Phoebe, the lovable, off-beat masseuse in Friends, had a fairytale ending when the show came to a close. After being so unlucky in love, having a stint with homelessness and a whole slew of family problems, she ended up with the oh-so-dreamy Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd).
While we can’t imagine a more perfect ending for Phoebe, it turns out that she was never supposed to end up with Paul Rudd’s character. Originally, she was supposed to end up with her (clearly less attractive, less attentive) ex-boyfriend David.
Phoebe’s relationship with David ended when he went to Minsk to do research (he was a scientist remember?). Phoebe started seeing Mike, but the pair hit a rough patch and broke up because he was scarred from his first marriage. David came home from Minsk and proposed to Phoebe which kind of forced Mike to up the ante and propose as well. She turned down David, got back together with Mike and the couple wed in a gorgeous, outdoor ceremony during a New York City snowstorm.
In a recent interview with The Huffington Post, Hank Azaria, who played David in the series, revealed that he was the one who supposed to end up with Phoebe, but Paul Rudd was just too charming.
“The plan always was kind of to bring [David] back,” he said. “I think, honestly, what happened was Paul Rudd is so awesome that they sort of found a groove with him and [my character] became more of just the grist for that mill. As opposed to the other way around.”
He continued, “It actually did sting a little bit. Whatever part of me is David the science guy who went to Minsk, which admittedly is probably a small part of me [laughs], but that part of me wanted to end up with Phoebe. So I was sort of sad when I didn’t.”
Do you think Mike was Phoebe’s one true love?
