Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) was the ex-cheerleader fashionista on Friends. She underwent the most character development in the ten years that Friends aired, changing from spoiled rich girl to a responsible and independent adult. She learned from her experiences and followed her dreams straight into the fashion industry. She became mother to Emma and was there for her friends, and even tried helping her sisters find a better way of life.
That journey didn’t come without its ups and downs, especially where it concerned her on-again, off-again relationship with Ross. She had some moments that would be better left forgotten, so here are 10 of Rachel’s most cringeworthy moments.
Convinced Bonnie To Shave Her Head
This act of Rachel’s is so cringeworthy because it’s pure evil. Jealous of Bonnie and Ross, Rachel convinces Bonnie to shave her head. It’s something Bonnie has done before and confesses she misses it, but she unknowingly fell into Rachel’s trap. At least she never knew Rachel’s malicious intent. Rachel’s jealousy reared its ugly green head big time on this one, and jealousy isn’t a good look on anyone. Turns out it was for nothing, as it fails to turn into another start on a relationship with Ross, and Rachel had to learn that the hard way. Perhaps it was karma rearing its head in retaliation to Rachel’s jealousy.
The Naked Dilemma
Chandler accidentally seeing Rachel topless is bad enough. Coming out of the shower and having your privacy violated is cringeworthy in itself, especially when you’re seen by one of your guy friends in Rachel’s case. The cringing has only just begun, as when Rachel tries to exact revenge and catch Chandler naked, she mistakenly sees Joey. Not only does she embarrass both herself and Joey, but she never gets to give Chandler a taste of his own medicine. Not to mention, her pursuit of seeing Chandler naked turns into a debacle for the other characters, and poor Monica sees Joey’s father naked.
Her Relationship With Tag
These two never really had much of a connection or anything in common. It seemed like all Rachel cared about were Tag’s looks, and that’s not enough of a foundation for a healthy or wholesome relationship. It seemed Rachel was also chasing after her youth, using Tag to make herself feel young again. Rachel eventually realized Tag wasn’t mature enough and she had to look for someone with whom she could have a meaningful relationship, but the fact that she ever pursued Tag or had a relationship with him is cringeworthy because it was for all the wrong reasons.
The Mustache And Goatee In Vegas
Ross had drawn a mustache and a goatee on Rachel on the plane to Vegas, and unfortunately it wouldn’t come off. Rachel is understandably humiliated and mortified, as she should be. The mustache and goatee weren’t a good look for her.
Ross had taken their little feud too far. It only goes downhill from there, as Rachel gets drunk and marries Ross. Maybe if he had never drawn on her face, Rachel could have avoided all the catastrophe and fallout that happened afterwards.
Kissed Her Boss At Ralph Lauren
Rachel’s interview for Ralph Lauren goes from bad to worse pretty quickly. She accidentally kisses her boss on the cheek as she’s leaving, and later, when she returns, she mistakenly yells at him for thinking she would sleep with him to get the job after he attempts to tell her she has a spot on her lip from her pen. She does bravely return, apologize, and list the reasons why she should be hired despite her past behavior, and then accidentally touches her boss inappropriately on the way out the door. At least she was already hired by that point, but yikes, the interview process was certainly cringeworthy.
Pursued Joey After Rejecting Him
Joey fell for Rachel first, and at the time, she saw him as her friend and nothing more. Yet, after seeing Joey film some romance scenes and following his relationship with Charlie, she changes her mind and tries pursuing him.
That in itself seems cruel and cringeworthy, and then when they finally did get together, it didn’t quite work out the way they had hoped. Rachel kept slapping his hands away whenever he touched her, and they agreed to just be friends. What was all the fuss about if they were never going to be more?
Tried Rushing Into Marriage With Joshua
Rachel develops a massive crush on Joshua, and when they finally start going out, they’re only a few dates in by the time Ross and Emily are arranging their wedding. Rachel’s saddened by Ross’s impending nuptials and tries to rush into marriage with Joshua, who freaks out and rejects her. She later calls to apologize and convince him that she doesn’t want to marry, but later gets into a wedding dress alongside Monica and Phoebe and, thinking Chandler was at the door, opens it with the dress on exclaiming, “I do!” to Joshua’s horrified face. That permanently ends their relationship, but once you’ve had that much experience in the cringeworthy department, there’s no coming back.
Rachel’s Sexy Dress
Before their break-up, Rachel had a date with Joshua that led them to his parent’s home. Thinking they were away, she puts on a sexy dress for Joshua just in time for his parents to suddenly arrive.
She has to sit through dinner and everything in the dress, trying to pass off a story that the dress is the latest thing in fashion. Imagine meeting your significant other’s parents in a dress like this for the first time, and you’ll cringe for Rachel.
Tried To Break Up Ross’s Wedding
Rachel has the worst timing, and can be incredibly selfish. When she changes her mind at the last minute and gets on a plane to London, she intends to sabotage Ross and Emily’s wedding. Rachel doesn’t realize until she’s actually in the church that she’s too late, and she’s missed her chance. Still, her presence rattled Ross enough to get him to say the wrong name at the altar, which turned into a downward spiral in which he ended up divorcing Emily anyway. Rachel never seems to feel much guilt over this, and that’s almost as cringeworthy as her trying to break up a wedding, ruining Ross and Emily’s happiness so she could get her happy ending.
Left A Drunken Message On Ross’s Machine
Rachel finally tells Ross how she feels, but she does it when she’s drunk, and she leaves a message on his machine. She effectively puts him in a dilemma, as he now has to choose between her and Julie. The message is embarrassing, and it’s even worse when he listens to it while she’s present, and she desperately tries to stop him and get him to hang up the phone. It’s not romantic, and it’s something of a disaster, making her drunken message one of the most cringeworthy things that Rachel has ever done.
