When Friends aired its last ever episode, fans were delighted to see Ross and Rachel make another go of their relationship after a six-year break. However, 16 years later, a lot of viewers appear to have had a change of heart as they have come to realize this couple isn't very good together.
Over the sitcom's 10 seasons, the viewers saw Rachel and Ross try to make a go of their relationship. However, it often ended badly as they would inevitably sabotage the romance just as it was falling into place. Here are just a couple of mistakes Ross made that should have ruined his chances with Rachel altogether...
Didn't Take Her Job Seriously
In the early stages of their relationship, Ross and Rachel got into numerous fights over her career. When she got a job at Bloomingdale's, fans were delighted that she had found something she could thoroughly enjoy. However, it didn't seem like Ross shared the same sentiment.
Despite insisting he went to the fashion seminar with her, Ross fell asleep out of boredom. When Rachel has to work late and can't make their anniversary, he turns up at her work and disturbs her. He then offends her by saying her career wasn't important. For this continuous lack of respect, Rachel insisted they should take a break from each other.
The Annulment Fiasco
In the season 6 premiere, Ross and Rachel discovered they had gotten married after getting drunk in their hotel room. As a result, Ross told Rachel that he would sort it and get the marriage annulled. However, unbeknownst to her, Ross revealed to Phoebe that he didn't follow through on his promise and kept their marriage a secret for months.
What made the situation worse was that Ross attempted to manipulate Rachel further by asking her to move in with him, believing they could have a second chance. As expected, Rachel was furious when she found out. Any hope of reconciliation was futile at this point...
I Hate Rachel Green Club
In Friends' first season, Ross revealed to Rachel that he used to have feelings for her when they were younger. But if he wanted to get noticed by her, was creating the "I Hate Rachel Green Club" the way to go about it? Rachel discovered the club after Ross' high school best friend was invited to their Thanksgiving dinner.
Here, she learned that Ross started an ugly rumor about her. Ross also admitted that he co-founded the club because he was fed up with Rachel not returning his feelings. As a result of these revelations, Rachel was understandably upset.
Marrying Emily
In season 4, fans were led to believe that Ross and Rachel's love story was over as he and Emily were set to marry. It even looked like Ross and Emily could have gone the distance as he was shown to be quite a good boyfriend. However, fans soon realized he wasn't over Rachel when he said her name during his vows.
Although it was pretty clear that Ross had residual feelings for Rachel, he still went ahead with the wedding. Unbeknownst to him, Rachel had come to London in the hopes of reconciling with him. When he tells Emily that Rachel didn't mean anything to him anymore, he inadvertently ruined his chances.
Falling Asleep Reading The 18-Page Letter
At the beginning of season 4, Ross and Rachel were on the verge of reuniting after she revealed she was still in love with him. However, before they made things official, Rachel asks Ross to read an 18-page letter. Although he begins to, he ends up falling asleep a couple of pages in and lies to Rachel about finishing it.
While Ross was happy they were back together, his mood dissipated when he realized Rachel wanted him to accept all responsibility for the issues in their relationship. This then led to them breaking up for a second time and further strained their relationship.
The Phone Number Fiasco
In season 9, Ross ended up scuppering another chance with Rachel when he tried to control her dating life. After Emma's birth, the couple was seen to grow closer. On several occasions, they had admitted to their friends that there were some feelings between them.
However, Ross ended up sabotaging himself when he failed to give Rachel the number of a potential date. What made the situation worse was that he was unaware of Rachel's confused feelings for him. He was basically trying to stop her from moving on so he could get another chance with her. As one expects, Rachel wasn't happy when she found out.
Jealousy Over Mark
One of the main reasons why Rachel and Ross broke up in the first place was because of his jealous tendencies. As everyone knows, Ross was excessively jealous of Mark and the time he and Rachel spent together. Although Rachel insisted that Mark was just a friend, Ross was still insecure and insisted Mark was interested in her.
As a result, Ross started to become too overprotective. First, he caused a scene at Rachel's workplace, accusing Mark of making a move on her. He then volunteered to go to a fashion seminar after he discovered Mark was going. The final nail in the coffin was when Ross accused Rachel of wanting to take a break for the executive. It's not surprising that Rachel got fed up.
The List
Ross did a lot of stupid things during his relationship with Rachel but one of the worst had to be the pros and cons list he made with all of her flaws. After discovering Rachel had feelings for him, Ross struggled to pick between her and Julie, which led to him writing the list.
After realizing he wanted Rachel, the pair finally got together. However, this was short-lived when Rachel discovered the list and found out that Ross thought she was "spoiled, ditzy, vain, and a just a waitress." Hurt and betrayed, Rachel broke up with Ross and didn't speak to him for weeks.
One-Night Stand With Chloe
One of the worst mistakes Ross made during his relationship with Rachel was the one-night stand he had with Chloe. After Rachel told Ross she wanted to take a break from their relationship, he went to a club to drown his sorrows. There, he met up with the Chloe and ended up spending the night with her.
The next morning, Ross found out that Rachel was on the way to his apartment and wanted to get back together. Instead of being honest with her, Ross decided not to tell her about his hookup and spent most of the episode trying to cover his tracks. But Rachel eventually out and broke up with him.
Not Accepting His Fault In The Break-Up
As every fan knows, there are divided opinions on whether Ross and Rachel were on a break when he had the one-night-stand with Chloe. Since Rachel did confirm in "The One With The Morning After" that they had broken up, Ross had a point about him not being a cheater. However, he failed to account for the hurt he caused Rachel.
Considering Rachel was meant to be the love of his life, Ross moved on pretty quickly by sleeping with another woman several hours after the "break up." He didn't allow Rachel to explain why Mark was in the apartment and jumped to several conclusions. Even if he wasn't a cheater, Ross blew his chances by not owning up to his mistakes.