FRIENDS’ 25th Anniversary: Ranking the Best Love Interests

[On Thursday, September 22, 1994, NBC debuted the pilot of FRIENDS. The sitcom, about a group of six 20-something friends, went on to become a pop culture touchstone. In honor of the milestone, we’re doing 25 Days of FRIENDS, looking back at the show in big and small ways.]

Over ten seasons, the FRIENDS characters loved, lost, and made some seriously questionable dating choices.

Ultimately, two-thirds of the characters found love within their tight-knit group—and Phoebe married Mike—but along the way, a few good options ended up orbiting through the group.

Here are the best characters that (briefly) made their way into the group*…

5) Janice (throughout the series; dated Chandler, hooked up with Ross): Yes, Janice. You can make the argument she was annoying, but oh my God, Chandler put her through so much. Heck, he dumped her the first two times viewers saw her. Janice warned Chandler early on the he “couldn’t live without [her],” and in many ways it was true. (At least until Monica.) And rather than dump Janice, CHANDLER PRETENDED TO MOVE TO YEMEN. He probably deserved her popping up constantly after he and Monica got together, to be frank.

And, man, she hooked up with Ross when he was at one of his lowest points. She dumped him for whining too much…and she was absolutely right.

4) Alan (Season 1; dated Monica): Don’t remember Alan? He appeared in a single episode of the show (“The One with the Thumb”), and Monica was initially reluctant to introduce her friends to him. Unfortunately for her, they fell in love with Alan instantly…and Monica realized she had no spark with him. (He also didn’t love her friends, which he revealed post-breakup. Awkward.)

3) David (throughout the series; dated Phoebe): Phoebe never had a real serious love interest within the group, so it makes sense her most serious boyfriends were two of the best supporting characters. (And she married the other one.) David was perfectly matched for Phoebe in many ways…nerdy, crazy about her, and a little bit kooky. They just could never get their timing right.

2) Pete (season 3; dated Monica): Yes, he wrote Monica an obscenely large check to get her attention, but he also took her to Rome for their first date and bought her a restaurant. If only he hadn’t had aspirations to be the Ultimate Fighting Champion. (And, uh, no talent to back it up.)

1) Julie (Season 2; dated Ross): The biggest flaw Julie had? She wasn’t Rachem. (Or, in non-Ross’ list talk, Rachel.) She fit in with Ross’ friends, was in his field, got along with his sister. There really was no outsider who fit in better with the group (outside of Rachel, who was jealous of Julie’s relationship with Ross), and there really was nothing wrong with her. (Sorry, Rachel.) At least she got a happy ending with the Ross-lookalike, Russ.

*Mike is excluded, given he ultimately ended up with Phoebe.

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