‘Friends’ Star David Schwimmer Defends His Character In Ross-Rachel ‘We Were On A Break’ Debate

Friends star David Schwimmer says there is no question that his character, Ross Geller, was on a temporary hiatus from his relationship with Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) when he slept with another woman in one of the sitcom’s most famous episodes.

During a remote appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the actor addressed the famous scene from the Season 3 Friends episode that sparked a nationwide debate about cheating.

In the memorable episode, the iconic Friends couple briefly paused their romance, and the paleontologist subsequently slept with Chloe, aka “the hot girl from the Xerox place.” When the exes attempted a reconciliation soon after, Rachel found out about the hookup and accused Ross of cheating. The “we were on a break” line was his retort.

“People are so passionately divided on whether or not [they] were on a break,” Schwimmer told Fallon. “Yes, it’s not even a question, they were on a break.”

In comments to a YouTube video of the interview, many fans agreed with the Friends actor as they pointed out that it was Rachel who initiated the split and even used the B-word.

Another fan wrote that there just needs to be a follow-up about “The One Where” the two “Get Married and No Breaks Ever Again.”

The Friends alum has been vocal about the fact that he pushed for his character to date diverse women. In addition to Aniston’s character, Ross dated characters played by Lauren Tom and Aisha Tyler. But 20 years later, fans still have a soft spot for R&R, who went on to have a child together, Emma.

Fans may never know for sure what happened to the Friends lovebirds. Aniston has said that in her mind, they are “absolutely” still together, per PopSugar.

In the Fallon interview, Schwimmer addressed the highly anticipated HBO Max reunion special that was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic and made it clear that it won’t be a scripted sitcom episode that will update viewers on the six friends.

“[The reunion special] is unscripted. It’s basically a really fun interview and then some other surprise bits,” the Emmy-nominated actor said.

While there are hopes to get the cameras rolling in August, the Friends star said, “honestly, we’re gonna wait and see another week or two if we all determine it’s really safe enough to do. And if not, we will wait to do it when it’s safe.”