I believe Ross' ''We were on a break'' phase in Friends was exhausting (and made his character unbearable)

The popular sitcom Friends needs no introduction and was one of the pioneers that set the standard for its successors in the 90s. While the show was highly popular and fans re-watch it to this day, it had its fair share of shortcomings.

Since nobody is perfect and every main protagonist had their shortcomings on the sitcom, I believe Ross' romantic storyline was exhausting and made his character unbearable as the show progressed.

While the sitcom usually banked on humor from his many divorces, it underscored his toxic and manipulative behavior. I believe that Ross was a good friend who even had a fair amount of wholesome moments with other characters. But I cannot look past his toxic behavior that he projected towards women in his life in romantic relationships.

More on Ross from Friends in our story.

*Disclaimer- This article is based on the author's opinion. Reader discretion is advised.*

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Ross from Friends denied responsibility for his mistakes in his relationship with Rachel

Everybody knows that Ross had a crush on Rachel from high school in Friends and that initial attraction only grew into love when she started living with his sister Monica and regularly hung out with the gang.

However, when Rachel did not reciprocate his feelings and started dating Paolo, Ross started to move on and even found love in Julie. However, things got complicated when Rachel learned about Ross' love for her and the couple finally had a real chance together.

After years of pining, Ross was finally dating Rachel, his high school crush. While Rachel was always popular, this was a huge thing for him. However, it did not last long as he made the infamous pros and cons list with Joey and Chandler and the rest is history.

Ross' pros and cons list was a toxic way of judging and objectifying women and establishing that he is superior to them. Compartmentalizing women to mere categories? No wonder Rachel saw the 'just a waitress' con and broke up with him.

While this was the first of their breakups, the couple had a long way to go. Things again started to look good for the couple after the 'Prom video' but Ross became too insecure.

Rachel finally landed a real job at Bloomingdale's, which was a significant step for her. However, instead of supporting his girlfriend, Ross was too insecure about her new colleague, Mark. A grown man playing tricks to get his girlfriend's attention? That was a low level even for Ross. And finally, the worst happened, and in one of their fights about Mark, Rachel suggested they take a break.

While this was hard for Ross, he slept with the hot Xerox place girl because he was 'too upset' after his fight with Rachel. While the act was disgusting in itself, he blatantly hid the girl in his apartment when Rachel came unannounced the next morning to apologize.

The mistake would not have had such a dire outcome if Ross had been just honest with her. But no, what did he do when Rachel found out from Gunther? He started his 'We were on a break'' phase. The sheer audacity to use this as an excuse to engage in promiscuous behavior was totally unjustified. Not only did he deny accountability for his actions, but he also behaved like a child in this whole situation.

While Rachel was also insecure and had her shortcomings too, Ross blatantly denying responsibility for his behaviour and creating a whole dialogue around it just made his character too unbearable.

And not to forget that, although he did not support Rachel in her career, she sacrificed her dream job in Paris and decided to stay with him in the series finale.

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Ross was toxic and manipulative even towards other women in his life in Friends

Ross' toxic and manipulative behaviour did not stop with Rachel in Friends. His toxic and superior behavior continued with every woman he dated after her. For starters, he said Rachel's name at the altar while marrying Emily. While this moment became one of the most iconic moments in Friends, it was infuriating.

While Friends fans antagonized Emily as she asked Ross to stop seeing Rachel, I don't blame her. Her would-be husband just said another woman's name at the altar, what else are you supposed to do now? Emily's behavior was totally justified, but Ross again acted like a victim when he started the whole thing.

Coming to his relationship with Elizabeth, his student who was much younger than him in Friends. While that was completely unethical and broke the sanctity of the teacher-student relationship, Ross was also manipulative towards her. From asking her not to wear a swimsuit because he was too insecure, to blatantly breaking up with her because she was just a child, Ross proved that he had no character growth.

If you think having a relationship with your student is problematic, Ross was even attracted to his cousin once in Friends. In Season 7, Ross and Monica's cousin Cassie stayed with him for a few days, and he became attracted to her, his sister. Things did not stop there, as he even tried to act on his feelings, making her uncomfortable.

From disrespecting the woman you are about to marry to almost committing incest. Ross had it all. I am sure till Season 10, fans 'wanted a break' from the character's toxic behavior.

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Also Read: Friends: 10 Monica-Chandler moments that you can't get enough of