HBO's Friends: The Reunion special: Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer reveal they NEARLY dated during TV show
The release of one of the most highly anticipated TV reunions EVER, Friends: The Reunion special sent fans around the world into a Friend-zy after it premiered May 27 on HBO Max, a whole year, to the date, after it was originally supposed to air, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hugely popular New York sitcom, which followed a group of friends in their twenties and thirties, concluded in 2004 after 10-year and 10-season long run.
The reunion of the six famous castmates - Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer - was an emotional event for viewers and participants alike. A lot of things happened during the reunion - see the Top 10 Moment here - including Cara Delevigne donning Ross's famous Holiday Armadillo costume, while the Biebs aka Justin Bieber modelled the iconic Spud-nik Halloween costume for the cast, but the most shocking of all, was the revelation that Jennifer (aka Rachel) and David (aka Ross) had romantic feelings towards one another, and could have actually ended up dating in real life, IF it wasn't for the fact that it just wasn't the right time.
“The first season I had a major crush on Jen – we were both crushing hard on one another, but it was like two ships passing ‘cause one of us was always in a relationship and we never crossed that boundary,” David Schwimmer said.
Aniston said the actor’s feelings were “reciprocated”, and said the pair would “spoon and fall asleep on the couch” together during breaks in rehearsal.
Schwimmer added: “How did not everyone know we were crushing on each other?” to which Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry and Matt Le Blanc all admitted they “knew”.
Aniston said the pair instead focused on “channelling all our adoration and love for one another into Ross and Rachel”.
Despite this, she recalled telling Schwimmer: “It’s going to be such a bummer if the first time you and I kiss is going to be on national television”.
This would indeed be the case, with Ross and Rachel having their first kiss in Central Perk in season two episode, “The One Where Ross Finds Out”.