Of all the main characters on Friends, it's fair to say that Monica Geller always had practical dreams and a solid head on her shoulders. She wanted love, marriage, and a family, but not at the expense of her career, and she struggled to find the right partner before falling for her good friend Chandler Bing.
Over 10 seasons, Monica had some major changes in her love life, as well as her professional one. While some story arcs made sense for her character, others fell short of what fans wanted to see her go through as she chased happiness.
Best: Falling In Love With Chandler In Secret
While Ross and Rachel are an iconic couple on Friends, Chandler and Monica have a popular romance as well.
At the end of the fourth season, the two characters slept together, and while they thought they would keep things casual at first, by season 5, they were deeply and madly in love. Chandler and Monica's secret relationship was well-crafted, funny, and heartwarming. It was clear that both characters had their own reservations about having their love story out in the open, and Monica grew a lot during this time, as she realized that she shouldn't be worried about what other people think. She knew that Chandler treated her well.
Worst: Her High School "Fat Monica" Years
Monica's time in high school is often referred to as when she was "Fat Monica," and the fat-shaming on the sitcom is very problematic.
Monica's past is one of her worst story arcs, as no one deserves to be insulted and demeaned for their physical appearance. Monica has so many positive qualities and it's heartbreaking to watch her feel ashamed of her former self. It would have been more interesting if Monica had gone through a different kind of transformation or journey that didn't have anything to do with her weight.
Best: Dating Richard And Debating Having Kids
Some fans ship Monica and Richard, and there were many great things about this relationship. For one thing, Richard was definitely mature enough for Monica, who was always a fairly logical, practical person in the friend group.
Monica had a great story arc when she dated Richard and realized that while she wanted kids, he didn't since they had such a big age difference. Fans could relate to this, as it's common for partners to have different views on this subject. Monica knew that leaving the relationship was the right thing, but that didn't make the choice easy.
Worst: Her Relationship With Pete (And Their Odd Break-Up)
Monica and Pete dated in the third season of the show, but they broke up when he wanted to become an Ultimate Fighting Champion.
Monica found it tough to see him on this path as she didn't want to watch any pain or injuries happen. This was a strange reason to break up because it doesn't seem like a reason to leave someone. If they got along well and liked each other, why not keep seeing each other? This wasn't one of Monica's better story arcs.
Best: Befriending Rachel Again And Helping Her Out
Rachel and Monica were the best of friends and the first season of the show focused on them becoming closer.
When Rachel showed up at Central Perk with the news that she didn't want to get married, Monica gave her a place to stay and a friend group to . It was sweet watching Monica be there for her pal, and this was one of her better arcs on the series. Even if she didn't agree with what Rachel was thinking or doing, she was loyal.
Worst: Whenever She Got Depressed About Her Single Status
In both the third and fourth seasons, Monica was single and she hated it. She was upset after breaking up with Pete, and later, she had a hard time watching her brother Ross get married.
Whenever Monica got down about not being in a relationship, it was pretty rough watching her feel sorry for herself. Monica has so many great things going for her, from being a talented chef to her fierce intelligence, and it seems a shame to focus on the fact that she didn't have a boyfriend or husband. There were so many other storylines that Monica could have had.
Best: Monica Became The Head Chef At Alessandro's
Monica changed over the sitcom's 10 seasons but she never gave up her love of cooking, especially for friends and family.
In the fourth season, Monica and Phoebe were going to go into business together and started a catering company. Monica was then hired to lead the kitchen at Alessandro's. This was a fun story arc, as she tried to win over her employees and they just weren't big fans of her. It was funny and charming seeing Monica try to get them to like her, and it was also relatable since many people have awkward job stories.
Worst: All The Drama Leading Up To Monica And Chandler's Wedding
Planning a wedding can be stressful and for Monica and Chandler, everything seemed to go wrong.
Monica got upset with the way that Chandler was photographing, so she had Joey stand in for him in their engagement photos. And Monica learned that her mom and dad had bought a beach house and used money that could have gone to her big day. These were both pretty random obstacles to get through, and it wasn't much fun watching this popular couple have so much trouble getting hitched. There's plenty of humor to be found in the engagement and wedding planning process, but none of these jokes were that funny.
Best: Monica's Fertility Struggles
In the ninth season of the show, Monica and Chandler knew that they were ready to start a family.
They had trouble getting pregnant and when they went to a fertility doctor, learned it would be really tough. In the tenth and final season, they decided that adoption was the right way to go for them. By the finale, they had their twins, Jack and Erica. Monica's struggle to conceive was one of her most compelling story arcs as it's relatable. Sometimes Friends could get a bit too silly and wacky, like many other sitcoms, but this felt so real.
Worst: Monica And Chandler's Long-Distance Period
In the ninth season of Friends, Chandler ended up working in Tulsa and the joke was that he was sleeping during the meeting when he was given this promotion (and relocation). This meant that the beloved couple was in a long-distance relationship for a time.
This was one of the worst parts of Monica's story. These two had gone through some tough moments leading up to their wedding day, and no one really wanted to see them continue to suffer. While it's realistic to expect newlyweds to have some ups and downs, it wasn't much fun watching Chandler accept a random job.