Ross and Rachel are one of the most iconic couples in sitcoms, even if they spend the entirety of Friends on again/off again, before finally connecting (presumably for good) in the finale. Along the way, though, both had serious relationships with other people… and a few flings, like Rachel’s short-lived relationship with the gorgeous Italian, Paolo.

The two meet by chance during the blackout, when Rachel finds Paolo’s cat, and then (of course) Paolo himself. It’s a clear fling, though, and he only actually appears in the show for four episodes (as well as one flashback and a couple of mentions). Given all the red flags, fans never expected him to stick around for longer, either!

10 The Language Barrier

This was a huge one – as part of the joke of Paolo’s character was that he and Rachel could barely even understand each other. He was Italian, and spoke only a very small amount of English (although always with great cheer and confidence), and unsurprisingly, Rachel doesn’t speak Italian. It’s also clear that Rachel isn’t really trying to learn, either, and that Paolo’s English doesn’t seem to be improving. No matter how good the chemistry is, being unable to actually talk was always going to be an issue.

9 She And Ross Are Lobsters

While there are times in the series that it really does seem that Ross and Rachel are over for good, the time that Rachel is with Paolo isn’t one of them. In fact, the night of the blackout, Ross is getting ready to try and ask Rachel out when the cat comes along and ruins the moment. It was obvious from the start that Ross and Rachel were going to get together, so everyone watching knew that this was just an attractive Italian distraction.

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8 She Was Just With Him For His Looks

Of course, one of the most obvious signs that this was not going to be a long-term relationship was that Rachel actively said to her friends that it wouldn’t be!

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She made it clear that she just found him absolutely physically stunning, and after Barry, she was thrilled to have a fling just because it was sexy and fun. Paolo, clearly, felt the same – and that may make for great fun, but it’s not the foundation for a long-term relationship.

7 He Was A Clear Rebound

In addition to being driven purely by physical attraction, Rachel made no secret of the fact that her relationship with Paolo was a rebound. She had been with Barry for so long, and only recently run out on her wedding, and was clearly looking for something light and fun to balance out the seriousness of her last relationship. Paolo was a great choice for a rebound, too, but definitely not for a long-term relationship.

6 He Couldn’t Connect With Her Friends…

With a group as co-dependent as this one, it’s vitally important that romantic partners connect with the rest of the gang… something that Janice, Emily, and Janine learned the hard way. And Paolo just couldn’t connect to the group. This was in part because of the language barrier, and in part because he seemed to be out of town a lot, but it was clearly going to be an issue.

5 … And Ross Hated Him

It came as no surprise that Ross hated Paolo – he had been in love with Rachel for years, and he saw Paolo as a rival. He made no secret of it either, even insulting him to his face (and calling him a ‘crap weasel’, of all things).

He didn’t get past this, either, as when he was with Julie and Rachel slept with Paolo again, he was just as angry. Ross would never get along with Paolo, and that would always be a problem.

4 It Was Sort Of A Long-Distance Relationship

A lot of the details of Paolo’s life were left unexplained – like what he did for a living. However, it sometimes seemed as though he was only occasionally in New York, as Rachel sometimes spoke to him from Rome, and in ‘The One With Mrs Bing’, he comes back from a longer trip back to Europe. It seems as though he may only be in the city from time to time, and that has the potential to cause problems for any relationship, especially in a time where communication long-distance was significantly harder.

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3 He Doesn’t Bring Out The Best In Her

Rachel grows into an amazing person over the course of the show, but her relationship with Paolo really brought out the worst in her. With him, she was shallow, superficial, often ignored friends, showed up late to a dinner with everyone (and with Chandler’s mom in town), and generally acted her worst. It just wasn’t pleasant to see, and he would have undoubtedly continued to bring out the worst in her if they had stayed together.

2 They Have Nothing In Common

Admittedly, they may have had something in common, but they wouldn’t have known about it, thanks to their inability to communicate! The two were often shown to have amazing chemistry, but they were never shown actually doing anything as a couple that would point to shared interests or hobbies, or something to build a real relationship on.

1 He Gropes Phoebe

This is, of course, the big one – and the thing that did eventually end the relationship. Paolo, when getting a massage from Phoebe, groped her and then exposed himself to her, and clearly expected that she would have sex with him. Thankfully, Rachel recognized this as unacceptable and tossed him out on his ear immediately, and it was the end of Paolo.

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About The Author


Rose Graceling-Moore
(1516 Articles Published)

Rose Graceling-Moore has been writing about film, TV and comics since 2013, when she began writing for a local print magazine in Vancouver, BC. Since then, Rose has written for Horror Honeys, Moviepilot and Quirkbooks as well as Screenrant, increasingly focusing on comic books and live-action comic adaptations, as well as diversity and representation on screen. Rose also co-hosted the DC Movies Podcast, and has guested on other nerd and entertainment podcasts over the past five years.

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Rose’s love of comics began all the way back in the early ‘90s, when she discovered the X-Men while living in Africa (where there wasn’t a whole lot to do but read!), and since then has had an on-again, off-again love affair with not just Marvel, but DC and indie comics as well. You can follow her on Twitter: RoseMooreWrites for tweets about comics, movies, and more.

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