10 Times Ross Geller Was the Worst on ‘Friends’

Despite being one of the most beloved and acclaimed sitcoms to date, Friends is not without its faults. A lot of those faults lie in the simple fact that some storylines and jokes haven’t aged well.

However, most people can also agree on how awful Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) was at times, which only becomes more apparent on rewatches. It’s hard to strike points against any of the characters since they are so beloved, but it’s pretty well-known that Ross is the most divisive character of them all. Sure, he had his good moments, and he isn’t an awful person by any means, but some moments stick out as his worst, so let’s talk about it.

10 When He Wouldn’t Let Phoebe Believe Her Mother Was a Cat

“The One With The Cat” Season 4, Episode 2

Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) is the wild card of the Friends gang. She marches to the beat of her own drum and often has some of the kookier storylines. One of these is in Season 4, when she finds a stray cat in her guitar case and immediately feels a connection with it, believing the cat to be her mom reincarnated. Something else about Phoebe is that she had a wildly different upbringing from the rest of her friends. Her mother took her own life when Phoebe was just a child, leaving her to grow up without a mother, and even living on the street for a while. Her believing that the cat is her mother is certainly strange, but not all that out of the ordinary for Phoebe, and it’s honestly bittersweet.

Her friends go along with her belief, all that is, except Ross, who is very vocal about how he feels about the situation. He ends up finding a flyer for a missing cat that fits the description of the one Phoebe found, and shows it to Rachel, who agrees that it is the same cat, but she doesn’t tell Phoebe, which angers Ross. He then gruffly informs her that her mother’s spirit is not in the cat, hurting her feelings in the process. Phoebe does end up getting him to see the situation from her point of view when she asks him: “Have you ever lost a parent? Then you don’t know how it feels when one comes back.” Sure, it’s a little silly, but couldn’t he have just gone along with it to spare her feelings?

9 When He Started Dating Joey’s Girlfriend Just Hours After They Broke Up

“The One In Barbados, Part 2” Season 9, Episode 23

In Season 9 Joey (Matt LeBlanc) begins dating Charlie Wheeler (Aisha Tyler), a woman who on paper is Ross’s perfect match. She’s a paleontology professor, smart, distinguished, and beautiful. But she and Joey hit it off and remain together for a good portion of the season. That is, until the Season 9 finale when the gang goes to Barbados to see Ross give a speech. On the trip, Joey and Charlie realize they’re not as compatible as they thought and decide to breakup. It’s amicable, albeit disappointing, but any sadness doesn’t last long.

Shortly after her breakup with Joey, Charlie tells Ross she has feelings for him. At first, Ross wants to wait and talk to Joey about her confession since they just broke up, which is the right and admirable thing to do. But not even a minute later he goes back on his decision and decides to kiss Charlie, which Joey just so happens to see. This then kicks off the Joey and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) saga, which Ross had the audacity to be mad about, despite kissing Joey’s ex-girlfriend mere hours after they had broken up.

8 When He Refused to Let Rachel Be Independent

“The One With All the Jealousy” Season 3, Episode 12

Speaking of Rachel, Ross and Rachel were the “it” couple of 90s television. After harboring a crush on her pretty much his entire life, Ross eventually ends up winning Rachel’s heart and the pair begin what is, at first, a really sweet relationship. But by Season 3 the cracks began to show. There’s, of course, the whole “We were on a break” debate, but one of Ross’s worst moments in his relationship with Rachel came far earlier than that.

When Rachel lands a job at Bloomingdale’s, she’s ecstatic, she’s finally making steps towards a career she loves. Ross, however, is jealous of her male co-worker and doesn’t match her enthusiasm. In “The One With All the Jealousy”, Ross makes multiple over-the-top gestures at Rachel’s work, such as filling her desk with love notes, flowers, a quartet, and even an ill-fated impromptu picnic. Rachel ends up having to reassure Ross that she loves him and isn’t going to leave him for a co-worker. Meanwhile, Ross gets off scot-free despite not trusting Rachel, and refusing to let her have any independence in her new job.

