‘Friends Reunion’: Did Courteney Cox and Tom Selleck Date in Real Life?
Finally - Friends: Reunion is available to stream. After years of rumors, fans can dig into nearly two hours of footage that includes guest stars, a table read with the cast, and behind-the-scenes news. Those guest stars are none other than Blue Bloods royalty Tom Selleck, who appeared in season three of the sitcom as the lover of Monica Geller (Courtney Cox). Did Selleck and Cox date in real life?
Tom Selleck and Kourtney Cox date 'Friends'
In Season 2 of Friends, Selleck starred as Dr. Richard Burke, an ophthalmologist 20 years senior to Monica. The two knew each other long ago, but until Monica completes one of his programs, he begins to see her as something else.
Over the course of three seasons and 10 episodes, Richard and Monica's love story developed but their age difference - and Monica's desire to have a child - eventually ended things.
Monica and Richard later attempted reconciliation but by then it was too late and their differences became an even greater obstacle. Nevertheless, Selleck became such a fan favorite, he had to re-shoot his entrance scenes due to the overwhelming crowd reaction.
Did Selleck and Cox date in real life?
Happy Birthday, Tom Selleck! pic.twitter.com/2hse0ulkm3
— FRIENDS (@FriendsTV) January 29, 2021
While Monica and Richard dated friends, Cox and Selleck never had any relationship outside of the show. In fact, Selleck has happily married Jillie Mac since 1987.
Selleck met his wife when she appeared in Cats and things blossomed from there. The notorious private couple only allowed Polaroids on their wedding day and remain private to this day.
At the height of Celiac's popularity (Magnum PI day), he stepped back to focus on his marriage and family life.
“I worked 90 hours a week and did a film on every break. I left Magnum for a family, "he told People in May 2012." It took a long time to get off the train, but I try to balance a lot, and this farm has helped me do that. " "My first priority is time with my family," he said.
He added, "It is important to nurture your marriage. I think it has been good for her to take time off work."
Years later, he fell in love with his wife only.
"I think love has deepened. Simple. I have a wonderful wife," he told GQ in September 2014. "There's just not a lot of bulls ** t. We know we love each other. We both get busy with stuff. We both get [mixed] whether our anniversary is 8/7/88 or 8 / 8/88. Jillie doesn't get angry. Jillie, obviously, about this business, you know - her background. She understands it. "
Similarly, Cox married Scream costar David Arquette in 1998 and insisted that there was nothing but a professional working relationship between him and Selleck.
'Friends: The Reunion' has several other guest cameos
THEY ARE GIVING US SO MUCH 😭 #friendsreunion pic.twitter.com/ukNhz1SaZZ
— hbomaxPOP | originals (@HBOMaxPop) May 19, 2021
As of now, the Reunion Special is available to watch on HBO Max. Selleck is not the only one making a comeback. Reese Witherspoon, Maggie Wheeler, James Michael Tyler, Elliott Gould, Christina Pickle, Larry Hankin, Thomas Lennon, and more, come to celebrate.
That said, the cast of Friends said they would never have another public reunion again.
"Honestly, it would really make me cry, but this would be the last time we would be asked about the show as a group that we would do that," she said. "Like, we're not going to do it again in 15 more years," Cox said at the end of the special.
Friends: Reunion is now available to stream on HBO Max.
'Friends' star Matt LeBlanc goes through 'very dark period' after daughter's diagnosis
2020 may be tough for most of Hollywood, but Matt LeBlanc is living his best life. The Friends star took a big break after the show ended, followed by only failed projects, the end of a marriage, and a medical diagnosis that no father wants to hear.
Matt LeBlanc struggled with fame during and after 'Friends'
Friends of NBC exploded in ways no one saw coming - especially not LeBlanc, who played Joey Tribiani for all 10 seasons. After the series wrapped in 2004, LeBlanc was not ready.
“For years and years, I barely left home. I was burnt out and I didn't want to schedule, didn't want to be anywhere, "he told The Mirror.
