“I’ll be there for you,” became the ultimate promise between friends when the cast of the fan-favorite show, Friends, said it and proved it too. Throughout the 10 seasons, Rachel, Monica, Ross, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe always stuck together no matter what. However, it was not limited only to their on-screen relationship. And there was one time when Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer proved their off-screen friendship for their castmates.

When the show featured all these cast members, initially their salaries were somewhat equal. However, from the second season onwards, the Ross-Rachel love story picked up a huge fanbase. As a result of that, the producers of the show increased the salaries of Aniston and Schwimmer. Although, here came the problem for these two. Because they were in this together, both these stars felt uncomfortable, per Fatsaloon.

As unfair as it sounded to all the cast members, all of them stuck together and sat down with the producers. Before the third season, when they were negotiating their contracts, they sat as a group. The show became a tremendous sensation and gathered a massive viewership. Therefore, as the first two seasons alone made a whopping amount of money, the cast members demanded equal payment for each actor.

As a result of their collective efforts, the cast got a salary hike to $100,000 per star per episode, along with a percentage of the syndication profits. Of course, this meant the on-screen sizzling couple got a reduced salary than they originally received before the negotiations. But it brought all these friends closer than ever. So, how long did this equal pay system last?

For how long did Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, and others get an equal salary?

The fifth episode of season 2, ‘The One with Five Steaks and an Eggplant‘ talked about the same issue. Rachel, Joey, and Phoebe did not earn as much as Monica, Ross, and Chandler. And after an unexpectedly open discussion about the issue, they all went back to normal and never had an issue about that. Well, the same happened with the actors. This arrangement of equal pay stayed the same for the rest of the 8 seasons.

Matt LeBlanc, of all the actors, benefited the best from this arrangement because he had the lowest salary of them all. However, after the end of the season, the cast members, including his buddy, Matthew Perry, had a beef with him.

But everything worked out the best for everyone. So, when they said, “I’ll be there for you,” they meant it really. What do you think about this effort by the Cake actress and her friend, David Schwimmer? Tell us in the comments below.