7 When He Overreacted After Finding Out Monica and Chandler Are Dating

“The One With The Girl Who Hits Joey” Season 5, Episode 15

“The One Where Everybody Finds Out” is one of Friends’ most popular episodes, as it is the episode where Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) finally reveal their relationship to their friends. We see some hilarious reactions from the characters, most famously Phoebe, who cries out “My eyes!” after seeing the pair undress one another in front of a window. But it’s Ross’s reaction that is the most eyebrow-raising. After sharing their exciting news with their friends, Monica asks that no one tell Ross yet, since they’d like to do it themselves. However, Ross ends up seeing them through the window, much like Phoebe had. Only, his reaction isn’t as funny, and he starts screaming “Get off my sister!”

Cut to the next episode, “The One With The Girl Who Hits Joey,” and we see the full confrontation of Ross after finding out about Monica and Chandler, and to say it’s an overreaction would be an understatement. He starts yelling at them through the door, directing his anger especially towards Chandler. And while it’s understandable he’d be protective of Monica because she’s his sister, his reaction was way overblown. Especially since he dated Rachel, who is Monica’s best friend, and Monica was the first to encourage them.

6 When He Wouldn’t Hire a Male Nanny

“The One With The Male Nanny” Season 9, Episode 6

A lot of Ross’s worst moments stem from his overwhelming jealousy and insecurity. One of his most insecure moments was when he and Rachel were trying to find a nanny for their daughter Emma. Everyone who applied was not someone they felt comfortable taking care of their daughter, and they made an agreement that they would only hire someone they both felt comfortable with. Eventually, another applicant named Sandy (Freddie Prinze Jr.) comes in, and he’s perfect. He’s great with Emma, he’s kind, he has a long history of being a nanny. Rachel believes he is the perfect hire. Ross doesn’t agree, and the only reason he doesn’t agree is because Sandy is a man.

Because of Ross’s insecurity and, let’s face it, toxic masculinity, Rachel begrudgingly agrees not to hire Sandy. Instead, they end up hiring a female nanny, and Ross is immediately okay with her being hired because he is attracted to her. They stick with this nanny for a few episodes, and it becomes a running gag that Chandler and Joey also think the nanny is attractive. It’s just an extremely weird and toxic storyline. Justice for Sandy!

5 When He Cheated on His Girlfriend With Rachel – More Than Once

“The One Where Ross Finds Out” Season 2, Episode 7 & “The One At The Beach” Season 3, Episode 25

Ross and Rachel are a magnetic force. They always manage to find their way back together no matter what broke them up initially. It takes them a while to confess their feelings and begin dating though, with Ross even dating another woman before beginning a relationship with Rachel. That girlfriend is Julie (Lauren Tom), who is super sweet and actually a really great partner for Ross. But during his relationship with her, Ross learns about Rachel’s feelings for him, and the pair end up sharing a kiss, leading him to choose between the two. As exciting as it is that Ross and Rachel finally made a move, it was still cheating, and it wasn’t the last time Ross would cheat on a girlfriend with Rachel.

In Season 3, the gang goes to a beach house, and Ross’s new girlfriend Bonnie (Christine Taylor) comes along. Throughout the episode, Rachel flirts with Ross in the hopes of getting back together, but her plans are thwarted when Bonnie unexpectedly arrives. However, she eventually finds a moment to tell Ross she still has feelings for him, and Ross kisses her, yet again cheating on his girlfriend with Rachel. Suddenly, his stance on the “We were on a break” ordeal makes a lot more sense.

