‘Friends’: Did Any of the Castmates Date? The Show’s Stars Set the Record Straight

Did the cast of Friends ever hook up with each other? That’s been an ongoing question, as many have wondered about this throughout the years. While there have been rumors of behind-the-scenes romances circulating through the internet over the years, it’s never been confirmed if the former co-stars were ever more than friends during their time on the show.

Now, the actors are setting the record straight on their real-life relationships, sharing whether or not any of them were secretly “hooking up” when the cameras weren’t rolling.

The ‘Friends’ cast reveal if they ever hooked up with each other

On May 25, the cast of Friends sat down with Access, where they discussed their highly anticipated HBO reunion. They also reminisced about their time starring on the beloved’ 90s-early 2000’s sitcom that’s taken pop culture by storm.

During the sit-down interview, the actors were asked if any of them ever tried dating, which the male co-stars revealed was something they never acted on.

“There was a rule that we had, it was really important to the six of us, that we kept a friendship, that we were friends,” Matthew Perry, who played Chandler Bing on the show, said.

According to Perry, the actors wanted to maintain a good working relationship and thought that “hooking up” with each other would ultimately make a “mess” of things.

“And if we were hooking up, if there was any strangeness going on…that might mess with things,” Perry continued. “So we kept a friendship, and we did become really good friends. And we are really good friends to this day. And we kept that going.”

“We didn’t want to jeopardize any of the great relationships and friendships we were forming and had established,” David Schwimmer, who played Ross Geller on the NBC sitcom, added before Matt LeBlanc cut in to say he and his five co-stars were more like “siblings.”

Meanwhile, in a separate interview, the female co-stars couldn’t recall this said “no hooking up” rule.

“I don’t remember any pact,” Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel Green on the show, said. Lisa Kudrow then pointed out that she “was engaged” at the time before Courteney Cox added, “It’s a smart idea, but I don’t remember actually talking about it.”

The former co-stars have always considered themselves family

Just like their characters on the show, the Friends cast are close pals in real life.

In fact, during a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Aniston revealed that she and her castmates formed an unbreakable bond right off the bat and became so close that they consider themselves more than just friends.

“All I can say is that there was something that was laid down at the very beginning that kind of went into our neural pathways that instantly, it was in our DNA that we were family, we were going to take care of each other,” she recalled. “And it was without question. There was never competition. If there was ever a conflict, it was instantly addressed and handled. No eggshells.”

“We really grew close as a family and part of the reason was that initial success of the show was something that no one else could relate to or was going through except the other five actors,” Schwimmer added. “So we really got close because of that experience.” 

The connection between the Friends cast is everlasting, and the actors knew they had something special right from the start.

“We felt from the first table read of the pilot, without having met any of the others beforehand, we all felt kind of an instant chemistry,” Schwimmer shared. “I remember being incredibly impressed with the other five actors. I just thought this was the best casting I had ever seen or been a part of.”

“It was just something,” Aniston agreed. “It was unexplainable.”

Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer admit to ‘crushing hard on each other’ at one point

Even though the cast never dated or hooked up while working together, Schwimmer and Aniston, who played love interests on the show, just confessed to having crushes on each other during their time as Ross and Rachel.

The co-stars dropped the major bombshell during the Friends reunion special, saying that they almost dated in real life during season one of the sitcom, which premiered in 1994.

“Yeah, the first season we—I had a major crush on Jen,” Schwimmer revealed, before The Morning Show actor said, “It was reciprocated.”

Schwimmer then explained, “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. We respected that.”

Though their relationship never turned romantic, Schwimmer later admitted that he and Aniston did share a few intimate moments while on the Friends set.

“I thought back on the very first year or two, you know, when we had breaks from rehearsal, like, there were moments where we would cuddle on the couch,” he said.

Aniston then recalled one of her favorite memories, sharing, “Or we would spoon and fall asleep on the couch.” 

While Schwimmer was convinced that he and Aniston kept their feelings for each other under wraps, the rest of the cast assured them that their relationship wasn’t so secretive.

“We knew,” Perry said before Cox chimed in, “We knew for sure.”