How many times did Ross get married on Friends?

Last Modified Jan 28, 2025 04:07 EST
How many times did Ross get married on Friends?
Ross Geller (Source: YouTube)


Ross dates a significant number of women during the show. He has three marriages and three divorces. A recurring joke in the series is his tendency to get married and get divorced. One of the six primary characters on the NBC sitcom Friends, David Schwimmer's character was born on October 18, 1968. Ross is renowned for his silly yet lovable personality and is widely regarded as the group's smartest member.


The American sitcom Friends was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. It aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting for 10 seasons with 236 episodes. The show centers on six Manhattan, New York City-based friends who are in their 20s and early 30s.


All Ross’s Marriages in Chronological Order:


Ross Geller and Carol Willick


How many times did Ross get married on Friends?
Ross and Carol (Source: Warner Bros Media)


Ross's first wife, Carol (played by Anita Barone in the pilot, and thereafter by Jane Sibbett), is the mother of his son Ben. After coming out as a lesbian and leaving Ross for Susan Bunch, whom she eventually marries, Carol moves out of their apartment in the first episode.


After their divorce, Ross and Carol continue to have a reasonably good relationship and decide to raise Ben together through shared parenting. However, Ross doesn't hide his dislike for Susan because she "destroyed their marriage" and at first wanted to keep him out of Ben's life, telling him once that the baby wasn't his and wouldn't have the surname "Geller."


For a brief moment, he thinks about reconciling with Carol, and they even kiss in a sushi restaurant, but Carol makes it clear that she is unable to feel the same way and has decided to be with Susan instead. Because Carol's homophobic parents won't approve of their relationship, Carol and Susan temporarily call off their wedding in the second season. Susan gains a newfound admiration for Ross after he gives Carol away during the wedding and they dance together.


Ross Geller and Emily Waltham


How many times did Ross get married on Friends?
Ross and Emily (Source: YouTube)


Rachel sets Ross up with Emily Waltham (Helen Baxendale), a British woman, during the fourth season, and Ross ends up falling in love with her. After dating for six weeks, Ross asks Emily to move in with him. This develops into a proposal of marriage.


When Ross sees Rachel during the wedding, he makes a mistake and mentions Rachel's name rather than Emily's when he is making his vows. Emily flees the wedding in a fit of rage. When she eventually decides to forgive Ross, she gets to the airport in time for their honeymoon, but she is disappointed to see Ross and Rachel getting on the plane together.


Ross requested Rachel to join him on their honeymoon as a friend after giving up on meeting Emily at the airport. Emily runs away once more. Ross forces her to confess her love for him after she phones him later to tell him to stop calling and bothering her family. She states that she won't go back unless Ross breaks off his friendship with Rachel. When Ross is unable to do so, he divorces Emily.


Ross Geller and Rachel Green


How many times did Ross get married on Friends?
Ross and Rachel (Source: Warner Bros Media)


Throughout the series, Ross's most important connection is with Rachel. Rachel's best friend in high school, Ross's sister Monica, introduced Ross to Rachel, cementing his attraction to her early on. Though he never pursued it, he formed an unrequited infatuation with her.


Ross had set his affections for Rachel aside before he reconnected with her in "The Pilot" and had married Carol, whom he had met while attending college. They eventually start dating but their relationship grows complicated over time and they go off and on over and over again throughout the show.


Ross and Rachel get married in the Season 5 finale "The One in Vegas" after getting wasted in Las Vegas. After a failed annulment application, this marriage ends in divorce; regrettably, the couple acknowledges that they believed their marriage would last.


Rachel's pregnancy is disclosed at Monica and Chandler's wedding at the end of Season 7. In Season 8's second episode, Ross is identified as the father. Emma Geller-Green, the daughter of Ross and Rachel, is born in the Season 8 finale. In the middle of Season 9, Rachel swiftly leaves Ross's apartment after realizing their platonic relationship isn't working.


In the show's last episode, Ross tells Rachel at the airport that he loves her and begs her to stay, as she is leaving for her work with a new fashion brand in Paris. At first, Rachel doesn't react to his feelings, but as the flight is ready to take off, she comes to the realization that she also loves him and leaves the flight. They declare their love for one another and decide to be together permanently.


Read More: Who does Rachel end up with in friends


What were Ross Geller’s 3 divorces?


Ross Geller has a reputation for being divorced from all of his marriages. Having married three times on the show, he was divorced the same number of times. Ross is even given nicknames like "Divorco" and "The Divorcer"


The following are all of Ross’s divorces and the reasons behind them:


  • First marriage: Carol Willick, Ross's wife of four years, left him after coming out as a lesbian and falling in love with Susan Bunch.


  • Second marriage: In "The One After Ross Says Rachel," Emily Waltham wed Ross, but she fled as soon as the clergyman announced their union. After a short while, they decided to get a divorce in "The One With The Yeti" after realizing Ross could not cut off his friendship with Rachel.


  • Third marriage: Ross and Rachel accidentally got married in Las Vegas while intoxicated, and separated respectfully after six months of marriage. Any mention of marriage in the series after Ross' third divorce was typically followed by a joke that made fun of Ross.


Read more about Friends:


Who is Ross in Friends

Was courteney cox pregnant at the end of friends

List of Friends Christmas Episodes

FAQs about Ross’s marriages

  1. Ross Geller (played by David Schwimmer) married three times and divorced three times on the American sitcom Friends.


  1. Ross dated twelve women over the course of ten seasons, and he even got married to three of them. Although Ross felt incredibly unlucky to find love during the 10 seasons of the show, he made an effort to find a matching partner.


  1. Ross had three marriages with three different women in the American sitcom Friends. They are Carol Willick, Emily Waltham and Rachel Green, respectively.


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