David Schwimmer Was Asked About The "We Were On A Break" Debate And His Response Has Made Me Question Everything

    The One Where The "We Were On A Break" Debate Refuses To Leave Us Alone.

    Ben Henry
    by Ben Henry

    BuzzFeed Staff

    I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that one of the biggest and most divisive debates of all time is that of Ross, Rachel, and that whole "WE WERE ON A BREAK" nonsense.

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    Yes, even though this debate was born from an episode that first aired last century — 1997, to be exact — people are still up in arms about who was right and who was wrong.

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    Thankfully, we can all (mostly) agree that Ross is entirely terrible, but let's try and not let that sway our perspective here, no matter how difficult it might be.

    Anyway, Ross himself — aka David Schwimmer — has decided that 2020 is the time to reignite the debate, revealing his own standpoint in a recent interview with Jimmy Fallon.

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    "People are so passionately divided about whether or not they were on a break," David said when asked by Jimmy what people shout at him in the street.

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    I'm sorry, if you are in the street yelling "YOU WERE ON A BREAK" at David Schwimmer then I am concerned at best.

    But, when Jimmy asked which side of the debate David stood, he simply responded: "Yeah, it's not even a question, they were on a break."

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    Now, I have some thoughts, so bear with me.

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    When I heard David say this, I was confused because, surely, the debate was never if they were on a break or not, but if sleeping with someone else during that break was technically counted as cheating.

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    So I decided to do some investigating. But what that investigation uncovered has truly horrified me.

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    Because it seems that I was wrong? And the whole argument between Ross and Rachel is indeed whether they were on a break or not?

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    I feel like this is the Mandela Effect at work with the devil to dupe and deceive me. I have been lied to and I would like to speak to a manager immediately.

    So let's clear that debate up quickly because it's really quite simple. During their fight, Rachel clearly says, and I quote: "Maybe we should just take a break."

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    She follows it up with a clearer explanation: "A break from us."

    Then, just to make things even clearer, in the ensuing argument Rachel says, plain as day: "We were on a break."

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    This is potentially the one and only time Rachel says this instead of Ross and also clarifies that she too thought they were on a break.

    But, for the next seven seasons, the pair fight over whether they were on a break or not when, in reality, the argument should've been whether Ross had any right to sleep with somebody else while the pair were on a break.

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    Spoiler: He did not.

    Anyway, rather than arguing over something that happened more than two decades ago, how about we focus on something that could potentially be happening next month — the reunion!

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    Of course, we know that the ~friends~ were supposed to reunite for an unscripted special earlier this year, only for the coronavirus to just come and...

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    "It's supposed to happen maybe in August, the middle of August," David explained. "But honestly we're gonna wait and see another week or two if we all determine it's really safe enough to do. If not, then we'll wait until it's safe."

    Regardless of when it comes back, I'd like answers on this "we were on a break" nonsense so we can put it to bed once and for all.

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    Oh, and if you really want something to argue about, "The One With The Morning After" is the best Friends episode in existence. I said what I said.

    You can watch David's full interview with Jimmy Fallon here.