Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer, who played Friends' on-again-off-again couple Rachel and Ross, have revealed they were indeed romantically interested in each other in real life.
During the much-anticipated special Friends: The Reunion, Schwimmer revealed he had a "major crush" on Aniston during the show's first season.
"At some point, we were both crushing hard on each other - but it was like two ships passing [in the night], because one of us was always in a relationship," he explained.
"We never crossed that boundary - we respected that," Schwimmer added, prompting co-star Matt LeBanc, who played Joey, to call "bullshit", on the claim, before insisting he was only joking.
Aniston confirmed Schwimmer's feelings for her were "reciprocal".
"I remember saying at one point to David, 'It's going to be such a bummer if the first time you and I actually kiss is... on national television!' Sure enough, the first time we kissed was in that coffee shop," she explained, referring to Central Perk.
"So we just channelled all of our adoration and love for each other into Ross and Rachel."
Despite Schwimmer's insistence the pair never crossed the line into a fully-fledged romantic relationship he admitted the two would "cuddle on the couch and spoon".
"How did everyone not know we were crushing on each other?" he asked.
"We knew," replied Matthew Perry, who played Chandler.
"We knew for sure," agreed Courtney Cox, who played Monica.
"Had they gotten together and it hadn't worked out, there's no telling if their on-screen chemistry would've suffered," Cox continued.
"The tension in the lead-up to Ross and Rachel's first kiss was just so palpable. It was just perfect."
Friends: The Reunion was the first time all six cast members had appeared publicly together in 17 years. The iconic show aired from 1994 - 2004.