4 When He Said the Wrong Name at His Wedding

“The One With Ross’s Wedding, Part 2” Season 4, Episode 23

Emily (Helen Baxendale) is one of the least-liked side characters on Friends, but no matter your feelings on her, there is one moment we all have sympathy for her and that is at her and Ross’s wedding. The pair have a whirlwind romance, and decide to marry soon after they begin dating. They have their wedding in London, which Rachel opts not to attend as seeing Ross marry someone else is too tough for her. However, she eventually changes her mind and flies to London to surprise him. She initially plans to tell him she loves him, but when she sees all that he’s done to make the wedding perfect for Emily, she realizes she can’t get between them.

Ross doesn’t quite have the same inhibitions though, and as he’s standing at the altar delivering his vows to Emily, he ends up saying Rachel’s name instead of hers. It’s a twist that rocked television, but it’s also one of Ross’s worst moments. Emily should have left him at the altar right then and there and saved herself the heartache and humiliation that followed.

3 When He Didn’t Get an Annulment

“The One After Vegas” Season 6, Episode 1

When the gang heads to Vegas in the Season 5 finale, viewers are led to believe that Chandler and Monica are going to elope. However, the season ends on a mega plot twist when a heavily intoxicated Ross and Rachel come stumbling out of the chapel instead. They’re not together at this point, so they decide to annul the marriage, even though Ross practically begs Rachel not to annul it because he doesn’t want to get divorced again. She insists though, and he tells her he’ll take care of it.

He doesn’t, of course, something he reveals to a stunned Phoebe. He again reiterates that he doesn’t want to have three divorces. He eventually decides to go through with the annulment, only to discover that he and Rachel would both have to appear in court in order for it to be granted, and since he already told her it was taken care of he can’t do that. So he continues to keep up the facade for multiple episodes, and it’s one of the more vindictive things he’s done.

2 When He Dated His Student

Season 6 Episodes 18, 19, 21, 22, 24

When Ross takes on a teaching gig, he ends up learning that one of his students has a crush on him via anonymous teacher evaluations. Any normal teacher would either ignore the evaluation or bring it up to their boss. Not Ross though. Instead, he finds out which of his students sent the evaluation and discovers to his delight that it is a young woman named Elizabeth (Alexandra Holden). Ross and Elizabeth end up dating despite her being a college student. His college student to be precise. It’s a very uncomfortable power dynamic as Ross, a man 10+ years older than her, very much, does not fit into her lifestyle. He polices her outfits, doesn’t allow her to go on spring break alone, and generally treats her like a trophy.

Ross also gets uncomfortable when Rachel begins seeing Elizabeth’s dad Paul (Bruce Willis) and claims how weird it is for him. Which, sure, maybe it is weird for your ex-girlfriend to date your new girlfriend’s father. But at least the age gap between Paul and Rachel was a lot more respectable, and actually made sense, since they were both at similar places in life, unlike Ross and Elizabeth. The whole storyline was strange and predatory, and even for Ross it was wildly out of character.

1 When He Tried to Make a Move on His Cousin

“The One With Ross And Monica’s Cousin” Season 7, Episode 19

As bad as Ross saying the wrong name at the altar, or not getting he and Rachel’s drunken marriage annulled was, there’s no worse Ross moment than when he tried to make a move on his own cousin. Ahead of Monica and Chandler’s wedding, Monica and Ross’s cousin Cassie (Denise Richards) comes to town. She initially stays with Monica and Chandler, but Chandler can’t stop staring at her, and it makes her uncomfortable, so she then stays with Ross. Ross takes note of Cassie and how her looks have changed over the years, and unfathomably thinks that she is giving him signals that she is interested in him.

At one point, his inner monologue reasons that she wants him, and so he decides to make a move and tries to kiss her. His own cousin! His flesh and blood! It’s completely gross, and honestly, the whole storyline regarding Cassie is weird. She is portrayed by Denise Richards, so it’s understandable that the characters notice her beauty, but it came off wildly predatory. Even Phoebe found herself attracted to the women at the end of the episode. It’s an episode that has not aged well at all (though I’m not sure it ever did), and it’s easily Ross’s worst moment.

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