The One Where Ross Hugs Rachel

Thursday, 30 September 1999

Ross secretly skips the annulment because he cannot face a third divorce, while Monica and Chandler tell Joey and Rachel they are moving in together and Rachel has to move out.

What happens

• Ross quietly tells Phoebe that he never went through with the annulment and that he and Rachel are still married.
• Phoebe puts Rachel in a cab so she can press Ross, who admits he cannot bear a third divorce, and she agrees to keep the secret.
• Chandler tells Joey he is moving out, and Joey, close to tears, ends up calling Chandler the best roommate he has had.
• Monica tells Rachel that she and Chandler are moving in, and Rachel happily assumes the three of them will be living together.
• At Phoebe's impromptu panel of women, Meg says she would not date Ross because he is plainly still in love with Rachel.
• Monica reports that Rachel took the news calmly, and is hurt that her best friend showed no emotion at all.
• Ross's lawyer tells him an annulment requires witnesses and Rachel's own testimony before a judge, so he cannot do it behind her back.
• Monica confronts Rachel, who admits she never believed the move would happen, and once convinced she breaks down and the two of them hug.
• Ross arrives to confess about the marriage, finds Rachel crying over the move, and hugs her instead of telling her.