If you asked the Friends cast "How you doin'?" following the reunion, their answers may've surprised you.
During the Sept. 16 episode of Literally! With Rob Lowe, Jennifer Aniston discussed filming the headline-making reunion and the toll it took on herself and her former co-stars. Per The Morning Show actress, coming together and reliving moments from the iconic NBC sitcom "really took us all down way harder than we anticipated."
"In your mind you think, 'Oh, this will be really fun to time travel,'" she told host Rob Lowe. "It turns out, ooh, ouch, it's kind of hard to time travel."
As she continued, Aniston highlighted how surreal it was to see the set, which had "the exact same everything, down to the little tchotchkes on the shelves." And while the Friends set remained the same, Aniston made it clear that she and her former co-stars—Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer—had not.
"You know, [in] 16 years, a lot has gone on for each of us," she added. "And 16 years ago, we were all sort of wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, and sort of had our whole lives ahead of us—even though we were heartbroken to say goodbye to these 10 years and this family and these people and the job we all loved to do."
Aniston compared working on Friends to taking "a happy pill every single day," so, returning for the reunion was more sentimental than she could've anticipated. "It's nostalgic in a way that's kind of also a little melancholy," she explained. "'Cause a lot has changed, and we have all gone down different roads. Some easy and some not so easy for each of us."
After calling the reunion "brutal," Aniston quipped that she couldn't stop crying even though there were cameras everywhere. Thankfully, the 52-year-old actress wasn't alone in her emotions, as she recalled, "There was a period where we were all kind of in a puddle. Maybe David didn't, I don't think we broke David."
Yet, Aniston was surprised that LeBlanc broke down in tears, calling him "Mr. Tough Guy."
"Mr. Impenetrable, our big brother," she noted on her former co-star, "who would kill anybody if they looked at you wrong. Even he got a little misty."
Although the experience may've been tough for the cast, it certainly paid off, as Friends: The Reunion was nominated for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) at the 2021 Emmys. Check out their other reunions by scrolling through the images below!
"Hi from the girls across the hall," Aniston wrote on Instagram on Jan. 12, 2020.
The Friends ladies reunited at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Patron of the Artists Awards in Beverly Hills in November 2019. Cox and Kudrow presented Aniston with one of two Artists Inspiration Awards.
Monica and Chandler reunited in November 2019!
Joey, Monica and Rachel reunited for a fun night in October 2019.
"Halfway there... #girlsnight #?" Kudrow wrote in June 2019, teasing fans about a possible reboot.
The Friends ladies get together for Cox's 55th birthday dinner in June 2019.
In December 2018, Cox supported her friend at premiere event for her Netflix movie Dumplin'.
Also in June 2018, the two attended the Chanel Dinner Celebrating Our Majestic Oceans benefit for NRDC Malibu.
In June 2018, the two attended the American Film Institute's 46th Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute to George Clooney.
In 2016, the two onscreen roommates reunited in London, baby! LeBlanc caught up with Perry backstage after the latter star's performance in his play The End Of Longing, which marked his playwriting debut.
Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc and Jennifer Aniston reunited for a 2016 NBC special dedicated to Friends director James Burrows. Matthew Perry was unable to attend as he was in London to star in his play The End of Longing. He did, however, appear in a videotaped message to introduce his former cast mates.
Kaley Cuoco was overjoyed to get a picture with the cast. She wrote on Instagram, "Ummmm NIGHT MADE. Can't breathe #friends meets #bbt @bigbangtheory_cbs I died and went to heaven."
The two reunited at the 2016 WGA Awards, appearing together onstage to present an award.
The two attended a screening of Just Before I Go, which Cox directed, in 2015.
The two attended the Phoenix House's 12th annual Triumph For Teens Awards gala in Beverly Hills in 2015.
In 2014, Cox joined Kudrow at a premiere event for season two of the HBO series The Comeback.
Also in 2014, the ladies of Friends reunited on Jimmy Kimmel Live!...
...where Aniston and Kudrow competed against each other.
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