"But I was in a position to do it. My agent was shocked. Most of the actors call their agents and say, 'What is going on?'. I would call my phone and say, 'Please my number for a few years. Lose '. It was a very dark time. I almost had a nervous breakdown. "
He explained a number of incidents with driving under the influence when the actor was "young and stupid", and "driving crooked." That, with an unsuccessful attempt at the Friends spinoff show, Joey sent LeBlanc to an even darker time.
Even after earning millions, LeBlanc's personal life took a toll on his fame. Her 2003 marriage to British model Melissa McKnight - introduced through celebrity friend Lou Diamond Phillips - suffered after stories of infidelity broke.
Some of the headlines included a night-club fidgeting incident. LeBlanc issued a public apology but the marriage ended in 2006 - exactly two years after the birth of their daughter.
Her daughter's diagnosis was 'a dark time'
LeBlanc's daughter, Marina, fell to the left when she started crawling and experiencing seizures at the age of eight months. This prompted LeBlanc and McKnight to seek medical care.
“My daughter was diagnosed with a problem with her head. He was very dark. But I recovered from it. Don't they say that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger? "He told The Mirror.
According to Children.com, the diagnosis, cortical dysplasia, "occurs before the birth of a child, when the development of brain cells, or neurons, fails to reach the parts of the brain for which they are genetically destined. " "As a result, those areas of the brain lack the appropriate neural connections to function properly."
By the time Marina was 11 months old, the diagnosis meant that her poor motor skills made it difficult to walk. Doctors told Star Marina that damaged vocal cords can challenge talking.
LeBlanc said that he devoted all his free time to face Marina. He and McKnight divorced amicably and shared joint custody of their daughter, which eventually put an end to the situation.
LeBlanc swears to be a better father than a father who grew up with him
Whatever LeBlanc's daughter did, it's no surprise that he likes to stay away from the headlines these days. He landed another TV sitcom stent on CBS's Man With a Plan, but LeBlanc wants to be a better father than he remembered.
"My father has been married eight, nine, 10 times," he said of his father, Pau, whom he had not met until he was eight years old. "He was a ladies' man. Now he is old. I don't talk to him."
LeBlanc and her father have no relationship but Marina's birth helped her realize the power of fatherhood.
"The second time I glanced at him, I was in love, and I had never felt that way before. I couldn't believe it. I knew from that moment that there was nothing that would stop me from loving him. So - even if he crashed my Ferrari, "he said.
And, you may not have seen the Friends star as a hobby with the Hollywood elite. He likes the comfort of staying at home with his best girl.
"We snack, go horseback riding, hiking, I really try to offset this computer-age kid thing that is happening as much time outside now," he said. "Spending time with him is the best thing I've ever done. We have a great relationship and this is the best thing in my life."
'Friends' Star Matt LeBlanc Had $ 11 in His Bank Account Before Scoring the Life-Changing Role of Joey Tribbiani
It is difficult to recall the time before the six cast members were mega stars on Friends. The iconic NBC sitcom turned Jennifer Aniston, Kourtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry into internationally renowned TV royalty. However, not all of them were doing so well before the casting agents changed their lives.
For example: Matt LeBlanc had surprisingly little balance in his bank account before discovering that he played the role of a lifetime as Joey Tribiani.
Matt LeBlanc had a tough start in Hollywood
LeBlanc was born in Massachusetts and moved to New York at the age of 17 to fulfill her dreams of modeling and acting. He made it an instant hit, and like many other aspiring actors, he bounced back and forth between various projects waiting for his big break.
Some of LeBlanc's early works include Married… With Children and two ephemeral shows, Top of the Heap and Vinny and Bobby, a recurring part in the early 90s.
He also did commercial work and appeared in a few music videos to help pay the bills.
Everything changed when Matt LeBlanc was cast as Joey in 'Friends'
The series' producers Marta Kaufman and David Crane are pretty sure who they really wanted for Joey's part, but they were not supporters of hiring LeBlanc - at least, at first.
