Friends is one of the most successful sitcoms of all time. It’s been off the air since 2004, but it’s reference are still widely recognized and fans aren’t letting it go anytime soon.

There are still people trying to replicate Rachel’s style or perfectly implement Chandler’s sarcastic wit into their daily conversations. With the reruns and it’s addition to Netflix, the show has gained an entirely new generation of fans.

Any popular television show is going to spawn thousands of theories from viewers. Fan theories range from the simple, unremarkable details to full-blown conspiracies that make them sound crazy.

Every theory has it’s supporting fans, however, and some aren’t all that unbelievable with all of the evidence strung together. The internet has only made these theories grow in popularity.

Friends theories in particular tend to be extremely popular on websites like Tumblr and Reddit.

While not every fan will agree with a certain theory, it certainly gives the audience something to think about. What are Chandler, Phoebe, Monica, Joey, Ross, and Rachel really up to while they’re drinking coffee at Central Perk? Is it all as innocent and lighthearted as it seems? Also, what happened to Ben in the later seasons?

Read these 20 Crazy Friends Fan Theories That Might Be True to find out what you might have missed while watching the iconic sitcom.

The One Where Joey Just Wanted Pancakes

If one thing is clear about Friends, it’s that Joey loves food. He loves it so much, in fact, that fans have a theory that he faked heartbreak just so Rachel would make him pancakes.

In the episode “The One With Ross’s Library Book”, it is revealed that Joey usually had Chandler get rid of his one night stands by having Chandler make them pancakes and tell them nicely that they need to move on from Joey.

He tries to get Rachel to do the same, but instead Rachel convinces Joey to go for a second date with Erin.

Joey ends up getting his heartbroken by Erin and Rachel consoles him by making him pancakes. After he gets the pancakes, he is remarkably fine.

It’s possible that he faked the entire thing so that he would be made a free meal.

The One Where Phoebe Is A Genius

Phoebe has always been seen as the silly, carefree friend. She’s also quite mysterious and seems to have a lot of hidden talents and views.

It wouldn’t be surprising if she was secretly a genius, as this fan suggests.

While she may seem like she’s just going with the flow, she often amuses herself by messing with her friends and challenging their perceptions of the world. She even nearly convinced Ross that the theory of evolution is faulty.

She’ll also play her friends off of each other to cause conflict simply because she is bored, like when she and Joey set Ross and Rachel on awful blind dates so they would ultimately get back together.

Phoebe is obviously a super laid-back genius.

The One Where Ross Lost Custody of Ben

Ross’s son, Ben, was a big part of the character’s storyline. He was played by Riverdale’s Cole Sprouse and was seen on the show quite a bit during the first eight seasons.

However, sometime around the birth of Emma, he disappeared from the show, leading some fans to believe that Ross lost custody of his son.

Sure, the storyline shifted, but it doesn’t make sense to just stop mentioning or showing Ross’s son, who is supposedly a major part of his life.

One Reddit user suggested that Carol, his ex-wife, got fed up with all of Ross’s craziness and took away his parenting rights. His personal life went haywire as the show progressed, particularly his anger issues, and he didn’t pay a lot of attention his son to begin with.

Ben is also never seen interacting with Emma, his own sister. It seems weird that they would never be shown together.

Either Ross just forgets about his son or his parenting rights were taken away.

The One Where Friends Is Being Retold From The Future

Friends has never shied away from showing flashbacks or daydreams in it’s episodes, but could the entire show just be one big flashback?

Much like How I Met Your Mother without a narrator, each episode would be a different story that one of the characters is retelling in the future.

The Redditor who came up with the theory believes that this is why the episode titles all start with “The One Where/With/Etc”. Chandler, for instance, could be telling a story and start it by saying “do you remember the one where…?”

The titles have always been extremely unique and specific.

While this theory doesn’t change much about the way people view the show, it’s certainly an interesting concept to think about.

The One Where Riverdale Was Created By Chandler

Who would have thought the CW’s Riverdale and Friends would ever overlap? In this Friends theory, fans believe that Chandler created the teen television drama.

In the episode “The One That Could Have Been, Part 1”, Chandler writes a comic but is told he’ll never be “Archie comics funny.”

In another episode called “The One Where Rachel Smokes”, Ben auditions for a soup commercial. This establishes Chandler as an aspiring Archie comics writer and Ben as a potential actor.

The theory explains that Chandler makes media connection after going into the advertising business and pitches the Riverdale series. Cole Sprouse plays both Ben and Jughead, so Chandler casts Ben as the comic book character, helping him fulfill his acting dreams.

The One Where The Characters Imagine Older Versions of Themselves

Sort of like the theory that all the friends are telling their story from the future, this theory suggests that the characters are all imagining older versions of themselves.

