Imagine Friends ending without the spellbinding presence of Rachel Green! It is safe to say that more than a few viewers would have put a baseball bat through their television screens if Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer’s beloved characters did not get the happily-ever-after that they deserved. Would happy tears have rolled down every viewer’s cheeks if Rachel never got off the plane in the finale? These questions would have remained unanswered if Aniston went through with something she was planning to do. 

Here is the story behind how Friends almost lost out on its bittersweet climax. 

The state of mind Jennifer Aniston was in before season 10

In 2004, having just wrapped up Friends season 10, Aniston sat down for an interview with NBC and addressed a rumor about her previously not wanting to do “another year” on the sitcom. Well, she affirmed this to be true confessing that she was “dealing” with “a couple of issues”. Apparently, she wanted the show to “end when people still loved” the characters. Basically, a farewell on a “high” note. 

Years later, she revealed these issues to be connected to her divorce from Brad Pitt and how she finally came to peace with completing her Friends chapter. However, in 2004, she wondered  “how much more of Rachel” she had left in her and if it would be “pathetic” to keep spinning the story of friends “still living across from each other” in “shared” spaces. 

Her conflicted mind could be affiliated with the heartbreak of both Friends and her marriage ending at the same time. However, this was not the first time she almost left Friends. 

When Friends almost lost its most vibrant fashion aficionado

When Aniston first ventured into the Tinseltown territory in 1994, she had secured many roles besides Friends for which pilot episodes would be aired to test their popularity. Well, one among these was the CBS series, Muddling Through for which she had delivered six episodes already. However, Muddling Through faced fatal challenges, partly attributed to a sabotage maneuvered by Friends‘ makers, NBC.

Apparently, NBC found Aniston to be such a perfect fit for Rachel that they decided to run blockbuster flicks at the same time as Muddling Through to tank its ratings! The fact that the Murder Mystery actress had wanted to pull out of early photo sessions for Friends due to her CBS commitment led to this tug-of-war between the shows, in which NBC emerged victorious!

What do you think of Aniston’s mixed feelings about finishing Friends back then? Share your thoughts in the comments.