Ross wasn’t exactly the most popular character on the sitcom Friends. Paranoid, jealous, socially awkward, and insecure, most of these feelings were caused by many girlfriends having cheated on him and his first wife leaving him for another woman.
Through the series, while Ross was always a really funny character, he did some pretty terrible things that make you question whether Rachel made the right decision in ending up with him. A big storyline through the entire series was the on-again, off-again relationship between the two of them. To facilitate this, most of the worst things he has done relate to Rachel or involve her in some way. So, what are they? Let’s take a look at Ross’s worst deeds.
Co-Founded The I Hate Rachel Green Club
Ross actually went to the same high school as Rachel and had pined for her since then. But Rachel, the popular girl, took no notice of him, even though she admitted later on that she knew he had a thing for her. As a bully, Rachel often targeted Ross’ friend Will. So the pair of boys co-founded the “I Hate Rachel Green” Club, the members of which were Ross, Will, and a foreign exchange student who didn’t understand what the club was even about.
While we totally understand his anger, because bullying is never justified, their idea to spread a vicious rumor about Rachel just made them bullies, too.
Treated Mona Badly
Sure, Ross did the right thing when he found out that Rachel was pregnant with his baby after a night of passion they enjoyed, and asked Rachel to move in with him – just as roommates. Except he had a girlfriend at the time, Mona, which made things incredibly awkward for her.
Once again, Ross pushed aside a perfectly good woman to tend to Rachel, who was clearly his true love. Not surprisingly, Mona didn’t take too well to Ross living with his on-again, off-again love who was carrying his child. You’d think he’d have had the decency to break up with her first.
Kissed Charlie
It was totally awkward when Joey professed to Ross that he had feelings for Rachel, and even more awkward when Rachel started having feelings for Joey, too. It’s understandable that Ross would not like this.
But then Ross became interested in a paleontology professor named Charlie who seemed to be more attracted to Joey. Charlie eventually realized she has far more in common with Ross, so what does Ross do? Goes in for the kiss, knowing full well that she’d just broken up with Joey. It’s this act Joey witnesses that breaks his heart and leads him to plant one on Rachel.
Didn’t Actually Get His Marriage Annulled
After Ross and Rachel got drunk in Vegas, they ended up in a wedding chapel and got married. Once they sobered up, they realized the mistake and Ross tells Rachel that he’ll take care of the annulment. Except he doesn’t actually do this, as he reveals to Phoebe.
Sure, it’s kind of sweet since they did get together in the end. But Rachel deserved to know the truth, and Ross should have done what he had promised to do. Ross was selfish in keeping this secret to avoid having a third failed marriage. Rachel did eventually find out, and the marriage officially ended in divorce.
Dated a Student
As if dating one of his students wasn’t bad enough, after striking up a relationship with Elizabeth Stevens, Ross decided to go with her on her spring break vacation, dancing on MTV and all. It wasn’t to have fun, but to make sure she didn’t cheat on him.
After that, Ross continued to date Elizabeth, giving her silly nicknames like Cutie McPretty (really, Ross?) and hiding it both from the school and her father. Not only was that totally disrespectful to his position as a professor, but also to her single father.
Forgot About Ben
Ross had a son named Ben, who he fathered with his ex-wife Carol and was being raised by Carol and her new wife Susan. Ross seemed to be in his life initially, “babysitting” the young boy, who was played in later years by Cole Sprouse. Yet, we don’t see or hear much of Ben towards the end of the series. Even Ross’ father joked when baby Emma was born that she was his first grandchild, after which Ross had to remind him about Ben.
There are a ton of theories about this. Was Ross a bad father? Was he too busy with his own life to care about the son he fathered? Some theories suggest that Ben was away at boarding school, studying abroad, which is why Ross never saw him. Still, you’d think he’d at least speak to him on the phone or talk about him once in a while.
Got Overly Jealous About Mark Robinson
When Rachel began working at Bloomingdales, Ross showed a really jealous side. He felt that Mark only offered Rachel the job because he wanted to pursue a relationship with her, and even accused her of having an affair. Not only was this insulting to Rachel’s intelligence and skill in the fashion industry, but it showed a tremendous lack of trust.
This caused Rachel to tell Ross they needed to take a break, and, after Ross called her and heard Mark’s voice in the background (he had just gone by to console her) he decided to go out and make that huge mistake that led to the iconic “we were on a break!” line.
Totally Ignored Julie
Ross took a trip to China just as Chandler told Rachel (accidentally) that Ross had feelings for her. She realized she might have feelings, too, and rushes to tell him, but he was already gone.
When she realized she couldn’t get Ross out of her head, Rachel headed to the airport to meet him there upon his return. But he got off the plane with a woman – his new girlfriend, Julie, an all-around nice girl. Ross ended up dumping Julie after realizing Rachel was interested in him. He even devised a list of pros and cons comparing the two before making his decision. Sure, true love is true love, but Julie deserved so much better.
Said Rachel’s Name
After falling in love with and proposing to Emily, Ross planned a grand wedding in London. All was great, but for the love that clearly still existed between he and Rachel.
It’s clear this love overpowered him, as during his vows, Ross accidentally referred to Emily as Rachel. Oops! Needless to say, that wedding didn’t last and poor Emily was left heartbroken. Even after deciding to forgive him, Ross couldn’t agree to stop being friends with Rachel, and Emily ended things for good.
We Were On a Break!
No, no Ross, you weren’t. One of Ross’ most iconic mess-ups was when he wrongly believed that he and Rachel were broken up at the time of a drunken one-night-stand with a promiscuous woman he met while out drowning his sorrows in booze.
Ross and Rachel had a big fight because of his jealousy and paranoia, so Rachel suggested they take a break. Ross thought Rachel was getting intimate with Mark. But a voicemail she left him the next day proved otherwise. In any case, it’s clear they weren’t really broken up, or at least nothing was official. So, Ross was (perhaps- that debate still goes on) totally in the wrong here.
