Out of all the relationships on Friends, Joey and Rachel’s friendship was the most underrated. However, it did take a while for them to get to this place, with Rachel hanging out with Monica and Ross near the beginning and Joey spending most of his time with Chandler.
There were also some moments that fans couldn’t help but question whether they were as close as we were led to believe. For instance, Joey would sometimes value other friendships more and side against Rachel. Would you like some examples? Keep reading to discover the 10 reasons why Joey and Rachel aren’t real friends.
Rachel’s jealousy over Joey’s girlfriend
Another issue that shows Rachel and Joey aren’t true friends is how Rachel treated the paleontologist. As fans know, Rachel started to have feelings for Joey near the end of season 9. However, before she could confess her feelings for the actor, he began to date Charlie.
Although Rachel’s irritation at seeing the couple together is understandable, there was no need for her to be hostile towards Charlie. For some time, Charlie did make Joey happy and he did appear to really like her. Unless this changed, Rachel shouldn’t have had an issue with Charlie dating the actor.
Joey and the Huggsy incident
In “The One with The Memorial Incident,” Joey and Rachel get into a small battle over Huggsy. Fans may recall Huggsy was Joey’s stuffed penguin, who the actor would describe as his “bedtime pal”. He can be seen around the apartment in several episodes, sometimes sitting on the couch or stool in Joey and Rachel’s apartment.
The argument begins after Joey finds out that Rachel handed the toy to Emma, with the baby becoming attached. Joey tries to buy Emma a new version of the penguin but ends up making Emma cry when he tries to take the original back. While Rachel should have asked Joey if Emma could play with it, Joey shouldn’t have kept taking it away from her when he knew it would upset her.
Rachel peeps on Joey
In season 1, there was an episode where Chandler accidentally walked in on Rachel as she was coming out of the shower. Rachel was horrified that Chandler had seen her naked and tried to get her own back on the copywriter. However, when Rachel believes Chandler is in the shower, she is further embarrassed when she ends up walking in on Joey.
While most friends are comfortable playing pranks on one another, they tend to stay behind a respectful line. Not only did Rachel invade Joey’s privacy but she also didn’t apologize for peeping on him. They can’t be true friends if they cannot follow basic rules
Joey embarrasses Rachel at work
In “The One With The Proposal, Part 1,” Rachel invites Phoebe and Joey to a silent auction. When they arrive at the work function, Rachel asks the pair to be on their best behavior and to not embarrass her in front of her boss. However, Joey ends up causing a scene when he gets excited at the “shrimp toast” and bids on a boat he can’t afford.
When Joey goes to tell Rachel’s boss that he cannot afford it, the fashion executive is forced to intervene. Whilst Rachel spends the majority of the episode trying to find a buyer for the boat, Joey soon changes his mind and says he wants to keep it for himself. A good friend wouldn’t have caused this much drama.
The boat incident
After Joey bought a boat at the auction Rachel’s work held, the fashion executive decided to teach Joey how to sail it. However, the pair ended up falling out after Rachel made Joey feel uncomfortable when she became overbearing and bossy.
Joey was quite happy to leave the boat docked at the marina whilst drinking his beers, so it was quite clear that he didn’t want to learn how to sail. Rachel shouldn’t have pushed him to learn as it brought out a side to her that Joey didn’t like. Even after she apologized, she yelled at him again.
Joey teases Rachel over her book
In “The One with Rachel’s Book,” Joey is delighted to find an erotic novel that Rachel had hid in her bed. At first, Joey light-heartedly jokes with the fashion executive and teases her about the book. However, Joey takes it a step too far when he ignores Rachel’s protests for him to stop.
Joey teasing isn’t meant to be malicious in any way but it does come across as insensitive when Rachel tells him to stop several times. The viewer can see that he was beginning to upset her and yet, he didn’t stop. A true friend would have had enough respect to draw a line under it so it wouldn’t have any consequences on their friendship.
Rachel breaks Rosita
In “The One Where Rosita Dies,” Rachel and Joey end up getting into a little argument after the fashion executive asked Joey to move Rosita so she can have a place to sit. When the actor refuses to move his chair, Rachel decides to do it instead. However, she ends up breaking the chair.
To make it up to him, Rachel decides to buy a much nicer chair for Joey. However, she decides to keep it for herself when she and Joey find Rosita miraculously healed. Out of jealousy, Joey breaks the other Barcalounger so he can have Rachel’s chair. Not only does he refuse to allow Rachel her own seat but he also takes her armchair because he wants it. What a selfish friend.
Joey helped with the list
Before Ross began to date Rachel, the paleontologist found himself torn between Julie and the former waitress. To help him decide, Joey and Chandler propose that Ross make a pros-and-cons list about the two women. For Rachel, he writes down that she is spoiled, narcissistic and is simply a waitress.
Instead of defending Rachel, Joey was the one who said they should start with the cons. He also contributes to the list by saying Rachel had “chubby ankles”. A real friend would never bring up your faults and they should be backing your corner all the time.
Rachel lets Joey take the fall
At the beginning of season 9, Joey and Ross had a falling out after the paleontologist believed the actor had proposed to Rachel with his grandmother’s ring. However, Joey had to spend weeks trying to clear the air with Ross after he refused to speak to him.
Whilst Joey was trying to mend bridges with Ross, Rachel didn’t do anything to help repair their bond. Rachel played a key part in this fight as it was her acceptance of the “proposal” that caused a rift between friends. If she would have taken responsibility for her part and told Ross how unfair he was being towards Joey, there wouldn’t be a need for a feud.
Joey knew Ross “cheated”
The most important factor that proves Joey and Rachel aren’t true friends is his involvement in the Ross and Rachel break-up. In “The One with The Morning After,” Ross and Rachel called time on their relationship after the former waitress found out that he had a one-night-stand with Chloe the copier girl.
When Ross confides in Joey and Chandler on what he should do, the pair advise the paleontologist to not tell Rachel the truth. If Joey was a true friend, he would have told Rachel what would have happened or advised Ross to tell her because the secret would have come out in the end.
