Top 10 Rachel Love Interests on Friends

There is no doubting the importance of Rachel’s relationship with her fiance Barry. Had she gone through with the wedding her life would have taken a very different path. It was by leaving him at the altar that every other love interest on this list was even possible. Having said that, he was kind of a jerk. Any initial sympathy we felt for him disappeared when we discovered he’d been cheating on Rachel with her best friend Mindy. His stock continued to drop when he then cheated on new fiancee Mindy with Rachel. And although Mindy still marries him, they end up divorced after - you guessed it - Barry sleeps with another woman.

Rachel’s relationship with Paolo was a purely physical ‘on again off again’ relationship. There was no deep mental or emotional connection there. And there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s what Rachel needed at the time and her Italian lover provided it. So, in a way, one could argue that Paolo was good for Rachel - at least for a while. The problem came when he also tried to be good for Phoebe. Yup, we can’t forget about Paolo’s wandering hands and his beyond inappropriate behavior during a massage session. How do you say “Crap-Weasel” in Italian?

Rachel first meets Danny when she and Monica bug bomb him in a dark basement because his been-hiking-for-four-months bushy look scares them. But after he shaves and cleans up, Rachel finds that she’s attracted to him. At this point it was looking like Danny might end up higher on this list. Rachel is so used to having men fall all over her that Danny’s standoffish attitude challenges her in a way she isn’t used to. And when they finally do go out, it goes really well. Until she meets his sister. Actually, there’s nothing wrong with his sister. But the way they interact is, to quote from the episode title, “inappropriate.” And that was the last time we saw Danny.

Like Barry, Mark has a huge impact on the path Rachel’s life takes, even though his importance as an actual love interest is pretty minor. In fact, the two only go on one date. However, it could be argued that Mark is one of the most important characters in the history of the show. Ross’ jealousy of Mark is the catalyst that leads to him and Rachel “taking a break.” That jealousy is also what leads him to sleep with the girl from the copy place. And in the final season, when Mark gets Rachel a job in Paris, it’s the possibility of her leaving that causes Ross to race to the airport to tell her that he still loves her.

Obviously, when one of Rachel’s love interests is played by a huge movie star it’s going to be an iconic relationship. Unfortunately for Paul, what most people remember is his ridiculous pump-up-his-ego dance and, later on, incessant crying. Dating an older man was great for Monica so it could have been good for Rachel as well. Paul seemed like a nice guy and he had maturity and life experience. However, he was also a little emotionally closed off. Well, at least until Rachel opened him up. Once that happened he just couldn’t stop.

This is definitely the most controversial of all of Rachel’s love interests. While some fans thought it was an interesting and even natural development, there are definitely those who mark the Joey-Likes-Rachel storyline as when the show jumped the shark. Regardless on which side you stand, there’s no denying how iconic this almost-relationship was. And there was never any doubt about how well Joey treated Rachel, and would have treated her had they been able to get past the awkwardness of going from friends to lovers. However, while we loved seeing Chandler and Monica take that step, in the end we prefer Joey and Rachel as just friends. Without the “How you doin”.

Like so many good TV show couples, this one had that classic love/hate sexual tension. It started the moment Rachel returned to the office after her maternity leave and met the man who had taken over her job. Gavin turned out to be a nice guy though, and one that challenged Rachel. However, when Gavin was forced to hide behind a curtain, he realized that Rachel wasn’t over Ross and he backed off. Of all the men on this list, Gavin might be the one that we look back on and wonder most, “what could have been?”

Joshua was Rachel's first real love interest post-Ross and the one guy on this list that she really chased after. Although, as was often the case with Rachel’s non-Ross relationships, this one was short-lived. It was, however, also different in a couple of interesting ways. Whereas Rachel’s relationships with the likes of Mark and Gavin didn’t develop because she still had feelings for Ross, in this case it was the newly divorced Joshua who was less emotionally available. Also, this time it was Rachel who kept making a fool of herself - even asking him to marry her after just a few dates. It all culminated in her answering the door in a wedding dress … Yeah, he’s definitely gone.

Tag joined the show when Rachel hired the gorgeous, but unqualified, 24-year-old to be her assistant. It wasn’t long before they started dating - keeping it a secret from people at work of course. The relationship ended on Rachel’s 30th birthday when she realized they were at different places in their lives. Now, some fans might remember Tag as nothing more than that young hot guy that Rachel dated for awhile. But he really was more than that. He was also a genuinely good guy who cared about her. And their relationship was the longest one Rachel had, besides Ross of course. That’s pretty significant if you ask us.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Tommy
Can You Say “Anger Issues?”

Chip Matthews
Was Late to Pick Her Up on Prom Night & Then Later Ditched Her for Amy Welsh

Of course it's Russ. We mean Ross. He’s loved Rachel since high school and Rachel has loved him since she found out how he felt. There was never any doubt that they were each other’s lobster. Regardless of which side you take in the “we were on a break” argument, it’s always been clear how much Ross cared about her and how good they both were for each other. And of course, there are few relationships in the history of television more iconic than “Ross and Rachel!” For anyone afraid of falling into that “Friend Zone” Ross and Rachel are proof that when things are meant to be, there’s no “zone” that holds back true love.