Following the April 2021 Friends reunion where Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer admitted to having crushes on each other early on in the show, rumors spread like wildfire that the pair had embarked on a real-life romance. Jen was completely oblivious to the news, until her friends started texting her about the possible hot new relationship.

“That’s really funny,” she laughed to Marie Claire Australia about the dating rumors that followed the reunion. “I was just saying, ‘I hadn’t heard a word of this.’ Honestly. I was getting a couple of texts from people saying, ‘I thought you were on a break, LOL.’ And I kept saying, ‘What are you talking about?’ And then I went online to see what was happening, and I was like, ‘That is the funniest rumor that I never heard that got shot down in the quickest amount of time.’”

During the HBO Max reunion, David, 54, admitted, “The first season, we — I had a major crush on Jen.” Jennifer, 52, then surprised fans by revealing, “It was reciprocated.”

“At some point, we were both crushing hard on each other,” David continued. “But it was like two ships passing, because one of us was always in a relationship. And we never crossed that boundary. We respected that.” However, Jennifer admitted they had sweet moments of PDA while filming, adding, “We would spoon and fall asleep on the couch.”

After that admission, fans were hoping for a real-life 2021 romance between the actors who played Ross Gellar and Rachel Green for 10 seasons.

“That was bizarre. I could not believe that, actually. Like, really? That’s my brother,” Jen told Entertainment Tonight during a September 13 interview alongside her Morning Show costar Reese Witherspoon. “But I understand it, though. It just shows you how hopeful people are for fantasies, for dreams to come true.”

The “fantasies” were compounded by the fact that both Jen and David appear to be single these days. The Murder Mystery star hasn’t been linked to any romances since her 2018 split from ex-husband Justin Theroux. David and his wife of seven years, photographer Zoe Buckman, separated in 2017. The pair divorced later that year. They share a 10-year-old daughter Cleo.

In a statement at the time to Us Weekly, the couple said, “It is with great love, respect and friendship that we have decided to take some time apart while we determine the future of our relationshipOur priority is, of course, our daughter’s happiness and well-being during this challenging time, and so we ask for your support and respect for our privacy as we continue to raise her together and navigate this new chapter for our family.”

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