Friends: 5 Reasons Monica & Chandler Are The Best Couple (& 5 Reasons They’re The Worst)

Friends boast a cast of colorful characters, each one interwoven with the other to create a complex storyline that entertained viewers for 10 whole seasons. Throughout the life of the show, the characters have seen an array of relationships, some more serious than others.

It’s arguable that Ross and Rachel are the pinnacle of television relationships, making history with their “We were on a break” bit, but in terms of longevity and stability, Monica and Chandler hold the title as the best relationship on Friends — or maybe not? Though the couple is well-loved, there are a few reasons that maybe Monica and Chandler aren’t quite the soulmates we think they are. Here are some reasons why Monica and Chandler are the best couple, and just as many as to why they’re the worst.

10 Best: Friends First

One of the best tropes in television is the friends to lovers storyline. It’s a classic tale that is just as heartwarming the hundredth time as it was the first. Monica and Chandler spend the first 5 seasons as a strictly platonic relationship; in one of the earlier episodes, Monica makes it clear that she could never date Chandler because he’s not her type. Suffice to say, things can change fast when you don’t choose who you love. The basis of Monica and Chandler’s relationship is a solid friendship, and that makes them all the more strong as a couple — they both like and love each other.

9 Worst: Harsh Judgment

Through flashbacks, the audience learns that Ross and Chandler are friends from college. As such, many of the stories that detail them through college shows their immaturity, best seen through Chandler’s flippant attitude that’s too cool to care. There’s a story Monica tells about hearing Chandler make a comment on her weight when she was younger at Thanksgiving, and it’s that comment that seemed to drive Monica to change her appearance. Though she learns to forgive him, it’s hard to forget such shallowness, especially coming from someone you love.

8 Best: You’re The Most Beautiful Woman In Most Rooms

There’s no denying that Monica is attractive. Throughout the series viewers see her style evolve with the seasons, and it’s safe to say that she only looks better with time. Unfortunately, Monica doesn’t see that in herself, and when she finds herself self-conscious and low at her brother’s wedding in London, it’s Chandler that comforts her by reminding her of her beauty. This isn’t the first time that Chandler’s had Monica’s back, and it wouldn’t be the last.

7 Worst: What’s An Adult Relationship?

The hallmark to Chandler’s character is his humor. Among the 6 friends, he serves as the Jester, always proving a quippy comment or clever joke to get a laugh. Unfortunately, with his humor comes his maturity — or lack, thereof.

Every relationship that Chandler experiences throughout the show ends similarly, with Chandler to blame for his own inability to hold down an adult relationship. Even when he begins to date Monica, they find it difficult to move past Chandler’s immaturity. Though Monica learns to love him, it takes effort to curb his childish behavior, and a relationship shouldn’t be so hard, right?

6 Best: Moving Across The Hall

Though rare, Chandler does have his fair share of shining moments of maturity. When the group takes a trip to Las Vegas, it brings into light the seriousness of his relationship with Monica. Though they gamble on the decision whether or not to get married in an impromptu Vegas wedding, ultimately they decide that they’re not ready yet. What they are ready for, though, is to move in together, which Chandler prompts when they return to New York City. It’s Chandler that makes the move for the next step in their relationship, proving his character development and commitment to Monica.

5 Worst: Chandler VS Richard

Only furthering the point of Chandler’s immaturity is the way that he approaches his proposal to Monica. Instead of being upfront about his intentions, he pushes her in the other direction to throw her off track so that she’d be truly surprised by his proposal. As it turns out, this plan is foiled by Richard (one of Monica’s more serious exes) professing his love to Monica, which only confuses her. This leads to Chandler standing up to Richard and fighting hard for Monica, proving that there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to be with the woman he loves, but he wouldn’t have had to fight in the first place had he approached the situation differently.

4 Best: Daddy Issues

It’s no secret that Chandler has a complicated relationship with his parents. Though he maintains a relationship with his mother, the relationship that Chandler has with his father is nonexistent. Despite the trauma that his parents’ divorce caused, Chandler learns to put aside his hurt when Monica encourages him to seek out a relationship with his father before their wedding.

Though he drags his feet, Chandler extends an olive branch to his father, marking the first step in healing their relationship. It’s for Monica that he sets aside his troubled past to grow into a better man for her, someone she’s happy to spend the rest of her life with.

3 Worst: Runaway Groom

One of Chandler’s worst offenses is his disappearing act that he pulls the day before his wedding. Paralyzed with fear, Chandler runs away from his friends and family to escape the impending lifelong commitment he was set to make with Monica. It takes an intense manhunt to locate Chandler, and even that isn’t enough to get him down the aisle. It’s only when he learns that Monica might be pregnant (she isn’t, it’s a misunderstanding he overhears) that he comes to his senses and say “I do”, but the struggle to get him to the altar was enough to overshadow several winning arguments to attest to their relationship.

2 Best: She’s A Mother Without A Baby

Chandler and Monica face several problems conceiving, making it impossible for them to biologically have a child. When they both agree to adopt, the journey is long and tedious, sometimes looking bleak. It isn’t until they find Erica, a pregnant woman from Ohio looking to put her child up for adoption, that there’s a glimmer of hope.

With a sudden mixup of information on the adoption agency’s part, it’s a near miss, but Chandler pleads to Erica to consider them for the adoption, because though he has to learn how to become a father, Monica is already ready to be a mother. It’s this moment that alters Erica’s decision and ultimately leads them to successfully adopting their children.

1 Worst: Maturity Imbalance

Throughout this list, it’s evident that the maturity level between Monica and Chandler is imbalanced. They make their differences work and learn to love each other through the difficult times, but both Chandler and Monica have been in previous relationships that suit them better, such as Monica and Richard and Chandler and Kathy. Where Monica may be too mature, too serious, Chandler might not be serious nor mature enough. Ultimately, Chandler and Monica are endgame but it’s not without being left wondering what could have been if their stories were written differently.