Screen Rent reported that Hank Azaria auditioned twice for the role but only mentioned one match. She was later tapped to play the role of David, Phoebe's scientific lover. Vince Vaughn was also considered for the role of Joey. All along, the network's execution knew that LeBlanc would bring the right amount of humor and charm to the part.
LeBlanc recalled that when he found out that he had played the role, he had just $ 11 in his bank account and resorted to doing his own dental work to save money. After getting the good news, the actor first had a nice hot meal.
By season 10 of the show, LeBlanc was earning $ 1 million per episode, just like the rest of the cast.
Joey believed that 'Friends' had to be shut down, but he got a spinoff
Fans can see how Joey is the only character from Friends who is left alone at the end of the series and stuck in the same phase of life. While Monica and Chandler move to the suburbs, Ross and Rachel are back together, and Phoebe marries Mike, leaving Joy with only the re-gifted chick and duckling.
However, Joey is the only Friends castmate to have received his own series. The short-lived spinoff Joy followed LeBlanc later in the series and showed him initiating a relationship with his neighbor and working as an actor.
Joy was canceled after just two seasons. LeBlanc took a hiatus from Hollywood before returning to play a fictionalized version of himself in a Showtime series episode in 2011. This part earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, which went well with three Golden Globes and three Emmy nominations, which earned him the role of Joey on Friends.
And just like that, Leblanc never worried about hot food again.
Only 1 ‘Friends’ Character Didn’t Get Closure in the Finale
Fans were sad to see friends ending up in the air for 10 years. Even though the NBC comedy was still incredibly popular when it ended in 2004, critics were beginning to wonder if it dragged on too long. Jennifer Aniston returns for the final season for roughly the same exact reason.
There were a lot of tears during that final scene when all six actors left their apartment keys on the counter and moved on to new chapters in their lives. But of all, there was one person who was closing during the last season of the show.
Some fans are still angry about how Joey Tribiani (Matt LeBlanc) was still stuck in young adulthood forever, while everyone else moved on and matured.
Joey was the only 'friend' member who was a partner
Friends' four companions ended up together until Finale. Monica (Courtney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) get married and move to Westchester after having twins through a surrogate. Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) finally reunite for good, or so it seems, after a roller-coaster affair that lasted all 10 seasons.
Even the wild child Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) settles down and marries Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd). This leaves Joey, who is left with a chick and a duck, but not much else.
Why do listeners leave Joey's story so steady?
Joey's character was always immature, but real
During Friends, Joey made the leap from one relationship to another, strengthening the crew's reputation as a female man. But beyond their joke "How are you doing?" Outside, Joey was also a dependable, loyal friend whom everyone could trust.
In a brief story spanning from season 8 to season 10, Joey attempts to bond with Rachel, which received mixed reviews from fans. The pair broke up after deciding that they were better as friends.
As reported by Wikifandom, Joey was only loved once apart from Rachel. Mostly, Joey spends his time building relationships with his friends, not romantic partners. Which may help explain how he ends up alone in the finale.
His future is explored in the 'Friends' spinoff series, 'Joy'
Friends ended in 2004 but Joy's story briefly survived in the short-lived spinoff, Joy. There is a possibility that the writers already knew that Joey's character would get another chance at love in the series, making it less important for him to turn her off in Friends Finale.
A whopping 19 million people tuned in for the premiere of Joy and the show received solid ratings in its short time (it was canceled before the second season ended). But producer Kevin S. Bright blamed the network for ending the series. He apparently did not treat Joey properly either.
"Joey was defined as a guy who couldn't get a job, he could tell a girl not to go out. He became a pathetic, moppy character. I felt that he misdirected. I am moving forward, but I have not been heard, ”said Bright.
Eventually, Joey ends up in a relationship with his neighbor Alex Garrett (Andrea Anders). This is not the closure that fans wanted for the character, but it is better than nothing.