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Ross and Rachel's on-and-off relationship was one of the major plot points in Friends. The pair's love story, which spanned across ten seasons, was anything but smooth, making fans wonder whether or not they would end up together.
The couple had numerous fights throughout Friends, and they broke up now-and-again. But the biggest fight that became a matter of speculation and debate between fans was - were they on a break?
Ross and Rachel's history explored in Friends
It is no secret how big of a crush Ross had on Rachel ever since high school. However, the timing was never right for them. When Rachel did not reciprocate Ross's feelings, he moved on with Julie. But fate took a turn as Rachel then realized that she too had feelings for him.
However it was too late to say anything because Ross was getting serious with Julie. But when one night Rachel leaves a drunk voice mail for Ross, the two realize how much they both wanted to be with one another. Ross is confused and makes a list of pros and cons to compare Rachel with Julie.
When Rachel finds out, things get out of hand and she no longer wants to be with Ross because she felt insulted. However, later in season 2 of Friends while going through her high school prom video, when Rachel finds out how much Ross felt for her, she forgives him and the two finally start seeing each other.
Incidents that led to the 'Break' in Friends
Ross and Rachel were going steady before the latter started getting jealous of her colleague Mark. In an attempt to secure himself, Ross crosses a number of boundaries by showing up at Rachel's workplace and making a scene with grand gestures that embarrassed her.
Unable to deal with him, Rachel, in a moment of exasparation, declares that the two should take a 'break'. Ross says nothing and leaves. Though Rachel was the one who initiated the break, she never meant it and spent the evening of their anniversary trying to reach Ross so they could talk things out. But the latter was out with Joey and Chandler at a nightclub where he met Chloe, the "hot girl from the Xerox place."
Ross was equally heartbroken and missed Rachel. So he decides to call her. However, it was bad timing because Mark had come over to comfort Rachel. Ross misunderstood the situation and felt that she was already moving on from him.
The Mistake
In reality, there was nothing between Rachel and Mark in Friends. But Ross lets jealousy take over him and he ends up spending the night with Chole instead of trying to make up with Rachel.
In the morning, he realizes the gravity of his mistake and tries to cover his tracks. But it was too late. Rachel had already found out and was devastated. Enraged and heartbroken, she decides to break up for real. Rachel could not forgive Ross after what he had done. To her, it was cheating.
Multiple fans think they were on a break and Ross was justified in his actions since it was Rachel who initiated the 'break'. However, a cacophony of opinions think otherwise.
Technically Ross and Rachel were on a break in Friends, but to reduce the entire incident on technicality would be wrong. The entire 'break' issue was a misunderstanding.
While Rachel was exasperated and did not mean the break, Ross took it as a break up. It would be wrong to blame only one of them for the entire incident.
