The Real Reason Rachel And Joey's Relationship Failed On Friends

For 10 incredible seasons, "Friends" delivered hilarious storylines and compelling relationship drama to millions of fans who tuned in each week. Naturally, not every story that was told over the course of 10 years was going to be a smash hit with the viewers, and there was definitely a time or two where the "Friends" writers missed the mark. Some storylines that fans didn't love included Chandler's (Matthew Perry) move to Tulsa in Season 9, Ross (David Schwimmer) dating one of his students in Season 6, and the constant throwbacks to fat Monica (Courteney Cox) over the years.

Perhaps the most disliked of all the storylines and plot twists in "Friends" history was the coming together of Joey (Matt LeBlanc) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) in Seasons 9 and 10. The romantic seed was planted for the duo back in Season 8 when Joey fell for a newly pregnant Rachel. She ended up not feeling the same way, and Joey eventually got over his crush, but toward the end of Season 9, Rachel started to have some feelings for him. They kissed in the Season 9 finale and started to date at the beginning of Season 10, but it abruptly ended. It turns out there was a reason it was cut short, as it was never really meant to last.

According to "Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a TV Era" by Saul Austerlitz (via InStyle), the cast got upset at the idea of Rachel and Joey getting together and told show creator David Crane of their disapproval. According to Crane, they told him, "That's like having a crush on your sister" and "like playing with fire!" He revealed to Radio Times in 2019 that he knew the idea of having Joey and Rachel get together was wrong, but he decided to run with it. "That happens in life," he said. "There is the relationship that shouldn't be. Even though you love someone, that's not who you're going to be with."

It turns out the plan was always to have Joey and Rachel's relationship fail, and to have the latter end up with Ross like the viewer's always wanted. "Joey and Rachel, we always knew [it would end]," Crane admitted. "She was pregnant with Ross's baby. We always knew ... this was doomed, but in a hopefully really interesting, moving, and compelling way." The show creator was happy with the choice he and the writing team made regarding the coupling, saying it took Joey to a new emotional level that fans hadn't seen of him before.