Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer were almost more than just friends.
“I had a major crush on Jen. At some point we were both crushing hard on each other,” Schwimmer revealed during the recent “Friends” reunion special, which premiered on HBO Max on Thursday.
“But it was like two ships passing,” he continued. “One of us was always in a relationship and we never crossed that boundary. We respected that.”
Aniston confirmed that she felt the same at the time.
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“I remember saying one time to David, ‘It’s going to be such a bummer if the first time you and I actually kiss is going to be on national television,’” she said.“And sure enough, the first time we kissed was in that coffee shop.”
Their real-life chemistry might be one secret behind Ross and Rachel’s electric, will-they-or-won't-they energy on screen.
“We channeled all of our adoration and love for each other into Ross and Rachel,” Aniston said.
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Apparently, their mutual crushes were hardly a secret on set.
“When we had breaks from rehearsal, there were moments we would cuddle on the couch. I’m thinking, ‘How did not everyone know we weren’t crushing on each other?’” Schwimmer said, to which both Matthew Perry and Courteney Cox responded: “We knew.”
The much-anticipated “Friends” reunion was full of stories and revelations from all six cast members, as well as guest appearances from celebrities including Lady Gaga and David Beckham.
The show’s producers also talked about how some of the characters’ romances were influenced by fan reactions.
For example, the audience went nuts when Monica and Chandler had a one-night stand in London in season four, which made the show’s creators realize they needed to concentrate more on their relationship.
“I think that moment was the beginning of how we rethought Monica and Chandler,” said producer David Crane. “The original plan was, they would sleep together in London; it was a brief thing and we’d have some fun with it after, as they’re both like ‘Oh my God, what did we do?’”
But “the way the audience reacted, we realized there’s more to this, and we need to pay attention,” said producer Marta Kauffman. “It was such a powerful moment that we knew we had to explore it more.”
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