While Friends might have had some fantastic couples throughout the history of the show that fans didn’t really want to see the end of, as well as those legendary couples such as Ross and Rachel, that doesn’t mean every relationship was great. Over the course of the show, there were plenty of relationships that really didn’t work, with fans begging the show to cut them short for a variety of reasons.
Whether it was because they simply didn’t suit each other, or that fans wanted to see the main character with another person, or that they were just incredibly annoying, the show was packed with bad relationships that fans wanted to stop, as we are about to explore.
Chandler & Janice
Let’s kick start with one of the most obvious couples that fans wished had ended a little bit sooner than it actually did, which is Chandler and Janice, simply because of how annoying Janice was as a character. Obviously, the show created her to be that way on purpose as Janice was supposed to get under your skin.
While she certainly has some fantastic moments over the course of her time on the show, she isn’t someone that fans wanted around all the time. Because of that, anytime she appeared it was hoped that it would only be a fleeting visit, but her spell with Chandler did last a little too long for most.
Ross & Elizabeth
This one was just plain wrong, and likely would never have been written into the show if it was being aired today due to the huge age gap and the fact that Ross was Elizabeth’s tutor when they began their relationship. While Elizabeth was mature for her age throughout the most part of their relationship, fans just didn’t want to see Ross with someone so young, especially not his own student as it really went against the moral compass that he had built up.
Thankfully this wasn’t a relationship that the show dragged on for too long, and it did allow for some very funny moments, so it wasn’t all negatives.
Rachel & Joey
This entry really depends on what side of the argument you sit on in regards to which core member Rachel should have ended up with, as there is a core group of fans that wanted to see her end up with Joey rather than Ross. However, the vast majority of fans didn’t enjoy the relationship between Joey and Rachel, especially after so many years of fans committing to the idea of her ending up with Ross.
While Joey certainly made a big effort in this relationship, it just felt a little strange to see. The relationship was one that felt more forced than anything, with the writers simply looking to throw a spanner in the works of the main story, but to most people, it just didn’t connect.
Rachel & Paolo
Another Rachel relationship that fans didn’t really want to last was with Paolo, because even as early as the first season fans were desperate to see her date Ross, and not anybody else. Paolo was purely a physical attraction for Rachel, as he couldn’t really talk English and was actually attracted to Phoebe, but that wasn’t the reason that people were frustrated about this relationship and wanted it to end earlier than it did.
The main reason was due to the fact that people knew how much Ross cared about Rachel and fans just wanted to see that take place, with the show stringing this relationship along to make them wait.
Joey & Ursula
Throughout the show, many of the main characters ended up dating or having short flings with other core members’ siblings, which is quite strange considering that is something that most real-life friendship groups are very against. One example of that was Joey and Ursula, who is Phoebe’s twin, but while they are the same in looks they are not the same in personality, with Ursula being incredibly mean and careless with what she says, which is why people didn’t want Joey with her.
On top of that, the show had always teased that he might end up with Phoebe, and with that in the back of people’s minds, fans just wanted this relationship over.
Rachel & Gavin
Rachel’s relationship with Gavin Mitchell was one that fans never really enjoyed from the start as the show built him up to be a sexist pig who was arrogant and someone that people weren’t supposed to like, and then the next minute the show wanted people to believe he was likable.
The switch from nasty to nice was too drastic for this to be believable and while this was kept relatively brief due to the fact that she was new to motherhood, with that taking the focus instead, it was still not something people wanted. If the show had made him less of a jerk at the start of his time on the show then it would have been easier to believe that they could actually have been a couple.
Phoebe & Malcolm
Earlier on in this list, we mentioned Phoebe’s twin plays a big part in why people didn’t want this relationship to last as Malcolm had actually already been in a relationship with her prior to being with Phoebe. Because Phoebe is so beloved, nobody wanted to see her play second-fiddle to her sister, who was a character that nobody really liked.
On top of that, it turned out that Malcolm was stalking Ursula since their break up, with him describing Phoebe as an ‘Ursula patch.’ Thankfully, Phoebe eventually calls things off here, which is exactly what the fans of the show wanted to see as they were never going to work together.
Rachel & Tag
Another Rachel relationship that people just wanted to see come to an end was that of Rachel and Tag, who was her assistant on the show, having been hired purely due to his looks. It was at that moment that everyone knew they were going to become an item at some stage, but that didn’t help matters.
Even though fans had accepted that there would be some romantic storyline between them, people didn’t think they would actually become an item, simply Tag was such a ridiculous character. Outside of his looks, there was nothing that made sense about why Rachel would be interested in him. He was very child-like and didn’t suit Rachel at that point in her life.
Chandler & Kathy
Kathy was a nice person, and had she and Chandler started their relationship in a different way they probably would have been a couple that the fans would have got behind, but that wasn’t the case. The fact that Kathy cheated on Joey with Chandler meant that this relationship was blacklisted by audiences almost immediately, with nobody supporting what Chandler had done to his best friend, with that bond between him and Joey meaning more to the fans.
Of course, Kathy ended up cheating on Chandler as well which is how their relationship came to a close, but it wasn’t soon enough in the eyes of most.
Ross & Julie
There is absolutely nothing wrong with Julie, in fact, she is one of the nicest people that any of the main characters ended up dating outside of the group, but that doesn’t mean that fans weren’t desperate for this relationship to end as soon as it began. The reason is that before this relationship, it seemed like the dream moment of Ross and Rachel finally being together was about to happen.
Rachel was all set to tell Ross how she felt and then it was revealed Julie was on the scene. Obviously, this was smartly done by the writers to add a major twist to the show, and it certainly worked as fans were just left frustrated over the fact that Julie was seemingly the only stopping block in the dream couple finally happening.