This Reddit user believes that the characters are all in high school. Viewers learn a lot about their childhoods as the show goes on, so it makes sense they would all picture themselves in the future as better people with happier lives than they had back then.

Phoebe was living on the streets, so she imagines having a group of friends who are like family. Monica was overweight and always wanted to slim down and find love, so she pictures herself in shape and with Chandler.

Ross has always been in love with Rachel, so he pictures them ending up together.

They all imagine the bright futures they want.

The One Where Rachel Dated Ben From Parks and Recreation

Friends and Parks and Recreation are two beloved American sitcoms from completely different decades. Friends ran from 1994-2004, while Parks and Recreation was on from 2009 until 2015.

While they were on at different times, they could have one big thing in common– Rachel Green and Ben Wyatt may have dated at one point.

This theory explains how the couple may have come to be.

In an episode of Friends, Monica lists guys that Rachel has dated and includes the name Ben Wyatt.

At the time period this is said, Rachel is 29 and Ben would have been around 26. Because the two shows are on NBC, they most likely exist within the same universe.

It may just be a coincidence, but fans notice every little detail. It’s more fun to believe that the two characters got together at some point.

The One Where Monica and Joey Are Addicts

While Friends may not seem that dark, fans have come up with some pretty dark theories. One of the deeper ones involves Monica and Joey as addicts.

This theory illustrates all of the evidence that the two characters are abusing different substances for the entire ten seasons. It could explain why they have certain behaviors.

Because Monica is in the restaurant business, she is constantly stressed and uses it to cope with her work. It also helps explain why she is constantly on edge and high strung.

Additionally, despite making a decent amount of money, she isn’t seen spending a lot, which could mean that it’s going to fund her addiction.

Joey, on the other hand, spends his days smoking. This would explain why he’s constantly eating food, acting ditzy, and taking naps.

The One Where Joey and Phoebe Were Getting Together

Most of the group on Friends have gotten together or nearly slept together at one point or another. There’s an entire episode about it called “The One With The Flashback” in which Janice asks who has been with who.

In this particular theory, it’s explained that Phoebe and Joey have probably been getting together throughout the show, it just wasn’t shown on camera.

Fans have always sensed some tension between the two, and even Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc believe that Joey and Phoebe have been getting together in secret. They pitched the idea to the writers but they weren’t having it.

This would have made their reactions to Monica and Chandler feel a little fake because they would have been doing the same thing, so it makes sense that the writers didn’t go for it.

The One Where It’s All In Rachel’s Head

The theory that an entire show was in a character’s head is a common one, seen in the forums about most television shows, and Friends is no exception. Believers of this theory think that the show was all a figment of Rachel’s imagination.

The show starts off with her being incredibly nervous about her wedding to Barry, which could be why she dreams up this fake life.

This dream supposedly took place the night before her wedding, as it was a way for her to forget her anxiety about her future.

This all started with a picture on a Friends DVD box. All of the characters were lying on a bed, but Rachel’s eye were the only ones open. Could it be because she’s the one in control of everything?

The One Where Barons Are After Phoebe

This theory is definitely one of the darker and stranger ones. Some fans believe that adult movie barons tried to end Phoebe’s life.

In the episode “The One Where Ross Dates a Student”, Phoebe’s apartment burns down and it’s never really revealed what started the blaze (though it’s speculated that it could be a candle or a straightener).

In another episode, “The One Where Chandler Can’t Cry”, it’s revealed that Phoebe’s sister Ursula has been starring in adult movies using Phoebe’s name. Phoebe gets back at her by using the checks she received under her name, essentially stealing the money.

What if the adult movie barons where behind the fire after they found out that Phoebe took Ursula’s earned money?

Later on, Phoebe also changes her name and moves multiple times. Is she trying to run from something?

The One Where Ross Is A Men’s Rights Activist

A lot of fans have said that while they loved Friends when they were younger, some aspects are harder to watch as they’ve grown older. One of these things is Ross’s weird behavior and condescending views, particularly towards women.

Some viewers even have a theory that Ross is a men’s rights activist. He’s been known to objectify women and is constantly “mansplaining.”

When Phoebe insists that she doesn’t believe in evolution, he speaks to her as if she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. He also treats her like she’s a child when she believes that her mother’s spirit has taken over a cat.

Ross is also possessive of Rachel and even goes out of his way to stop her from going on dates with other men, like when he deletes a message left for her from a guy she met at a bar.

The One Where Phoebe’s Sister-In-Law Is An Offender

Phoebe’s brother and his wife have always been two of the more eccentric characters on Friends. They’re a bit unconventional and march to the beat of their own drum.

In this theory, however, things get a little weirder than that.

Some fans believe that Phoebe’s sister-in-law is an offender. At one point, Alice was Frank’s teacher.

In New York, she could be convicted of an intimate-related crime if she looks like she abused her power in order to be with Frank, even if he was the age of consent.

