Chandler Bing completely forgot that he loved Monica Geller in Friends season 5. The relationship between the characters played by Matthew Perry and Courtney Cox served as a major subplot throughout the sitcom's decade-long run. Despite the subplot's prominence — or perhaps because of it — the series repeated a significant milestone in the couple's romantic history.

Chandler and Monica were close friends for the first four seasons of the series. The pair initially met as teens when Chandler met Monica's brother, Ross, in college. Chandler and Monica's platonic relationship didn't take a romantic turn until the Friends season 4 finale. Their romance continued to grow and they became engaged in season 6, married by the end of season 7, and parents to adopted twins in the series finale. Chandler and Monica were the most stable couples in the series, causing many viewers to consider them the fan-favorite partnership to come out of Friends.

Related: Friends' Original Monica & Joey Plan Would Have Been Super Weird

Before Chandler and Monica walked down the aisle, the duo experienced a number of milestones together. One milestone, in particular, was Chandler professing his love for Monica. This moment was the focus on the episode "The One Where Everybody Finds Out." Phoebe had suspicions about an affair between Chandler and Monica, so she tried to flirt with Chandler to get the truth out of him. After being the target of Phoebe's seduction, Chandler blurted out that he was in love with Monica while she was hiding in another room. She heard his revelation and the two shared a sweet moment sharing their love for one another. This was meant to mark a turning point in their relationship — but that turning point already occurred a few episodes earlier, during the Friends season 5 Thanksgiving episode.

Chandler & Monica Reached The "I Love You" Milestone Twice In Friends

Monica with her head inside a turkey on Friends

In "The One With All the Thanksgivings," the group reminisced about Thanksgiving from when they were younger. The episode featured a flashback to the time Monica tried to seduce Chandler as an act of humiliation for calling her fat. She accidentally dropped a knife, which chopped off his toe. Chandler was angry to find out it was an act of revenge. Monica then put a raw turkey on her head to ask for forgiveness while also doing a ridiculous dance. It worked and Chandler responded with "you're so great, I love you."

Monica caught that he said that he loved her for the first time but the series showcased the milestone a few episodes later as if they forgot the interaction. It's possible that this was just another continuity error in Friends, something not uncommon on sitcoms. There's also a chance that the writers didn't consider this the sincere moment that Chandler realized he was completely head over heels for Monica, and that time would come later in the season. Now Friends fans can use either one of the episodes as the answer to when Chandler first told Monica he loved her.

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