We have all grown up watching Friends, adoring it even. The popular sitcom has been a source of companionship for many. Although we had all hoped to have friends like Rachel, Ross, Pheobe, Chandler, Joey and Monica, we also cannot overlook all those times they imparted negative advice to their ‘Friends’. Be it love, relationships, friendship, family or dating, some advice couldn’t be simply laughed off.
Below are five not-so-friendly pieces of advice from the characters that we hope you wouldn’t try giving your Friends:
The one where Joey tells Ross to indulge in a threesome
In season two of Friends, when Ross was in a bit of a soup regarding his feelings for Rachel and Julie, Joey in typical Joey fashion said, “I got two words for you… threesome.” This isn’t the ideal relationship advice to provide a man when he’s torn between not hurting the sentiments of two ladies he cares about. Further, the idea of a threesome could end up making Ross feel even worse about himself.
The one where Rachel tries to sabotage Ross’ relationship
Rachel and Ross’ on-and-off relationship throughout the entirety of the show had them get together with other people. Rachel was probably the most jealous and self-centered among all the Friends when it came to relationships, and not in a good way. She once advised Ross to put off having sex with Julie as girls like to wait, not because they do but because she had a crush on Ross herself. She also convinced Bonnie, another of Ross’ girlfriends to shave off her head disguising it for Bonnie’s betterment. The truth was that Rachel felt intimidated by Bonnie and also a tad jealous of her relationship with Ross.
The one where Joey tells Chandler that Monica isn’t marriage material
Monica had always been a sucker for finding the one for her and wanting to marry. When Chandler and Monica almost got married in Las Vegas at the start of Season 1, Chandler freaks out that things might be going way too fast. Chandler admits to Joey that he is afraid of telling Monica as she was set on marriage. Joey’s advice to Chandler was to tell Monica that she wasn’t marriage material. We all know how Monica revered the institution of marriage. She dreamed of a big wedding but decided to heed Chandler’s advice to not splash so much money. Telling her that she wasn’t marriage material would have broken her heart and as a friend that was the worst advice to give.
The one where Phoebe tells Monica to cheat
Before her wedding to Chandler, Monica is jittery and nervous and confides with Pheobe about the changes she would undergo after becoming someone’s wife. Pheobe after making sure Chandler wasn’t in attendance, asks Monica to have a random fling with some guy and ‘get it out of her system’. As liberal as Pheobe was, suggesting Monica had sex with a stranger days before her marriage, knowing that Chandler always had issues with relationships and love, was the most misguided advice. Plus having a fling wouldn’t have helped Monica, but only added to her woes.
The one where Joey tells his class to become prettier
Joey is provided with an opportunity to teach young soap opera actors and give them tips and hacks on the business. While leaving the class, Joey’s last remark to the aspiring artists was that to make it through the industry, a majority of them need to become more good-looking. His advice would have ended up fizzling out the self-esteem of a few of the hopeful actors. Also, the incident where Joey advises one of his students to act gay for a role that Joey wanted, intending to harm the guy’s chances of actually getting the role was plain cruel.
What do you think? Do you have more such not-so-friendly incidents from the otherwise cult classic Friends to share? Tell us in the comments.