Adoption wouldn’t be an option if she’s a offender, so it makes sense they ask Phoebe to carry their child instead.

While it’s not overtly revealed, there are a lot of clues pointing in this theory’s direction.

The One Where It’s One Big Starbucks Advert

Starbucks is everywhere these days. You can’t turn a corner without seeing one. This Friends theory connects the popular coffee chain to the classic sitcom.

According to the creator of the theory, Friends is just one big advertisement for Starbucks.

The show pushes coffee shops rather than bars or pubs as a cool place to hangout. This person cites a lot of evidence, from Rachel looking like the coffee shop’s logo to the last name “Geller” meaning “one who yells,” like when your name is called when your drink is ready.

It’s all a bit silly, but the connection is weirdly there.

Is it all one big coincidence or was Starbucks in on the show from day one?

Ross has always been the odd one out in the group on Friends. Some fans have even commented that he doesn’t exactly mesh well with the other characters.

This theory explains why that is.

Twitter user Emily Heller believes that if Ross and Monica weren’t brother and sister, the friends would have taken Carol’s side in the divorce.

Fans replied to her tweet saying that they’ve always felt like Ross wasn’t a real “friend” to the rest of the characters, he was just sort of there.

Some fans went as far as saying that the entire group dynamic wouldn’t have worked if they weren’t brother and sister.

Ross and Chandler were already friends. He’s the reason Chandler ends up in Monica’s building and meets Joey. Without him, that may not have happened.

The One Where Gunther Reserved The Table At Central Perk

Gunther has always had a borderline-creepy obsession with Rachel on Friends. He was always shown trying to think of a way to ask her out and would get crazy jealous when other men talked to her first.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the theory that he always reserved a table for her were true.

Every time the group went into Central Perk, their same exact spot was left open. In a fairly busy coffee shop in the middle of New York, this seems pretty suspicious.

The likely reason why he reserved it was so that he could keep an eye on Rachel while she was there.

It certainly fits with his stalker-like crush on her. The gang might not even be aware that he reserves it, they just always take the open spot.

The One Where The Characters Are In A Mental Ward

The characters on Friends all have various moments where they act a little insane, but could it go beyond that? This theory says that they are all actually patients in a psychiatric ward.

According to the theory, the six friends are working through their various personality disorders triggered by the issues in their life.

Ross has abandonment issues, Rachel has issues with her father, Monica could have an eating disorder, Phoebe is traumatized by her mother’s passing, Chandler is scarred by his parents, and Joey could have cracked under the pressure of the acting world.

The coffee shop and the apartments represent their respective rooms and the ward’s cafeteria. All of the situations on the show are a result of their combined delusions.

The One Where Monica Developed OCD After Losing Weight

A major aspect of Monica’s character development is her weight loss after her teen years. There are many flashbacks of her back when she was bigger and her weight is talked about quite a bit (a little too much, for some fans).

However, during those flashbacks, she’s bigger, but her high-strung and obsessive personality isn’t nearly as strong.

There is a theory that Monica didn’t develop her OCD until after she lost weight. The creator of the theory thinks that Monica was given an experimental weight loss drug at fat camp that resulted in a hormonal imbalance.

This imbalance caused her OCD, as well as her infertility.

It does seem like Monica was a little more carefree when she weighed more. Maybe she didn’t put so much pressure on herself until after she lost the weight.

The One Where Mr. Heckles Passed Away Because Of Foul Play

Mr. Heckles was only in five episodes of Friends, but he certainly made his mark. The episode “The One Where Heckles Dies” focused on him and his life.

In the episode, he simply passes away, but this theory questions how the end of his life really came to be.

Was foul play involved? Before he passes away, he tells the gang to keep the noise down and that he has to get back to a dinner party.

A few minutes later, they hear a lot of banging from his apartment.

While this noise could be a broom hitting the ceiling, couldn’t it also be the sounds of a struggle?

Of course, he could have just been a neurotic old man who was fed up with the noise upstairs and had a heart attack, but this theory is too interesting to ignore.

The One Where Phoebe Hallucinated The Entire Show

Phoebe definitely has a dark past. She lived on the streets, was abandoned by her father, and was traumatized when her mother claimed her own life.

This theory takes her life to an even darker place, stating that Phoebe is addicted to illegal substances that cause delusions. This means that she imagined all of the events of Friends.

According to the theory, Phoebe never got off the streets and remained homeless. She was using different substances and would stare through the window of Central Perk, imagining a different life.

All she ever wanted was friends, so she dreamed them up.

All ten seasons are just projecting from her cloudy mind while Chandler, Ross, Monica, Rachel, and Joey are inside, wondering why a crazy lady keeps staring at them.

Can you think of any other Friends fan theories that make too much sense? Sound off in the comments!