Friends: ‘Rachel’ Jennifer Aniston’s Pregnancy To ‘Phoebe’ Lisa Kudrow’s Surrogacy – When The Sitcom Depicted Different Phases Of Motherhood
It was just before the turn of the century that the NCB show began airing, and the makers smartly incorporated several different types of parenthood and motherhood.
Here’s How Friends Spoke About Motherhood Over The Years (Photo Credit: YouTube/Favorite Video, endiseleri & thebellyguide)
Advertisement
Motherhood is something almost all women across the globe want to experience. Therefore, it isn’t wrong to say that women are truly born with a mother’s instinct. The same was depicted very beautifully in the hits ’90s sitcom FRIENDS. And mind, the pregnancies show in the show are not some traditional ones.
It was just before the turn of the century that the NCB show began airing, and the makers smartly incorporated several different types of parenthood and motherhood into the show. When couples or individuals get kids through unconventional means, society raises its eyebrows, but the show dealt with it in such a manner that we pretty much remember them all and not because they were controversial or against society.
From Carol Willick raising her ex’s child with her lesbian partner and Rachel Green being a single mom to Monica Geller and Chandler Bing adopting twins and Phoebe Buffay giving birth to triplets as a surrogate mom, here are the many times FRIENDS shed light on unconventional motherhoods.
In the very first episode of FRIENDS, we are introduced to Carol Willick (Jane Sibbett), Ross Geller’s (David Schwimmer) first ex-wife. While she has just discovered her sexuality – that of being a lesbian – and moving in with her partner Susan Bunch (Jessica Hecht), we learn of her pregnancy.
Not one to opt for an abortion so that her new relationship doesn’t get affected, the trio decide to raise the kids together. We all still remember the first ultrasound where they fought over what to name the kid – don’t you!
Phoebe Buffay – Surrogacy
Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) is very different from most people we know on celluloid and real life. The makers of the show incorporated Lisa’s pregnancy in a very creative way by making her the surrogate mother for her half-brother Frank Jr (Giovanni Ribisi) and his wife Alice Knight Buffa (Debra Jo Rupp).
She didn’t care about herself or what society may think – people looked at her weirdly when she says she gave birth to her brother’s kid. She was only concerned about giving her brother and sister-in-law the happiness they wanted.
While talking about this, let also add that Frank and Alice pretty much better everything they had to have a family of their own. We have to say FRIENDS was more – it was family.
Rachel Green – Single Mother
Rachel Green debuted in the show as a spoilt rich brat who ran away from her wedding. After having an on-again, off-again relationship with Ross Geller – including being on a break, getting married and divorced – the two have an unplanned pregnancy.
An unplanned pregnancy can throw life off-balance, especially if the parents in question are unmarried. To date, people raise eyebrows with regards to a child born out of wedlock and where the mother brings up the kid solo.
While many may say Ross was present trough her pregnancy, and after that, you cannot deny the fact that Rachel took care of herself and Emma mostly by herself. In fact, during her pregnancy more than Ross, it was her friend and roommate, Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), who was more about.
She didn’t let anyone push her around and was all set to head to Paris with her daughter.
Monica Geller – Adoption
Since the start of the show, we all knew Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) wanted to be a mom and have kids of her own. Unfortunately, while she got the perfect life partner in her best friend, Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), the duo couldn’t conceive.
Owing to these shortcomings, after initially thinking of surrogacy, they finally decide to adopt. And as luck may have it, they get twins.
FRIENDS showed us different types of pregnancy that were pure, true and full of love. Thanks to how beautifully the makers handled it in a time when these topics were taboo, it didn’t show any character as abnormal people who were looked down at, but we loved.
