I’ll be there for you! David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston stole hearts as Ross Geller and Rachel Green, respectively, during their 10 seasons on Friends — but the duo had a bond outside of the series as well.
The pair dropped a bombshell on fans during the May 2021 Friends reunion when they revealed that they both had feelings for one another at the start of the NBC comedy, which premiered in 1994.
“The first season, I had a major crush on Jen,” Schwimmer shared during HBOMax’s reunion special.
Aniston added: “It was reciprocated.”
Schwimmer explained that while they both had crushes, neither of them acted on those feelings. Instead, the costars stayed close friends.
“I think at some point we were both crushing hard on each other, but it was like two ships passing because one of us was always in a relationship, and we never crossed that boundary,” he clarified. “We respected that.”
Aniston, for her part, reflected on the way their first onscreen kiss played a role in them never taking their connection further in real life.
“I remember saying one time to David, ‘It’s gonna be such a bummer if the first time you and I actually kiss is going to be on national television,’” she said during the special. “Sure enough, the first time we kissed was in that coffee shop. We just channeled all of our adoration and love for each other into Ross and Rachel.”
While the cast members never explored a romance, their feelings for one another weren’t a secret.
“It was a very hot topic on the set because the electricity between them in the scenes was like, ‘Oh, my God, they can’t be acting that, there’s got to be something!’ Everybody was suspicious that something was going on,” producer Kevin S. Bright told The Hollywood Reporter about the twosome in May 2021.
He continued: “People made up their own rumors at a certain point. But we all thought something might have been going on because they were just so good together. We were so invested in Ross and Rachel, like the rest of you. There was something about them. But like the show, in a certain way, you had to wait a long time and then it never happened. The happy ending is in the show.”
Scroll down for a glimpse at some of the sweetest things Schwimmer and Aniston have said about each other: