Friends' Monica And Chandler's Romance 'Began As A Whim'

Any time whenever you think about Friends and romance, your mind likely jumps straight to Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), right?


The iconic couple drove several of the show's storylines along, and as such their relationship is a little synonymous with Companions. Nevertheless we mustn't discount Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) as a couple, right? They just clicked with each other. It was astonishing and good. And we loved it.


and you could be surprised to learn that their relationship actually wasn't habitually intended to unfold on-screen, at least the way it did. In Saul Austerlitz's new book Generation Friends: An Indoors Look at the Show That Defined a Television Era, the idea of the pair as a couple is revealed to have started as a whim," and had been intended as an ephemeral one, at that.


as soon as the second season was being recommended, one of the writers tossed out an idea: ‘What if we get Chandler and Monica with each other wrote Austerlitz. “The thought was intended far less as a permanent shift in the gravity of the series and more as a fun plotline, good for a couple of episodes before the status quo snapped back inside place."


Not each person was on board at first, as some shot the idea down, calling it "desperate." As a result, it was tabled up until season 4, any time it was recommended as a possibility for an ending to a storyline featuring Ross's wedding to Emily in London and Monica essentially imploding. Although the writers weren't totally sold on the idea, still.


"There was a fear [...] That bringing Chandler and Monica with each other could be perceived as near-incestuous," which does make sense. Seeing the pair as close companions may have felt a little uncommon, although as soon as the scene was actually filmed, it rapidly won over critics – and most importantly, the studio audience any time the scene took place.


“The cheers and hoots of delight went on and on, drowning out the performers and shaking the room,” wrote Austerlitz. And from then on, it just made sense to pair up Monica and Chandler – because how can you argue with such a strong reaction?


Ah, true love.