Although Friends gave closure to the stories of its main characters, it also left various mysteries that, unfortunately, might never be solved.
Friends continues to be one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, but after various rewatches, a couple of mysteries have surfaced that, unfortunately, might never be solved. Back in 1994, Friends took viewers to New York City to follow a group of six young adults as they did their best to balance their social, personal, and professional lives while also dealing with everything adulthood threw their way. Over the course of 10 seasons, the audience saw Monica, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe, Rachel, and Ross go through many ups and downs, and luckily, the series finale gave a satisfying conclusion to their stories (except for Joey’s, which continued in a failed spinoff series).
Friends’ arrival in the world of streaming has brought the series to younger generations and allows multiple rewatches, which have brought to light some of the show’s problems. Among the most harmless issues that have popped up is that Friends left a variety of mysteries that not even the reunion special could solve, so it’s highly likely that they will never be explained, but they will surely continue making way for different theories. Here are eight Friends mysteries that might never be solved.
8
How Did Janice and Chandler Meet?
Friends saw the main characters dating a variety of people before finding their respective “lobsters”, and some of their partners became recurring characters on the show. The most notable one is, by far, Janice (Maggie Wheeler), Chandler’s on-again-off-again girlfriend with the most peculiar voice and laugh. Janice is one of few Friends recurring characters to appear in all 10 seasons, but in all her history in the series, Friends failed to explain the most important part of her relationship with Chandler: how they met.
In the pilot episode of Friends, it’s revealed that Chandler and Janice had already been dating for a while and Chandler wanted to break up with her… but every time he tried, she started crying. Throughout its 10 seasons, Friends showed different flashbacks to add context and explore the characters’ backstories, but it never showed nor mentioned how Chandler and Janice met. As Chandler never mentioned Janice in the flashbacks to his and Ross’ college days and she didn’t show up at their college reunion, it’s possible that Chandler and Janice met some time after college, but exactly how and when is a mystery.
7
Was Phoebe’s Roommate Denise Real?
Phoebe was the most eccentric of the group, and she sometimes said stuff that made her friends and the audience question if she was telling the truth or was messing with her friends. One of the most notable examples of this happened in Friends season 6 episode “The One With Ross’ Denial”, where Rachel needed a new place to live as Chandler moved in with Monica, so she wanted to move in with Phoebe. However, Phoebe told her she couldn’t as she already had a roommate named Denise. Phoebe later told Rachel that Denise moved out and wouldn’t be back until December 26, so she could move in with her.
However, Denise was never seen and was only mentioned again when Phoebe said she unexpectedly moved out, raising questions about whether she was real or Phoebe made her up to mess with Rachel. There’s enough evidence to believe Phoebe made Denise up so Rachel wouldn’t move in with her, most likely so their friendship wouldn’t be ruined, as Phoebe had a bad experience living with Monica, so she didn’t want to risk her friendship with Rachel. A theory suggests that Denise did make an appearance in Friends and she was Phoebe’s third bridesmaid, though that was most likely Mike’s (Paul Rudd) sister.
6
What Happened To Phoebe’s Biological Parents?
Phoebe had, by far, the most difficult and tragic backstory of all the main characters of Friends, and the series made some interesting reveals about her life. Phoebe openly spoke about her stepfather being in jail and her mother, Lily, killing herself, but what she didn’t know was that the woman she believed was her mother was actually her adoptive parent. Phoebe’s biological mother was Phoebe Abbott, a close friend of her father and Lily, who left Phoebe and her twin sister, Ursula, with Frank and Lily. Phoebe met her biological mother, Phoebe Abbott, in season 3, and she made her final appearance in season 4, but she was never seen or mentioned again, and she didn’t attend Phoebe’s wedding.
Then there’s Frank, who abandoned Lily and the twins and eventually remarried and had a son, Frank Jr. Frank only appeared once in Friends, when he attended the funeral of Phoebe’s grandmother. Frank wasn’t seen again after that, which makes sense as Phoebe wasn’t fully ready to forgive him and build a relationship with him, and just like Phoebe Abbott, he wasn’t present at Phoebe’s wedding.
5
Why Did Ben Stop Spending Time With Ross & His Family?
Ben is Ross and Carol’s son, who was raised by Carol and Susan. However, Ben spent a couple of weekends with Ross, and he made various appearances in Friends since he was a baby. Ben suddenly stopped appearing in the show after season 8 and was rarely mentioned, which made way for different theories on what happened to Ben. The most popular theory suggests Ross lost custody of Ben, while others believe Ross focused more on Emma than on Ben once Emma was born. In a 2019 interview with Today, Jane Sibbett (who played Carol) shared she and Jessica Hecht (Susan) decided that Carol and Susan moved to London after sending Ben to a British boarding school, but that’s, of course, not a canon answer.
4
Did Mike and Phoebe Have Children?
Phoebe finally found her lobster when she met Mike Hannigan, and she had a one-of-a-kind wedding when a blizzard forced them and the rest of the group to reorganize the wedding to adapt to the weather. In the final episode of Friends, after seeing Monica and Chandler with their newborn twins, Mike proposed to Phoebe that they had children, but that’s as far as the series went. In the spinoff series Joey, Joey mentioned that all of his friends got married, settled down, and had families of their own, implying that Phoebe and Mike had children some time after the finale of Friends, but this isn’t an official confirmation of what happened with Phoebe and Mike’s plans of having a family.
3
What Happened To Chandler In Yemen?
As mentioned above, Chandler was in an on-again-off-again relationship with Janice, and he never knew how to break up with her. In Friends season 4, Chandler went to extremes to get rid of Janice and told her he was being transferred to Yemen. What Chandler wasn’t counting on was Janice wanting to spend every minute with him before he left for Yemen, to the point where she went to the airport with him, leaving him no option but to buy a plane ticket to Yemen. To make it worse, Janice waited until the plane took off, forcing Chandler to go to Yemen – but in the next episode, he was back in New York City as if nothing had happened. It’s unknown what happened to Chandler in Yemen and how long he was there, but at least this put a definitive end to his toxic relationship with Janice.
2
Why Didn’t Phoebe’s Grandma Help Her After Her Mother’s Death?
One of the most difficult parts of Phoebe’s past was after Lily’s death and her stepfather’s imprisonment, as she ended up living in the streets. This would have made sense if Phoebe hadn’t had more family, but Phoebe had her grandmother, with whom she was living at the beginning of Friends. This left the big question of why Phoebe’s grandmother didn’t take her in after Lily’s death, more so as they were shown to be very close, but as Phoebe’s grandmother died in Friends season 5, viewers will never know why she didn’t help Phoebe when she was homeless.
1
What Happened To Rachel’s Career After Getting Off The Plane?
Rachel went through a whole journey in Friends, starting as a spoiled girl who depended on her father’s credit card and becoming a successful woman and a mother. Viewers witnessed Rachel’s journey from being unemployed to working as a waitress to working at Ralph Lauren, fulfilling her dream of working in the fashion industry. Friends season 10 saw Rachel taking a job for Louis Vuitton in Paris after being fired from Ralph Lauren, but she ended up getting off the plane at the last minute to return to Ross.
Not only did this feel completely out of character, but it was unfair and disrespectful to Rachel’s efforts and everything she went through to get to where she was in the fashion industry. Rachel no longer had a job in New York City at the end of Friends, and there was no mention of where her career would go after making this sudden decision, leaving the fate of her career in the fashion industry to the imagination of the audience.
