The Truth About Jennifer Aniston And David Schwimmer's Offscreen Relationship
"Friends'" Ross and Rachel are pretty much the ultimate will they, won't they sitcom couple. David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston's infamous characters spent almost the entirety of the show's 10 season run keeping fans guessing, and avid viewers will remember their infamous love story came crashing down following Ross' night with the girl from the copy place. Whether or not they really were on a break is a story for another time...
Fans have pretty much been obsessed with the couple ever since they first got together in Season 2 (that was way back in 1996 for those keeping count). That obsession only reached a new fever pitch in 2021 when the cast, Aniston, Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe), Courteney Cox (Monica), Matt LeBlanc (Joey), and Matthew Perry (Chandler), reunited for an NBC special that aired in May to take a look back at the show that became a part of TV history.
Of course, the subject of Ross and Rachel was a big topic of discussion for the cast — and it led to a pretty surprising revelation from the actors behind the iconic TV pairing. Read on to find out what Aniston (who actually dated three of her "Friends" co-stars) and Schwimmer just revealed about what their relationship was really like away from the cameras.
Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer were almost a real-life couple
Who knew? It turns out Ross and Rachel were almost a couple in real life. During the HBO Max "Friends" reunion, host James Corden asked if any of the cast almost dated offscreen (seemingly as a nod to the episode, "The One with the Flashback" when Maggie Wheeler's Janice questions if any of the characters almost slept together).
Aniston pointed towards Schwimmer, and he admitted (per BuzzFeed News) he "had a major crush" on her during the first season. Aniston revealed that crush was "reciprocated" as Schwimmer shared there was a point they "were both crushing hard on each other" but nothing ever came of it. "It was like two ships passing because one of us was always in a relationship, and we never crossed that boundary. We respected that," he said, before Matt LeBlanc jokingly quipped the notion nothing happened was "bullsh**t."
It seems like Aniston and Schwimmer were both aware of each other's feelings too. The former recalled how the Ross actor once told her it would be "a bummer" if their first kiss was in character, which it eventually was. "We just channeled all of our adoration and love for each other into Ross and Rachel," Aniston said, while Schwimmer noted "it was a situation" they just "couldn't do anything about." While the two thought they kept their feelings on the down low, their co-stars admitted they were well aware of the crush.
Oh, what could've been...