The bosses of Friends have revealed the NSFW meaning behind one of the show’s most famous lines.
In the fourth series’ opening episode, Rachel is furious when she discovers Ross has not read her note properly, thus failing to accept accountability in his infamous “we were on a break” saga.
As she kicks him out of her bed and then out of her and Monica’s apartment, she yells: “It’s not that common, it doesn’t happen to every guy and it is a big deal!”
And if 23 years on you’re still wondering what the line actually meant, the execs spilled all during an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
Executive producer Greg Malins revealed: “They were insulting each other back and forth, and I had this idea in my head, [Rachel] says, ‘Well one time, when you prematurely ejaculated, I told you it was okay and it wasn’t.’”
Fellow executive Adam Chase also explained this was a nod to the moment in season two’s The One Where Ross and Rachel... You Know, where Ross rolls over a carton of juice as he and Rachel were about to get intimate in the planetarium.
“We all knew exactly what [it] meant, and we loved that it called back to an iconic moment without ever being explicit,” he added.
Greg also revealed he wasn’t sure if the risqué joke would make it past the other writers, explaining: “It was the only time I’d ever written down my [joke] before I pitched. I remember thinking, ‘If I don’t pitch this exactly right, it’s not gonna get in.’”
However, the scene could have looked very different entirely, as last week, supporting star Jane Sibbett revealed she was originally in the frame to play Rachel.
The actor, who ended up playing Ross’ ex-wife Carol, revealed things didn’t work out because she was pregnant at the time, with Jennifer Aniston later awarded the part.
Jennifer was due to reunite with co-stars Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry earlier this year to film a TV special celebrating 25 years of Friends.
However, the retrospective has now been pushed back for a second time due to the coronavirus pandemic.