Nearly a million Kiwi Friends fans tuned in to watch the show's special reunion episode. Photo / AP
Nearly a million Kiwi Friends fans tuned in to watch the show's special reunion episode. Photo / AP
It's the one Kiwis have been waiting for - and last night just under a million fans tuned in to watch the long-anticipated Friends reunion special.
Throughout the nation, viewers tuned in to watch the main cast of the hit 90s show reunite for a special episode.
Friends: The Reunionaired on TVNZ 2 as well as the TVNZ 2 online live stream and OnDemand from 7pm.
According to TVNZ, most New Zealanders watched on TV, with 888,770 tuning in, while more than 20,000 watched the live stream and over 78,000 tuned in later on OnDemand.
The reunion saw the six Friends stars come together for a much-anticipated reunion episode, in which they reminisced about the show, 17 years after the finale aired.
The special episode included table readings, celebrity appearances and a few revelations.
During the interview with James Corden, the host asked the stars whether there had been any off-air romances, considering how much time they all spent together.
Much to the surprise of Corden, and everyone in the audience, Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer admitted that they both had a crush on each other, and that only poor timing stopped them from acting on it.
Aniston, who played Rachel Green, and Schwimmer, who played Ross Geller, were the on-again-off-again couple in the show - and it turned out the attraction did not end once the cameras stopped rolling.
"The first season, I had a major crush on Jen," Schwimmer revealed.
"It was reciprocated," Aniston responded.
The cast revealed show secrets on the reunion episode, such as the fact that Ross and Rachel were nearly a couple in real life. Photo / AP
"At one point we were both crushing hard on each other, but it was like ships passing because we were both in relationships when the other wasn't and we both really respected that," Schwimmer explained as Matt LeBlanc chimed in: "Bulls**t."
Aniston went on: "I remember saying to you [Schwimmer], it's going to be such a bummer if the first time we kiss is on national television ... And sure enough we did."
Reiterating that they never explored their connection off-screen, she added: "We just channelled all of our love and adoration for each other into Ross and Rachel."
Schwimmer revealed the two would "cuddle and fall asleep on the couch" during breaks in filming.
"How did nobody know we were crushing on each other," Schwimmer recalled.
"It was a situation that ... We couldn't do anything about it."
It turns out one of the most iconic fictional couples of the 90s was almost a couple in real life too.
