Friends Creator Reveals Phoebe Almost Had A Very Different Ending

She ended up married to Mike, but David Crane has admitted things could have been very different for Lisa Kudrow's character.

Phoebe Buffay may have sashayed with her guitar into the sunset with musician Mike when Friends concluded in 2004, but things could have worked out, romantically, very differently for Lisa Kudrow’s character.

According to the hit NBC sitcom’s co-creator David Crane, “there was definitely a possibility” that Phoebe could have ended up with former partner David (played by Hank Azaria) instead of Mike (Paul Rudd).

“I mean, we didn’t definitively know,” the producer told Radio Times, when asked if it was always definite which of her great loves Phoebe would end up with.

“They’re both amazing actors. I mean, both Paul and Hank are fantastic, and fantastic with her. We sort of went back and forth,” David explained.

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Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow, center) eventually chose Mike Hannigan (Paul Ruff, right) over David (Hank Azaria, left) in Friends.
NBC via Getty Images

“I don’t even remember all the pieces that led to where we landed. But yeah, it could have gone the other way. Phoebe would have been great with either one.”

Whether the fictional Phoebe and Mike are still together more than 15 years after we last checked in with them remains to be seen.

However, perhaps at the rumoured upcoming unscripted reunion special – which will reportedly coincide with re-runs of the show debuting on HBO Max in the US – the cast and crew will shed some light on the issue.

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Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd) and Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) tied the knot in the tenth and final season of "Friends."
NBC via Getty Images

The original six stars of Friends recently caused a huge stir on social media when they posed for their first photo together in more than a decade, which coincided with Jennifer Aniston joining Instagram.

Jennifer later revealed that she and her former co-stars were trying to make some class of new project happen, but refused to disclose any more information.

Minor 'Friends' Characters We Wish We'd Seen More Of
Jack and Judy Geller (Elliott Gould and Christina Pickles)(01 of12)
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Whether they're being wildly sexually inappropriate, insensitive to their daughter or putting everybody in their place, the arrival of Monica and Ross's parents always guarantees an eventful episode. While Jack and Judy are the recurring characters with the most guest appearances (20, if you're interested), we'd still like to have seen them a little more often. (credit:Warner Bros via friends.wikia.com)
Susan Bunch (Jessica Hecht)(02 of12)
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Sadly, Susan was never seen past the sixth series of 'Friends', which is a real shame as we loved her long-standing frosty relationship with Ross.We particularly enjoyed her blasé putdowns, which she managed to deliver with an iciness we aspire to. (credit:Warner Bros)
Bonnie (Christine Taylor)(03 of12)
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A woman who will shave her head in the middle of a beach holiday just because someone planted the mere suggestion in her mind. Amazing. We know Rachel wouldn't have been thrilled by the prospect, but we definitely wouldn't have minded Bonnie sticking around for more than two episodes. (credit:Warner Bros)
Gunther (James Michael Tyler)(04 of12)
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True, Gunther did feature in quite a lot of episodes, but how much do we know about the man behind the fluorescent hair?What does he do at night? Where does he live? What are his hopes? His dreams? His fears?Actually, it's probably best not to know... (credit:Warner Bros)
Eddie Menuek (Adam Goldberg)(05 of12)
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As Chandler's brief time living with Eddie grew to a close, he became an even more odd creation, but it would have been great if the writers had cranke it up another notch with his strangeness, or at the very least showed us what happened when he was shown the door.Where did he go? Who does he live with now? How is his cherished pet, the goldfish cracker? These are the questions we need answers to. (credit:Warner Bros)
Amy Greene (Christina Applegate)(06 of12)
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It's always great when one of the characters' family members arrive, because they remind you of how they used to be - and that's never more true than when Rachel's sister Amy arrives on the scene. She's even more spoilt, and cares less about other people's feelings, than Season One Rachel, though with slightly less iconic hair. (No offence to Christina Applegate, of course). (credit:Warner Bros via friends.wikia.com)
Frank Buffay Jr and Alice Knight Buffay (Giovanni Ribisi and Debra Jo Rupp)(07 of12)
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Joey was the character who went on to end up with his own spin-off, but we think it definitely should have been Frank and Alice. Who honestly wouldn't want to watch a show about a man who marries his home-economics teacher, then raises triplets, that his sister gives birth to, with her? It would have been an Emmys shoo-in. (credit:Warner Bros via friends.wikia.com)
Amanda Buffamonteezi (Jennifer Coolidge)(08 of12)
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Phoebe and Monica made the unwise decision to 'cut out' Amanda, but frankly we'd have happily seen her stay until the finale. Thankfully, you can now watch Jennifer Coolidge being just as outrageous over on '2 Broke Girls'. (credit:Warner Bros)
Chandler's Dad (Kathleen Turner)(09 of12)
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Because really - who doesn't need more Kathleen Turner in their life? (credit:Warner Bros)
Mr Heckles (Larry Hankin)(10 of12)
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The great thing about Mr Heckles, especially watching earlier series back, is that it reminds you just how young the characters were - and what a nightmare the group of twenty-somethings must have been to live near... (credit:Warner Bros)
Erica (Anna Faris)(11 of12)
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...conversely, by the time Erica arrives in the tenth season, her youthful naivety proves just how far the six principal characters have come.We can't help but feel the fabulous and funny Anna Faris was criminally underused, and it would have been nice to see her stay around for a while, rather than a few fleeting appearances. (credit:Warner Bros via friends.wikia.com)
Marcel (Katie the Monkey)(12 of12)
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Just because. (credit:Warner Bros via friends.wikia.com)

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