Scrapped ‘Friends’ Plots That Would’ve Changed The Entire Show...

Throughout its ten seasons, Friends perfectly captured the chaos and charm of growing up, but things could have gone very differently. Behind the scenes, several scrapped storylines had the potential to completely change the show we all know and love. Ross’ life was already a mess, but it almost got even more complicated. The writers once planned for his student girlfriend, Elizabeth, to get pregnant, ending the season on a dramatic cliffhanger. The twist? The baby wouldn’t have been his. They eventually scrapped the idea to focus on Rachel’s pregnancy instead — a move that made sense, but imagining Ross trying to juggle three divorces and three kids is both painful and kind of hilarious. Joey and Phoebe’s friendship is one of the most heartwarming parts of the show, but the two almost ended up as secret lovers. Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc even suggested a running gag that revealed Joey and Phoebe had been hooking up the whole time. It would’ve been wild to see that play out, but in the end, keeping them as close friends gave the show its perfect balance of romance and platonic love. Chandler almost had his reputation ruined when the writers considered making him cheat on Monica. Matthew Perry flat-out refused, saying fans would never forgive Chandler for such a betrayal. Thankfully, he was right, and their relationship became the heart of the series. And believe it or not, Chandler and Phoebe were never meant to be main characters at all. They were originally written as side roles to support Ross, Monica, and Rachel. In fact, in the first few episodes, Chandler and Phoebe had very few lines compared to the others, and were not featured as heavy in the main storylines. Thankfully, the writers changed their minds, and the rest was history.