Friends: Phoebe & Joey Almost Ended Up Together – Why They Didn’t

There could have been three couples within the Friends group had the production crew agreed with Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow’s pitch. Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, Friends premiered on NBC in 1994 and came to an end in 2004 after 10 seasons. The series is still regarded as one of the best of all time and continues building a solid fan base – and one that is always curious about everything related to the show.

Friends followed the lives of a group of young adults (Phoebe, Monica, Rachel, Joey, Chandler, and Ross) living in New York City and doing their best to balance their personal, social, and professional lives. The main couple in the series (and the group) was that of Rachel and Ross, and then came Monica and Chandler, stealing the hearts of many fans. Meanwhile, Phoebe found her ”lobster” in Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd), and Joey found his partner in the spinoff series Joey.

However, many fans at some point in their Friends journey have wondered if Phoebe and Joey ever got together or if a Phoebe/Joey relationship was ever planned. As it turns out, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc thought about it when the series was still active, and had an idea of how it could happen.

How Phoebe & Joey Almost Ended Up Together

There was some undeniable chemistry between Kudrow and LeBlanc, which translated on the screen as one of the best friendships in Friends, and one that made fans wonder if there was a possibility for these two to hook up. In an interview with EW in 2016, Kudrow and LeBlanc were asked why their characters never got together, to which LeBlanc replied that they pitched the idea of Joey and Phoebe secretly hooking up the entire time, even explaining that they would have gone back and shoot “all the historical scenes and just before a moment that everyone recognizes, there’s Joey and Phoebe coming out of a broom closet together”. Needless to say, the production crew said “no” to the idea.

Unsurprisingly, some Friends fans have come up with theories on how Phoebe and Joey had a secret relationship, but they’re just that: theories. Although LeBlanc and Kudrow’s pitch would have been fun to watch and would have fit the characters, they were better off as friends. The group was the only family Phoebe had, and having her hooking up with Joey in secret would have broken that dynamic. In the end, they also found their partners and formed their own families, even if some missed Joey’s as, well, his spinoff series wasn’t that memorable.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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