#FriendsFest: The 9 most chilling fan theories about Friends

From Phoebe’s drug-addled hallucinations to the REAL cause of Monica’s OCD, these chilling Friends fan theories will change the way you see the show forever

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by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

1) The one where the entire series was Phoebe’s drug-addled hallucination

Trust us; this one is seriously twisted.

Yup, Phoebe was nothing more than a homeless meth addict who caught sight of a life she might have once had through the window of a cosy coffee shop.

And the others? Well, while Phoebe was busy dreaming, they made jokes about ‘the crazy lady that always stares at us’.

She basically IS the real-life Smelly Cat.

2) The one where Ben was removed from Ross’s custody

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 ablog 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?

"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."

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.”

OUR HEARTS HURT!!!

3) The one where porn barons try to murder Phoebe

Ah, another cheery little theory for you.

Writing on Cracked.com, Steve Erdal reminds us that Phoebe goes to pick up Ursula’s payment cheques for her porn starring for herself.

Just three weeks later, her apartment catches fire.

Coincidence? Apparently not.

After all, as she says to Joey, she gave the porn company ‘her real address’, so she won’t need to go back to pick up future cheques. They knew exactly where to find her.

He also points out that Phoebe found a ‘detailed drawing of a bank plan’ in Ursula’s purse, meaning Ursula and these porn guys were planning a LOT more than just making adult movies.

And, one week before the fire, Phoebe just so happens to take Rachel to a self-defence class.

We guess she’d figured out by that point that she’d put her roommate in serious danger.

In short? Phoebe got in way over her head - and she and Rachel were very lucky to come out of all that mess alive.

4) The one where Joey Tribbiani was actually an evil genius

This one isn’t all that disturbing - although it does raise a few questions about whether or not Joey was one seriously manipulative man.

Reddit user ojcooljreminds us that, in season seven, Joey dates a girl name Erin (Sex and the City's Kristin Davis) and ultimately ends up falling for her.

At first he wasn't into her as something more than a one night stand, but Rachel and Phoebe convinced him to give her a chance. And he did.

In the end, however, it was Joey who got his heart broken when Erin was the one who did the dumping.

OR WAS IT???

Ojcoolj's theory is that Joey did all this just so Rachel would make him some pancakes.

The savvy viewer reminds us that, in the beginning of the episode, Joey told Rachel that when he lived with Chandler, his roomie would tell his one night stands gently that Joey wasn't interested and then he made them pancakes.

More importantly, Chandler would make extra pancakes for Joey. So why wasn't Rachel doing the same thing?!

At the end of the episode, Joey is so heartbroken over Erin that Rachel finally offers to make him pancakes.

And Joey, at this point, shouts “FINALLY!”, as if a plan has come together.

Did Joey hire Erin (he had a lot of disposable income from Days Of Our Lives) to ‘break his heart’, just so Rachel would feel bad enough to make him pancakes?

We wouldn't put it past him. Joey DOES love food, after all.

5) The one where Ben Geller can predict the future

Oh yes.

Reddit user GhandiHadAGrapeHead explains: “In the episode where Rachel and Monica look after Ben, they hit his head.

“Ben then goes on to say ‘Monica bang’, which worries Monica because he might repeat it in front of Ross. But I think Monica misheard Ben.”

He continues: “If you listen to him say it, I think Ben actually says ‘Monica Bing’, which of course will go into being her surname after she marries Chandler.

“So there you have it, that knock to the head made the innocent little child a powerful little wizard.”

6) The one where Monica Geller was used as a drugs guinea-pig

Reddit user TheLuckyGal reckons that there’s much more to Monica’s backstory than we all first realised.

She explains: “During flashbacks when Monica was overweight it was never shown that she was obsessed with cleanliness and organising everything.

“When Ross and Rachel talk about the past they have mentioned how fat and competitive Monica was, but never said anything about her obsession with cleanliness.”

The conspiracy theorist goes on to suggest that Monica trialled a special weight loss drug while she was at fat camp, which affected her hormones.

This resulted in OCD and infertility.

She adds: “In the episodes 'the one that could have been 1& 2' where the Friends imagine an alternate reality where Monica is still fat, Joey becomes a star, Rachel marries Barry, etc. there is no instance of fat Monica being obsessed with cleanliness.

“She seems much happier and relaxed compared to thin Monica.”

7) The one where we realise why Monica’s mum hates her so much

Mrs Geller is a wonderful mother… to Ross.

But to Monica? Well, she’s an absolute nightmare, bullying and tormenting her daughter pretty much constantly - not to mention using up her wedding fund to turn one of her rooms into a gym.

So what’s the issue?

Well, RiomHaire reckons that Monica was concieved when Judy CHEATED on Jack Geller and, as a result, “every time (Judy) looks at (Monica) it's a reminder of her own failures and deals with the issue by acting about against Monica.

“This is also why she was not brought up to respect her Jewish heritage as much as Ross; her father was a gentile. In turn Monica’s eating disorder was a way of her coping with her unloving mother."

Yikes.

8) The one where we found out why the gang always got the couch in Central Perk

You’ve guessed it; Gunther was the mastermind behind this one.

Reddit user TheLuckyGal says: “At Central Perk, he always left the 'Reserved' sign on the table in front of the couch for the gang to hangout so that he could see Rachel often.

“Since its a busy neighbourhood, Rachel might not always get a table so he left the couch open all the time for her and her friends.”

Poor Gunther; now we’re even sadder that he didn’t get the girl!

9) The one where Ross was a Men’s Rights Activist

Writing for The Frisky, Beejoli Shah argued that Ross was a Men's Rights Activist - and she had a LOT of evidence to back up her theory.

Firstly, Ross often objectified women, exclusively referring to the girl he cheated on Rachel with as "the hot girl from the copy place”.

He was also wildly possessive of Rachel and easily threatened by her independence; remember when he ruined their relationship because she started her job at Bloomingdales?

Then there’s the fact that he wouldn’t let his son play with a Barbie, or the fact that he only wanted Rachel back when he knew she was with Joey; it was a case of marking his territory.

He also ended up half brown and half white because he refused to let the tanning salon associate explain to him what to do… which shows he can’t accept a woman’s authority.

In short? Ross, you’re kind of an a-hole.

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