
Meanwhile, Joey employed his line “How you doin’?” on everything that walked. He dated his crazed fan Erika, who couldn’t differentiate him from his soap opera character. He dated Phoebe’s twin, Ursula. He dated his roommate Janine, who couldn’t stand doubledating with Chandler and Monica.
And then there’s Phoebe, who seemed much better suited for David the Science Guy than her new husband, Mike (a k a Crap Bag). She also dated two guys who were in love with her twin, Ursula: a shy teacher (played by Sean Penn) and a stalker (David Arquette). But those weren’t her creepiest relationships. The piece de resistance was when she dated Gary the Cop. She was all ready to move in with him … until he dealt with a chirping bird by shooting it. As can be imagined, this didn’t go over very well with animal-loving vegetarian Phoebe.
HITTING IT OFF OFF-CAMERA
As erratic relationships go, the Ross-Rachel coupling is rivaled only by the real-life affairs of the actors who play Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Joey, Ross and Chandler. Here’s a look at some of their very best friends.
Michael Keaton
Kevin Costner
Christian Slater
The Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz
Anthony Clarke
David Arquette (now her husband)
Jennifer Aniston
The Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz
The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis
Jonathan Silverman
Tate Donovan
Brad Pitt (now her husband)
Matt LeBlanc
Gabrielle Reece
Minnie Driver
Jenna Jameson
Christina Applegate
Denise Richards
Kate Hudson
Halle Berry
Melissa McKnight (now his wife)
Lisa Kudrow
Conan O’Brien
Michel Stern (now her husband)
David Schwimmer
Natalie Imbruglia
Shoshanna Lonstein
Mili Avital
Tara Reid
Playboy model Carla Alapont
Matthew Perry
ABC executive Jamie Tarses
Julia Roberts
Salma Hayek
Jennifer Capriati
Lauren Graham
Fashion student Rachel Dunn
The final episode of “Friends” will air Thursday on NBC.
Jae-Ha Kim, author of Best of Friends, will be among the panelists discussing their favorite “Friends” episodes
on NBC’s “Today” this morning on WMAQ-Channel 5.
