Skip to main content
David Schwimmer as Ross and Jennifer Aniston as Rachel stand together on a balcony at night, deep in conversation.
Entertainment

The ‘Friends’ Characters Dated 85 Different People During the Show’s 10-Year Run

'Friends' characters Monica Geller, Chandler Bing, Rachel Green, Ross Geller, Phoebe Buffay, and Joey Tribbiani spent a fair bit of their 20s dating, often without success. Still, by the end of the show, five of the six pals were happily in relationships. To get to that point, they had to date 85 different people collectively.

Friends might not have been a show specifically about dating and romance, but it did follow the lives of six single friends in their 20s. By the time the show ended, five of the six main characters had found themselves in serious relationships. To get to those relationships, they had to date a fair number of people. Did you know that during the show’s 10-season run, the Friends gang dated 85 different people?

‘Friends’ fans won’t be surprised to learn that Joey Tribbiani had the most sexual partners

Of the 85 different partners featured on Friends, Joey dated most of them. According to a data analysis by Vulture, the womanizing actor bedded 17 different women in 10 seasons. It should come as no surprise that Joey had the most sexual partners. He was the friend who was in the fewest serious relationships.

Brook Shields as Erika Ford holds hands with Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani in 'Friends'
Erika Ford and Joey Tribbiani | NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Even though he was mostly single, Joey did have a few steady girlfriends. He was head over heels into Kate, who he met while working on a play. Kate left New York to pursue an acting job in California before their relationship could really get off the ground. He also seriously dated Kathy, who broke up with him to date Chandler Bing. Later, he dated his roommate Janine and then Charlie. Joey called it quits with Janine because she hated Chandler and Monica. Charlie left him to date Ross Geller before ultimately going back to her ex. When Friends ended, Joey was still single.  

Chandler Bing dated the fewest people during ‘Friends’ 10-season run

Joey’s longtime roommate, Chandler, wasn’t nearly as lucky in the dating department as Joey. Despite his fear of commitment, Chandler regularly committed. He either was in a relationship or a dry spell. During the show’s run, he only dated nine different women.

To be fair, Monica and Chandler got together in season 4 of the series and later married. The length of their relationship during the show’s initial run probably explains why he had so few partners. Before he and Monica drunkenly hooked up in London, he dated Janice repeatedly. He also dated Kathy before she cheated on him, and he had an almost romance with Ginger, an amputee that Joey had previously dated.  

Rachel Green had the most serious relationships

Ross and Phoebe Buffay both had 16 different partners, and Monica had 13. Still, none of the three had the most serious relationships. That distinction goes to Rachel Green, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Rachel was, by all accounts, a monogamist through and through. When the series opened, she had just left her fiancée, Barry, at the altar.

David Schwimmer as Ross and Jennifer Aniston as Rachel stand together on a balcony at night, deep in conversation.
David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green | Alice S. Hall/NBCU Photo Bank
Related

‘Friends’: Writers Didn’t Originally Plan to Break up Ross and Rachel

She seriously dated Paolo in season 1 of Friends. Then she briefly dated Russ before finally settling into a long relationship with Ross. After Ross, she dated Joshua Burgin, Danny, Paul Stevens, and Tag Jones before settling down with Ross again. She even considered starting something with Joey. By the time the series wrapped, Rachel had 14 different partners, and 10 of those partners became longer-term boyfriends.