‘Friends’ Fans Are Devastated to Learn Lobsters Don’t Mate for Life Like Phoebe Claimed
The hit series Friends had so many iconic one-liners it’s hard to keep track. From Ross screaming “PIVOT!” while trying to navigate a couch down a tight stairwell to Chandler constantly asking if he could “BE any more excited,” we’ll all be quoting the show for decades to come.
In many ways Friends was a series before its time. But there were certain elements that don’t make sense in modern culture. Co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane admit that there are subjects they’d approach differently in 2020.
One thing the showrunners didn’t address? There’s a glaring issue with Phoebe claiming that Ross and Rachel are each other’s lobsters.
Ross and Rachel get together on ‘The One with the Prom Video’
It all goes back to Season 2, Episode 14, when Phoebe made the very keen yet ultimately inaccurate observation about lobsters and compared them to her friends.
During the second season, Ross and Rachel get together after the gang watches an old prom video which showed Ross trying to rescue Rachel after she got ditched by her date.
Earlier in the episode, Phoebe had explained to everyone that, “It’s a known fact that lobsters fall in love and mate for life. You can actually see old lobster couples walking around their tank, holding claws.”
Lobsters don’t really mate for life
After Rachel grabs Ross and kisses him during the episode, Phoebe triumphantly proclaims, “See? He’s her lobster!”
It’s a treasured moment on the show and a classic amongst true Friends fans. Unfortunately, a marine biologist put the kibosh on the theory during an interview with E! News.
“Lobsters, by nature, are not monogamous and do not pair for life,” Curt Brown said in a statement. “A dominant male will actually mate with multiple females during encounters that last days to weeks. A literal example of ‘love on the rocks!’”
Fans can’t believe Ross and Rachel aren’t each other’s lobsters
Even though they had a very tumultuous relationship on the show, most fans were supportive of Ross and Rachel ending up together. They also loved the idea of their union being fated, like animals who mated for life.
That’s what made the little-known animal fact about promiscuous lobsters extra heartbreaking. Were Ross and Rachel doomed all along?
The ‘Friends’ cast enjoyed a seafood dinner — with lobster
Courtney Cox posted a photo of herself with all her Friends castmates enjoying one last meal together before the finale taping. “’The Last Supper’ before taping ‘The Last One’ on Jan 23, 2004,” she wrote in the caption.
The photo shows the smiling group posing with their lobster dinner. On a basic level, lobster seems like a normal enough luxury meal for anyone to enjoy. But true Friends fans realize the deeper meaning behind this menu option. Of course they had lobster! The only thing more fitting would have been a holiday armadillo (though we’re guessing it wouldn’t have been as tasty).
Even though lobsters don’t mate for life, Ross and Rachel do get together in the end. And fans agree that’s better than any lobster love story.
