Ben Geller, aka Ross’s son in Friends, was a pretty prominent character in the first several seasons of the hit TV show.
But then, all of a sudden, the spiky-haired tyke disappeared from our screens completely - leaving many to wonder where Ross’s beloved firstborn had gone.
Well, there’s heartbreaking new theory out there - and we have a feeling you’re not going to like it.
In a blog post dedicated to his theory, D. F. Lovett writes:
“Ross has a son, Ben, who plays a fairly important role in the first several season of Friends. But then he disappears.
“Which makes me wonder if it’s possible that Ross’s disturbing antics have caused him to lose custody of Ben?”
Gulp.
He goes on to write, "Think about everything we know about Ross. He’s very jealous. He’s possessive. He’s arguably emotionally-abusive. He believes in the friend zone and has symptoms of a Men’s Rights Activist.
“And as the seasons unfold, narrowing down to the ending where he and Rachel end up ostensibly happy every after, he seems to be coming completely unhinged."
Yup, we’re talking about the dreaded sandwich incident, the fact that Ross slept with his student Elizabeth, the fact that he tried to seduce his cousin (Denise Richards), and the fact that even his own FRIENDS are terrified of his erratic behaviour for more than a few seasons.
Who could forget this moment, for example?
Or maybe even his reaction to Rachel’s pregnancy?
Yup, it doesn’t look great, does it?
Lovett continues: “Friends was on for ten seasons, but Ben doesn’t show up in person after episode twelve of season eight. He’s only mentioned six times in the remaining fifty-four episodes after his last appearance.
“But, most troubling, is that it’s during these remaining fifty-four episodes that Ross’s second child is born. Not only does Ben never meet his new half-sister on screen, but a meeting between the two of them is never even mentioned.
“We never learn about if Ben has met his sister, if he likes her, if he is a good older brother. We simply never see him again.”
He adds: “People like to give Ross the benefit of the doubt, wondering if perhaps he was a better father off-screen. Perhaps his children met but the audience never saw.
“The more likely answer is that he was such a deadbeat father that he completely faded away from his son’s life, pretending to his family and so-called friends that he still saw a boy he barely knew.”
Wow. That was utterly world-shattering.
If you need us, we’ll be eating ice cream and crying softly over our Friends DVD box set…