Amid Chandler’s jokes, Monica’s cleaning, Joey’s acting, and Phoebe’s singing, there is Ross and Rachel. The romance evolved over the years and included their famous break. Rachel even became a benchmark for Ross’ love interests, with James Burrows writing in his book, “Directed by James Burrows: Five Decades of Stories from the Legendary Director of Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, and More,” that Ross’ girlfriends had to be as funny as Rachel (via People). He also criticized the performance of Helen Baxendale, who played Emily. “She was nice, but not particularly funny,” he wrote. Baxendale reflected on the part during an interview with Daily Mail. “‘Friends’ was great fun, but I was just there so they could make some funny jokes about England,” she said about the role which really set the stage for a new chapter in Ross and Rachel’s romance.
The couple has been immortalized in pop culture history, and Jennifer Aniston told Today that she has a feeling as to why they’re so popular. “And you were investing in something that was very relatable: the one that you never could have or the one you wanted to be with but they couldn’t quite get it together,” she said. During Max’s “Friends: The Reunion,” Aniston and David Schwimmer admitted to having crushes on each other, but Schwimmer said they found themselves in other relationships. “And we never crossed that boundary,” he said.
