Out of all the Friends, fans will agree that Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) is the glue that ties the gang together. She has a connection to everyone: Ross (David Schwimmer) was her brother, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) was her best friend and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) was her former roommate. Not to mention she lived across the hall from her future husband.
However, for all the kindness and hospitality she bestows on the gang, they often treat her terribly. From destroying Monica’s favorite plates to the gang constant fat-shaming jokes, here are the 10 worst things the gang did to Monica, ranked.
Smashed her favorite plates
One of the worst things the gang did to Monica was to break her favorite plates. Monica had been adamant that the group could not use their wedding china because she believed they would break them. Chandler manages to ease her fears for a bit until Rachel and Amy (Christina Applegate) knock one of them over in the midst of a fight.
Monica almost faints and begins crying. It only gets worse from here when Chandler then breaks the remaining plates, handing Rachel Emma’s diaper bag. It just proved that Monica’s intuition was right all along.
Her bad haircut
Since Phoebe had given Chandler and Joey good haircuts, Monica asked her friend if she would do hers. Phoebe refuses, saying that Monica is a “complete control freak”. After she continues to pester her, Phoebe agrees to cut her hair under the condition that she won’t be controlling or bossy.
It turns out that Monica should have been her usual self as Phoebe gives her a terrible haircut. Monica is visibly upset and refuses to come out of her room, worried about the embarrassment she would face from her friends. Ross and Chandler don’t help either when they mock her with Dudley Moore references.
Welcoming themselves to her fridge
Looks like the gang feels most at home in Monica’s apartment as they are often seen hanging out there. Monica is happy to play host to the gang, cooking regular meals and baking treats for them all. However, they sometimes take advantage of her hospitality when they welcome themselves to her fridge.
Considering Joey and Chandler lived across the hall for the first few seasons, fans see them root through her fridge a lot. At one point there is some karmic retribution as the pair end up drinking a glass of fat. She probably doesn’t mind, but Joey’s excessive eating would have cost her a lot with the groceries. They could have contributed in some way.
Humiliated her in a diner
In season 3, Monica was forced to take a job in a diner after she was fired. This was a 1950s themed restaurant where Monica had to wear fake breast implants and rollerskates (hazardous and not needed since she was the cook). Monica hated the job so it didn’t help when the gang wound her up.
For instance, if any customer decided to play the YMCA song, Monica and her colleagues are forced to get up on the counter and dance. The gang soon discovers this and take pleasure in making Monica repeat the dance over. A true friend wouldn’t subject someone to this sort of humiliation.
Rooted for Christmas gifts
One thing everyone likes about the Christmas holiday is getting surprised with gifts. In the episode “The One With The Routine”, Chandler finds out that Phoebe and Rachel ransack their apartment to try and find their Christmas presents from Monica.
They are easily able to sway Chandler into helping them after guilt-tripping him to try and get better gifts for Monica. Monica walks in believing they are about to open their presents and accidentally reveals Chandler’s gift. Instead of hiding his emotions, he appears ungrateful - which he knows would hurt her feelings since she is a perfectionist.
The forgotten Thanksgiving
When Monica told the group that she was not going to host Thanksgiving, the gang manipulate her into doing so. Phoebe targets her weakness for perfection, telling Monica that she doesn’t believe she would be able to top the previous year’s. Monica agrees to host as long as they are not late. She also asks Phoebe and Rachel to pick up dessert.
However, all of Monica’s hard efforts are put to waste as Rachel, Phoebe, Joey and Ross turn up late. Monica refuses to let them into the apartment, which then leads to Joey getting his head stuck in the door. She also gets annoyed when Rachel and Phoebe forget the dessert. Joey then ruins the spread when he goes flying across the room.
Walking in on her naked
Everyone knows that the gang is close, but they soon crossed a personal boundary when several members walked in on Monica naked. The guys seem to have forgotten how to knock as they have continuously walked in on her showering. The first instance was when Joey walked in, mistaking her for Rachel (“The One With The Boobies”).
The next instance was in the episode “The One With The Dollhouse” when Ross walked in on Monica to put Phoebe’s dollhouse out after it caught fire. Even though he could have run into Joey and Chandler’s apartment, Ross surprised Monica by entering the bathroom – knowing fully well that she was in the shower. It’s really is an invasion of privacy.
Chandler cheats
Although Chandler and Ross had the best intentions at heart, it still doesn’t excuse the fact that Chandler cheated on Monica five minutes into the marriage. After believing they had lost the cameras, Ross and Chandler stay behind to retake the wedding photos. Chandler ends up kissing another woman and tries to pass it off as his and Monica’s first kiss.
However, this plan backfires when Monica finds the cameras packed in one of their suitcases. She can’t even be angry with her husband as he turns on her for opening the wedding gifts without him. Pretty sure cheating triumphs over opening gifts – she let him off lightly with this one.
Fat shaming
There was a recurring joke that ran through the series relating to Monica’s weight. When Monica was a teenager, it was revealed that she was overweight. The friends never let her forget this, with Chandler, Ross and Joey constantly making fat jokes. This is most notorious in “The One With The Prom” when they joke about the size of her swimming costume and her appearance in the video.
However, the one that hurt her the most was when Monica overheard Chandler saying she was fat. This was during their first meeting when Chandler came to their house for Thanksgiving, which prompted her into losing all the weight. Many other episodes have revealed the fat-shaming is a sore spot for Monica.
Made fun of her OCD
The worst thing the gang did to Monica was to make fun of her OCD. At the time when the series was on the air, the world wasn’t as focused on mental health as it is today. Although she is deemed overbearing and a perfectionist by the group, Monica fits the criteria of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).
The gang fails to realize that Monica’s excessive cleaning and organization skills are not something to joke about. Rachel licks the London photos when Monica tells her not to smudge them. Phoebe calls her psychotic when they first lived together and they all make fun of her leaving her shoes in the middle of the living room. It’s not funny when they use her mental health to gain some laughs.
