What Is The Relationship Between Joey And Alex In His Friends Spin-Off?

When "Friends" ended its 10-season run in 2004, the Central Perk-loving group went their separate ways. But who can forget that Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) scored a spinoff for a self-titled series that ran for two seasons and 46 episodes? When a still-single Joey moves from his NYC apartment to California, gone are his familiar friends as he tries to make it as an actor in Hollywood.

On "Friends," Joey is a ladies' man whose long list of girlfriends includes everyone from dancer Janine (Elle MacPherson) to paleontology professor Charlie (Aisha Tyler) to, yes, his longtime friend, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston). Later in "Joey," he finds another friendship that turns into more when he meets Alex (Andrea Anders), his married neighbor and landlord. While they start as friends, the two become a couple by the end of the second season after Alex splits from her husband.

Fans have rarely seen Joey fall in love in the three decades since "Friends" debuted. On "Joey," he tells Alex, "I love you" early on. (OK, it's due to the way she eats lasagna!) The series ends with Joey in a committed relationship with Alex.

A mature, lovestruck Joey was new turf for "Friends" fans. The spinoff marks the first time the character is in a serious relationship that could have led to marriage. In fact, in one episode, Joey admits Alex is the first girl he actually thinks about marrying. The series was canceled before fans could see them walk down the aisle, which may have been for the best, considering one "Joey" producer hated the titular character's life in Hollywood.

In a 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Kevin Bright, who also served as a producer on "Friends," said the "Joey" storyline "did not do service to the character." "Joey should have come out to Hollywood and had the time of his life," Bright said. "It should have been far more an 'Entourage' than it was this family 'Joey needs to grow up' show. Joey would have gotten a pilot, come out to Hollywood, and had the time of his life and gotten into all kinds of trouble."

Although "Joey" was relatively short-lived, it did provide a real-life spinoff for LeBlanc. In April 2006, LeBlanc began dating his "Joey" love interest Andrea Anders. However, in 2015 it was confirmed that LeBlanc and Anders ended their relationship after eight years together.