The Top 14 Significant Others On ‘Friends’

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Over the years, much has been written about the main cast of Friends. Are you a Rachel, a Phoebe or a Monica? (I’m totally a Monica.) Did anyone actually like Ross? (I don’t think so.) Who was the best Friend? (#TeamChandler.) The fact of the matter is, there’s no way the show would have succeeded if it was just six friends in a coffee shop for 30 minutes a week; a lot depended on the people who came in and out of their lives – and in particular, their love lives. Even then, there were some good love interests and some horrible ones. So let’s take a moment and rank the most important significant others of our favorite Friends both good and bad, shall we?

14. Emily (played by Helen Baxendale)

Significant Other: Ross

In my mind, Emily was easily the most annoying character to show up during the entire run of the show. Not only did she want Ross to (sort of understandably) not talk to Rachel anymore, but she actually wanted him to move an ocean away from his kid. What a selfish bitch. And nevermind that she cut up 72 perfectly good long stemmed roses – one for each day Ross knew and loved her. No sane girl does that.

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13. Paolo (played by Cosmino Fusco)

Significant Other: Rachel

Ugh, the weenie from Torini? There’s nothing else to say besides that this guy sucks. Next.

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12. Janine (played by Elle Macpherson)

Significant Other: Joey

Sure, she’s a hot dancer, but what kind of person doesn’t like Monica and Chandler? Monica may be too loud, but my beloved Chandler is certainly not blah. There was a lesson to be learned from Janine: never, ever make a guy pick between you and his friends. If you do, you’ll likely never see him again.

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11. Charlie (played by Aisha Tyler)

Significant Other: Joey and Ross

I can’t exactly put my finger on why, but I hated Charlie. It’s definitely not because she came between Rachel and Joey because that whole story line creeped me out. Maybe it was how she seemed to think she was smarter than everyone else or how she had no problem hooking up with Ross right after she dumped Joey. Whatever it was, the bottom line is that if Rachel doesn’t like you, neither do I.

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10. Mona (played by Bonnie Somerville)

Significant Other: Ross

Listen, I get it: it’s sort of awkward to have your boyfriend live with his ex who is having his baby. And it’s probably not cool that he didn’t tell you that he got her pregnant or that she was living with him. Or that he gave you the key to his apartment and then changed the locks. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe Mona wasn’t that bad.

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9. Joshua (played by Tate Donovan)

Significant Other: Rachel

I’ve got to be honest, I never understood Rachel’s attraction to the recent divorcee. Of course, it could have been that Aniston was dating Donovan in real life at the time, but Joshua was just so “blah” to me. Plus, he was obviously totally scared of commitment – did you see how fast he ran when Rachel answered the door in a wedding dress? Who needs that?

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8. Kathy (played by Paget Brewster)

Significant Other: Joey and Chandler

It should have been easy to hate Kathy for cheating on Joey, but given that it was with the much-better-suited-for-her Chandler, it was totally ok. Chandler needed someone to love and Kathy was the perfect fit, not only for him, but the whole crew – look at how easily she accepted the reason that Chandler was in the box in the appropriately titled “The One With Chandler In A Box.” Of course she also later cheated on Chandler, proving that the phrase “once a cheater always a cheater” is sadly true. But she was pretty cool for a while.

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7. Tag (played by Eddie Cahill)

Significant Other: Rachel

Rachel may have given him a positive (if perverted) performance review, but despite his “tiney-tiny touchie” and his ability to unhook a bra “with minimal supervision,” young Tag Jones wasn’t my favorite of the ladies’ beaus. Although to be fair, it probably wasn’t Tag’s fault. It was always obvious (to me anyway) that Rachel belonged with Ross, and the only thing Ross and Tag had in common was a certain red sweater.

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6. Gary (played by Michael Rapaport)

Significant Other: Phoebe

He could have arrested Phoebe (for impersonating a police officer with his badge), but instead, he decided to date her. Gary and Phoebe were awfully cute – so much so that the “hotness” of their relationship drove competitive Monica crazy – and it seemed like they were on the right track when they moved in together. But then he went and shot that chirping bird and our animal-loving Friend had to say goodbye to her trigger-happy beau after a single day of cohabitation.

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5. Pete (played by Jon Favreau)

Significant Other: Monica

The multi-millionaire with the heart of gold may not have been Monica’s perfect match, but he was certainly persistent, tipping her $20,000 and buying a restaurant just to have her manage it. And while their relationship was ultimately derailed by his desire to become the Ultimate Fighting Champion (despite having no ability to actually fight), it was nice to see a guy treat Monica the way she deserved to be treated…even if he didn’t actually design her a $50,000 ring.

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4. David (played by Hank Azaria)

Significant Other: Phoebe

David may have only appeared in five episodes of the series, but his total love for Phoebe cemented him a high spot on this list. Due to his research in Belarus, however, it was simply not meant to be. In David’s words, “Perhaps if I hadn’t gone to Minsk, things would have worked out for us. And I wouldn’t have ruined my career, or lost that toe to frostbite.” I guess we will never know.

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3. Richard (played by Tom Selleck)

Significant Other: Monica

Ah, Richard. What can we say about the hunky, older doctor? He was all kinds of perfect, particularly when he, despite the fact that he loves her, says to Chandler: “You go get her Chandler. And can I give you a piece of advice? If you do get her, don’t let her go. Trust me.” This leads Chandler to sum up Dr. Burke pretty accurately: “Y’know Richard…you are a good guy.” Yes, yes he was.

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2. Janice (played by Maggie Wheeler)

Significant Other: Chandler (and Ross for a hot minute in Season 5)

Every time she utters “the three words that make your balls jump back up inside your body,” I fall in love with Janice Litman Goralnik just a little bit more. Her voice may be like nails on a chalkboard and she may not be able to take a hint (6 Yemen Road, Yemen?) but at the end of the day, Janice is a good person with a good heart. Not many women would console their ex in the waiting room at a fertility clinic.

Fun fact: Janice is one of only four non-main characters to appear in all ten seasons of the show (the others being Gunther and Mr. and Mrs. Geller).

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1. Mike (played by Paul Rudd)

Significant Other: Phoebe

Ah, the guy that gave hope to every girl whose ex wasn’t ready for commitment that he may come back around. The lawyer-turned-piano player was the perfect match for the slightly kooky Phoebe, loving her not in spite of her being “so wonderfully weird,” but because of it. I mean, he had told his parents off when they didn’t like Phoebe, had his dog as one of his groomsmen and “changed” his name to Crap Bag. What’s not to love?.

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Jenna Crowley

Jenna used to be known as 2NOTBrokeGirls, but then one of the girls actually went broke, so she's struck out on her own. Jenna spends her free time saving the world, one sorority girl at a time (usually while wearing yoga pants), questioning why she decided to get a doctorate, documenting her love of all things cheese related, and hosting the new PGP podcast Don't Take It From Us. You can ask her anything you want about football, using your boobs to get what you want, and pizza at @JennaLCrowley on Twitter or via email at JennaLCrowley@gmail.com.

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