‘Friends’: The Many Reasons Ross Geller Was the Least Likable Friend
The writers and producers of Friends probably never thought that people would still be discussing the characters of the show 25 years after the pilot aired. While Friends was wildly successful during its original run, it’s also received new life on the streaming giant, Netflix. While the antics of the group are still relatable today, some characters haven’t aged particularly well. Ross Geller, for example, seemed like a loveable, if not misinformed, guy during the show’s initial run. Now, 25 years later, it’s pretty clear that he was the least likable member of the group and actually had some pretty serious character flaws.
He refused to take the blame for cheating
You would think when you finally land your dream girl, you’d be happy with what you had. Ross, however, was so insecure about his relationship with Rachel that he essentially drove her away. Not only did he destroy his relationship by being needy in Season 3, but he, as Rachel put it, “had a hell of a time at the wake.” At the first signs of trouble, Ross jumps into bed with the girl from the copy place.
When Rachel reconsiders her decision to take a break from their relationship the very next day, Ross doesn’t bother to come clean. No, instead he runs wild through the city in an attempt to prevent Rachel from finding out he cheated. When she finds out, Ross moves right to a pretty toxic relationship tactic, he blames her for everything that went wrong. While not exactly gaslighting, Ross’ behavior is certainly not the behavior of a good guy, something he insists he is.
Ross continuously deceived Emily
Ross’ relationship with Emily was ridiculous. His quick decision to marry someone he barely knew was definitely not his shining moment, but he became even more irritating when he decided to continue to deceive her. Clearly, he still had feelings for Rachel when he proposed. He was also set to head off to his honeymoon with Rachel when Emily bails after he says the wrong name at the altar. Even still, he denies all feelings for Rachel.
Once Emily deigns to speak to him again, she has a pretty ridiculous request. She wants Ross to cut Rachel out of his life completely. Instead of telling Emily she was being absolutely insane, he agrees to it, and just seemingly plans to lie to Emily every time Rachel is around. Sure, Emily was a pretty unlikeable character herself, but Ross’ behavior didn’t win him any gold stars, either.
Ross was actually pretty sexist and self-centered
Ross’ bad behavior isn’t reserved for just his romantic relationships, either. While he was the only character to have a child for the majority of the series, he wasn’t exactly a great father. Ben, Ross’ son, only appears in about 24 episodes of the show. Sure, Ben lives primarily with Ross’ ex-wife, Carol, and her partner, Susan, but still, Ross doesn’t seem to see him a ton. The times he does play an active role in his children’s lives (including his daughter with Rachel), he’s pretty sexist.
In season 2, Ross’ spends an entire episode freaking out over the fact that a toddler-aged Ben is playing with a Barbie. No one is entirely sure what he’s so afraid of, because he never comes straight out and says it, but one can only assume he’s concerned that Ben isn’t masculine enough. Ross shows his sexist streak once again when he loses his mind over the idea of a male nanny. In fact, he fires the nanny Rachel hired to watch Emma just because he was a man. There was no other reason, nothing odd going on. Ross just didn’t think a man should take on a perceived feminine role.
