The Friends stars finally filmed their long-awaited reunion special last week following a year-long delay amid the pandemic.
For the first time since the iconic sitcom’s finale in 2004, Matt LeBlanc, 53, David Schwimmer, 54, Matthew Perry, 51, Lisa Kudrow, 57, Jennifer Aniston, 52, and Courteney Cox, 56, were reunited at the same studio where the hit ’90s show was made for over a decade.
The actors weren’t in character to film the two-hour unscripted special – which, as Closer went to press, has no release date but will be aired on streaming giant HBO Max. David – who played geeky paleontologist Ross Geller – recently revealed, “Nothing is scripted and we are not in character. We are all ourselves, although there is one section of it that I don’t want to give away, but we all read something…”
Apart from meeting for dinner once after the show ended, filming the much-anticipated new show was the first time all six stars have been in the same room together in 12 years.
And insiders say the emotional reunion prompted Jennifer – who credited the show as being “the best 10 years of my life” – to drop bombshell news as she told her co-stars about her excitement over her impending new arrival.
It’s reported that the twice-divorced star is adopting a baby girl from Mexican orphanage, Casa Hogar Sion – which she’s long been a supporter of – with pals now revealing it should be finalised by June.
A source tells Closer, “Jen felt the reunion was the perfect time to make her baby announcement to the whole gang. While the girls already knew – as they see each other regularly – she thought it would be special to tell the boys when they were all together, as she rarely sees them these days due to their busy lives and work commitments.
“Spending almost every waking hour together for a decade, they lived through every detail of each other’s lives and supported each other through all their hard times including Courteney’s fertility struggles and Jen’s painful divorce from Brad Pitt.
“Knowing how much they’ve always wanted this for Jen knowing her history, made it even more poignant for her to tell them her news so they could share and celebrate the milestone chapter in her life.
“They were all overjoyed when she told them – giving her parenting advice, which she said she’d happily take on once she was settled in.”
It was first reported that Jen was considering adopting from Casa Hogar Sion back in 2011 – before she married second husband Justin Theroux – which she denied. But reports that Jen is close to completing the adoption have gathered pace in the US in the past year.
Jen fuelled rumours of impending motherhood news last year when she said that, despite being single since her divorce from Justin in 2018, “I hear laughter, I see kids running” in her future.
Since starting the adoption process last year, pals have told Closer how Jen’s long-time BFF, Courteney – whose daughter Coco, 16, she is Godmother to – has been supporting her through the journey. And now the Scream star is said to be planning a surprise baby shower for her pal.
The source says, “Court knows Jen doesn’t want a big fuss made, but she wants to celebrate this huge milestone in her life so she’s planning an intimate dinner party for all her closest loved ones.”
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And while the pandemic has caused delays in her journey to motherhood, insiders say she is eagerly looking forward to her castmates meeting her daughter when they next reunite.
The source adds, “Jen’s beyond excited to finally get her daughter home and can’t wait to celebrate with six of the people she loves most in the world.
“This is such an important new chapter in her life and having it fall at such a poignant time career-wise, taking her back to the show that changed her life, makes it all seem like it was meant to be.”
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Inside the Friends reunion
The gang returned to a new replica set, built specially at Warner Bros. Studio in Hollywood rather than in New York, where it used to be. Original set designer Greg Grande shared behind-the-scenes pictures on Instagram of Monica Geller’s iconic purple apartment. But other than the different location, on-set insiders tell Closer the cast quickly returned to old habits upon reuniting, despite it being 16 years since cameras stopped rolling.
One revealed, “It was like no time had passed at all – with Matthew poking fun at David’s thick head of hair like he always did and the group all laughing and chatting together like they’d only seen each other last week.”
Courteney has previously revealed how Jen would make her and Lisa a special salad with turkey bacon and garbanzo beans, which the trio ate for lunch every day for the best part of ten years.
And the reunion insider says Jen upheld their lunch ritual. “Jen turned up with a huge Tupperware of the salad!”
And while the cast and crew have adhered to strict filming rules amid the pandemic, pals say Courteney’s fiancé, Johnny McDaid, 44, made a brief appearance to meet the gang.
The source adds, “Johnny has never met the guys, so he popped in to introduce himself, which was especially heartwarming for Courteney given how much she’s been longing to all be together.”