All my single ladies, put your hands up! Oh boy, the single life can be rough. In some ways, you're happy to have all the freedom to find yourself. You're hanging out with friends and hitting up happy hours on the reg, without a care in the world. But other days, having that special someone would feel so good. You may begin to feel lonely instead of just being alone (There is a huge difference, let's make that clear.), and start downloading the dating apps. Before you swear yourself off to the cat-lady life though, take a look back at some of the worst dates on Friends, that will have you laughing and saying, "same."
Before Rachel got off the plane and Chandler found Monica there was a whole run of bad dates and relationships our favorite characters will happily try and forget. Of course, there was Janice and her voice, or Paulo and his creeper vibes. What were they thinking?
Truth is, the single life can be rough, but finding your soulmate is incredibly worth the wait. You might have to kiss a lot of frogs before you land the date with Prince Charming, but it'll be everything you dreamed of and more when you do.
So, embrace the worst dates for being wonderfully weird and equally as terrible. If our favorite friends could live to tell the tale through these terrible dates, so will you.
If you're still getting over someone, or working through some new, unlikely feelings for a friend, dating can be hard. On one hand, you're beyond excited to have someone new and exciting sitting across the table. On the other hand, your mind may be racing about Ross. (OK, maybe just Rachel's mind.)
Rachel is every single person when there's just someone else. As the date, you'll quickly pick up on the distracted mind and Freudian slips that might come out in conversation. Don't fret. Feelings are tough.
So, you landed that dream date. Now, it's time to meet the parents.
Sometimes you're prepared for the intense pressure of this moment, and other times you just have to rock your nightgown and pull the fashion industry card.
Truth is, meeting your bae's family will never truly be this bad. But, you may have had a dinner that didn't go as well as you hoped, or just straight-up felt awkward AF. In times of trouble, channel your inner Rachel and just go with the flow.
Ross got a lot of women to marry him, but in terms of first dates, he wasn't as successful. Oh, he definitely always meant well. Nobody really wants to kiss somebody for the first time with coffee breath -- but first dates are also not the time to take big fashion risks. Let's save those leather pants for date five, Ross.
We all go a little out of our way when it comes to first dates. We break out the new booties and a little extra chivalry -- and on some occasion, we have probably put in all the right effort, and gotten all the wrong results.
Keep your head up. You might be saying "same" now, but soon enough it'll be "been there, done that," and you'll be doing better than ever.
Life, relationships, and bedroom floors at times can be a little messy, but your date doesn't have to be. Let it be a red flag when your new girl or guy is totally cool with constantly living amongst the garbage.
Sure, Ross might have landed the girl, but at what cost? We all have our baggage, and it's important to find someone who finds us special. They'll be there for the best and the worst, and help us take out the trash -- metaphorically, and literally. Setting some standards is OK too, and you should know when you've crossed the line into pure chaos.
It's funny how old flames can find their way back. Out of all the friends, Chandler might have had the biggest love/hate relationship with love. Between Janice, and then Kathy, he had his heart stomped on more times than he can count. But, he always managed to pick himself back up.
Even on your worst dates, find a way to make the most of it. Sticky situations are never comfortable, but neither is being single sometimes, and look at you doing that just fine! If anything, the bad dates make the good ones that much better. Just never take it as a sign from the universe that you should settle, or you might find yourself booking a one-way ticket to Yemen.
Don't we all wish we could see a little bit into the future when it comes to blind dates? They're truly the loose cannon of the dating world. You go into it hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. Love at first sight is a thing, right? Will the waiters really start placing bets if my date doesn't show?
Maybe one of your friends set you guys up, or it's a coworker's cousin and you guys have truly nothing in common. Whatever the situation may be, stay true to yourself and go into it with an open mind.
For Ross and Rachel and their horrendous blind dates, I'm sure time travel or teleportation was taken into consideration. Anything to get out of there as quickly as possible would do. But sometimes, just stick it out for the sake of a good story, and being able to say you tried.
