Friends: 10 Most Heartbreaking Episodes
3. The One With The Morning After (S3, Ep 16)
But enough of the happy endings - when this episode first aired, no-one at all expected the outcome to actually happen.
Yes, The One With The Morning After sees Ross and Rachel separate when Ross stupidly sleeps with another woman, after believing Rachel had broken up with him (not even going into the 'we were on a break' debate here).
Regardless of whose side you were on in this 20-minute relationship breakdown of an episode, you can't deny it's still emotionally harrowing to watch today. Both Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer absolutely kill it as an exhausted couple trying to grapple with their feelings, but unpredictably can't reach a level of forgiveness, despite them working so hard to get together in the first place. We'd been rooting for these two from the very start and it was all over.
The scariest thing about this episode is how common it happens in real life. Anyone who's ever been cheated on or cheated on their partner has probably been through a similar situation, almost debating over whether to break up or not, and it's a hugely relatable and tragic episode over 20 years after it first aired.
Friends has never felt more real.