Throughout the '90s and early '00s, viewers shipped Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer's characters on "Friends," Rachel Green and Ross Geller, whose on-and-off relationship was a central part of the show. In 2021, the pair shocked fans worldwide when they revealed they'd both been crushing on one another during the early seasons of "Friends." 

During "Friends: The Reunion," which brought the original cast back together for a special interview on HBO Max, Schwimmer explained (via Entertainment Weekly), "The first season I had a major crush on Jen." Aniston was quick to add, "It was reciprocated," revealing that Ross and Rachel's romance very nearly continued off-screen. As for why a real-life relationship never transpired, Schwimmer explained, "At some point we were both crushing hard on each other, but it was like two ships passing because one of us was always in a relationship and we never crossed that boundary. We respected that." Sadly, they were never single at the same time, and Aniston said during "Friends: The Reunion," "We just channeled all of our love and adoration for each other into Ross and Rachel." 

Fans were undoubtedly thrilled to discover the reason why Ross and Rachel's romantic chemistry seemed so real. However, gossip about the crush soon overtook the internet, and likely became bigger than any projects Schwimmer was working on at the time.

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