When Friends took over hearts and TV screens for 10 years of its run (and beyond!), it was just a natural course of time before any of us had a crush on one of the stars of the sitcom. But topping anyone and everyone’s list, Jennifer Aniston still wears the crown. Rachel Green was more than just a character— She was an icon, one who redefined fashion for years to come with her signature “Rachel” cut and immaculate sense of style.
So it comes as no surprise that even her co-stars had a crush on her. And while we’d think it was her 5 main castmates as the top contenders, there was one recurring star who couldn’t keep it together during their scenes. Surely, learning pranks from Rachel and repeating her lines was a tough ask for Ben Geller!
Cole Sprouse fumbled in the radiating presence of Jennifer Aniston
While Cole Sprouse has grown into a fine actor with credits like Riverdale, Suite Life and Five Feet Apart, audiences still fondly remember him as a young Ben Geller who was taught that Rachel and Daddy were on a break.
Sprouse was a wee lad of 7 when he starred on the mega-hit sitcom. And much like any of us, he too was captivated by Jennifer Aniston‘s beauty. So much so that he had a crush on her. Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show in 2021, Sprouse confessed-
Yeah. Yeah, I did. It actually made it quite difficult to work in front of her, I must admit. I was a child, I would stammer a lot and I’d forget my lines. I feel like I’d maintain my composure a bit more effectively now, but it was quite difficult when I was a kid.
And I was teased a little bit by the crew ’cause they saw it and I would just forget and be looking at her like. But then the whole world had a crush on Jennifer Aniston.
Which Friends co-stars had their worlds stop turning?
While we all itched to see Rachel and Ross end up together by the time the series finale rolled by, it was only natural that her co-stars too would be captivated by her. Though not each other’s Lobsters in real life, David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston did have a crush on each other while filming the series. During the 2021 reunion special on Max, Schwimmer professed (via Us Magazine)-
The first season, I had a major crush on Jen. I think at some point we were both crushing hard on each other, but it was like two ships passing because one of us was always in a relationship, and we never crossed that boundary. We respected that.
Matthew Perry was quite like Sprouse, in the sense that he too found it difficult to work being surrounded by his female co-stars. Perry recalled in his memoir that he had a massive crush on the Murder Mystery bombshell, but it died down once she began dating Brad Pitt, who appeared as a guest star in one of the best bottle episodes of the series.
Watch Friends and The Reunion special on Max.
