Friends Legacy Marred by Cast Conflicts and Tragedies

It's a cultural juggernaut that catapulted its six stars to stratospheric heights of fame in the Nineties. 

Yet three decades on since the release of Friends, the show is being seen in a new light, after the revelations of infighting and horrendous tragedies that have blighted some of the cast. 

Friends - starring , , , , and  - followed the six pals navigating life, love and everything in between.

But while they may have played the happiest of pals on TV, in real life, the cast members didn't always appear as close as they were on screen. 

In a new interview, Lisa Kudrow who played Phoebe Buffay, shocked fans when she claimed 'nobody cared about her' during the peak of the show's success. 

Yet that is just the start of the feuds and tragedies to beset the the show... 

Lisa says 'nobody cared about her'

Lisa has suggested she was treated as an afterthought compared to the rest of her Friends co-stars.

The actress said that Jennifer, Courteney, Matt, the late Matthew and David eclipsed her in popularity while the series was still on television.

'Nobody cared about me,' Kudrow told the Independent. 'There were certain parts of [my talent agency] that just referred to me as 'the sixth Friend.''

As Friends became a megahit starting with its second season, several of her costars leveraged that success to secure choice film roles, but Kudrow thought the same kinds of deals eluded her.

'There was no vision for me, and no expectations about the kind of career I could have,' she said. 'There was just, like, 'Boy, is she lucky she got on that show.''

Despite feeling unappreciated earlier in her career, Kudrow has since found enduring success beyond Friends, including on her twice-revived HBO series The Comeback.

Fisher Stevens admits to being an 'a**hole' to the cast

The show's guest stars were accused of rocking the boat, with Fisher later  apologising  for being a 'a**hole' to the actors and crew.

In an episode of PeopleTV's Couch Surfing, the actor - who played Phoebe's psychiatrist boyfriend in the sitcom - reflected on why he felt the need to say he's sorry.

He said: 'I had never heard of Friends because it was just the beginning of the show and I didn't watch TV at the time much.

'I was kind of an a**hole, I have to admit,' he said, explaining that he was ticked off because of last minute script changes. 

'What do you mean? So I have to relearn lines that you've written that are worse than what you'd originally written?'

'Yeah, I'm sorry guys. I'm sorry I was a d**K to you all,' he added. 'I apologise. I was bad, I was wrong.' 

Matthew's tragic death 

Matthew sadly passed away aged 54 in October 2023, and was under the acute effects of ketamine at the time of his death.

Before his passing, he was very candid about his struggles with prescription pain pills and alcohol addiction.

His struggle with substance abuse began at 24, when he was cast on Friends. 

According to Today, the late Friends funny guy went into rehab more than 15 times.

'The six of us were just everywhere all the time. From an outsider's perspective, it would seem like I had it all,' he told Today in 2013. 'It was actually a very lonely time for me because I was suffering from alcoholism.'

While the late star didn't remember three seasons of the show, he made it clear that he never abused drugs or alcohol while on set. 

'I was never high at work,' he added. 'I was painfully, painfully hungover. Then eventually things got so bad I couldn't hide it, and then everybody knew.'

Courteney's fertility issues 

Courteney's character Monica Geller struggled with fertility issues, and in 2019, the actress opened up about her own difficult journey to motherhood.

She revealed she suffered seven miscarriages before having daughter Coco, whom she shares with ex-husband David Arquette.

She said: 'I don't think that's something that people shouldn't talk about, because… it was unfortunate but it happens.'

Doctors eventually discovered the star has a rare MTHFR gene mutation, which caused her body to attack a foetus when she fell pregnant. 

After two cycles of IVF, she gave birth aged 39.

Jennifer's wedding invitation snub

Jennifer's surprise nuptials to second husband Justin Theroux made headlines for lots of reasons.

But one of those was the fact that half the cast of Friends were missing from the guest list. 

It was revealed that co-stars Matt, Matthew, and David did not make the cut.

'If she wanted me there, I would have been there,' Matt told People, adding: 'I think she's happy. And that's all I care about.' 

He also revealed he 'missed' her first wedding to Brad Pitt due to his work schedule. 

'It was a surprise to me, as well,' said Matthew. 'I wasn't invited. So what can you do?'

David's struggle with stardom

David previously revealed that becoming an instant celebrity following the immediate popularity of Friends in 1994 wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

He told The Hollywood Reporter that it crushed his personal life.

'It was pretty jarring and it messed with my relationship to other people in a way that took years, I think, for me to adjust to and become comfortable with,' he said. 

'As an actor, the way I was trained, my job was to observe life and to observe other people, so I used to walk around with my head up, really engaged and watching people,' he said.

'The effect of celebrity was the absolute opposite: it made me want to hide under a baseball cap and not be seen.' 

Jean-Claude Van Damme's clash with Jennifer and Courteney

Jean-Claude played a famous actor on the second season of the show.

Reports circulated that Van Damme clashed with producers, arrived late, and was even unprepared on set.

The sitcom director Michael Lembeck told The Hollywood Reporter that the actor had a kissing scene with Jennifer and Courtney that never made it to air.

'We shoot him and Jennifer first,'Michael recalled. 'Then she walks over to me and says, 'Lem, Lem, would you do me a favour and ask him not to put his tongue in my mouth when he's kissing me?'

'I tell him everything is great but it's a tight shot so maybe let's not do that.'

However, the next day, Jean-Claude reportedly ignored the request and did it again. 

Michael continued: 'Then we're shooting a scene later with Courteney. 

'Here comes Courtney walking toward me and saying, 'Lem, can you please tell him not to put his tongue in my mouth?' I couldn't believe it. I had to tell him again, but a little firmer.' 

Matt's mental health struggles 

Matt struggled with the immense fame which came from the sitcom.

Speaking with the Mirror, the actor who played carefree Joey Tribbiani said the show's incredible success created a situation where he could 'barely leave the house' because he felt completely burned out.

 'It was a very dark time,' he said, 'I almost had a nervous breakdown.'

 In 2006, he retreated to his 'Californian cattle ranch' and focused his attention on being a father to his daughter, Marina.

Marina was diagnosed with 'cortical dysplasia, a condition which affects the brain, bones and motor skills' at just 11 months old. 

He reportedly spent his years out of the limelight almost entirely with her. 

Spending time with her is the best thing I've ever done. We have a great bond and it's the best thing in my life,' he told the Mirror. 

Marina reportedly 'outgrew' the condition by the time she was 11 years old.