Throughout the ten seasons of Friends, the friends each have numerous relationships with some romantic partners proving to be much better fitted to the friends than others.
The “endgame” relationships of the show are pretty much perfect in my opinion and I think most people would agree on that. However, there was at least one past love interest of each friend who you could call their “one that got away”.
Ross: Charlie
Ross is probably the only friend who had pretty much only love interests who really were a serious potential match for him, with perhaps the exception of the college student and Bonnie (the girl who shaves her head). Charlie was very well suited to his personality with both them having very similar interests and career paths.
Charlie was written off mid Season 10 – probably to make way for Rachel – in a rather stupid way (as many of the love interests of the friends are) when she rekindles her relationship with an old flame by kissing him in front of Ross after the guy had attempted to blackmail Ross into breaking up with Charlie for the grant he was seeking at work.
Julie (his girlfriend at the start of Season 2) was notably also a well suited girlfriend to Ross who seemed to get along with him well. However, she did annoy some Friends fans likely due to the fact that her character was purely designed to be an obstacle for Ross and Rachel.
Joey: The Woman Giving Birth In The Hospital
At the end of Season 1 while Carol is giving birth, Joey spends time with a woman who is giving birth on her own. The two seem to really click and appear to have a much deeper connection than Joey has with any of his actual love interests throughout the show.
Ultimately, later in the episode Joey would return with balloons to find that the father of the woman’s baby had returned.
Rachel: Gavin (The Guy Who Took Over Her Job At Ralph Lauren While She Was On Maternity Leave)
Due to the timing of Gavin’s appearance on Friends, his relationship with Rachel was just not in the cards given that Rachel had only very recently given birth to Emma.
Gavin was a likeable character who seemed to get on with Rachel very well. The character definitely seems like at the very least he should have had a longer arc in the show. Of course, Ross is the one that was always meant to end up with Rachel with their on and off relationship always likely meaning they were going to eventually be together.
Monica: Richard (Portrayed By Tom Selleck)
Richard is defintely Monica’s the one that got away given that there isn’t much competition for that title besides Pete (the multi-millionaire) and the fact that he returned in The One with the Proposal marking the significance of his relationship with Monica.
The age difference seemed to be something the two were able to get past but the fact that Monica wanted kids was what made them simply not destined to be as Richard was at a stage of his life where he didn’t want to have kids again.
Phoebe: Gary (The Police Officer)
Gary was probably the most serious relationship Phoebe had prior to Mike as David the scientist left for Minsk before the two could properly develop their relationship. David the scientist is simply too dull and awkward in a way which did not blend well with Phoebe in my opinion which is why he is not my pick for Phoebe’s “the one that got away”.
Gary the police officer – while not comparable to Mike – was a somewhat good match for Phoebe as he seemed to really care for her and want the relationship to move forward. When Gary and Phoebe move in together, he shoots a bird one morning which marks the end of his relationship with Phoebe and makes for yet another somewhat random end to a relationship for one of the friends.
Chandler: Janice
Although annoying, it can not be denied that the crazy number of reunions between Janice and Chandler at often the most important occasions qualifies Janice as Chandler’s the one that got away… even if it is just on some form of spiritual level. 💀
Besides Janice, Chandler’s love interests were often just not well suited to him with his next most notable relationship being with Joey’s girlfriend who he eventually dated… but was not a relationship that was really made to last as he ultimately lost her the same way he got her.
Who Do You Think Was Each Friend’s “The One That Got Away”?
Relationships of characters in general prove to be a very controversial topic in pretty much any television fandom as people often have very different perspectives on things which is why I am sure some people may have a different opinion on who the best love interest of each friend was. Let me know in the comments below if you disagree with any of my picks for “the one that got away” of each friend.
