Jennifer Aniston Gushes About Ex-Husband Brad Pitt On ‘Friends,’ Saying ‘He Was Wonderful’

May 26, 2021

Fans of the hit American sitcom “Friends” have something to be excited about again after the show’s departure over 17 years ago in 2004. On May 27, HBO Max will premiere “Friends: The Reunion: The One Where They Get Back Together,” an unscripted special that sees the main cast reunite on set to reminisce about the show together, test their knowledge of the show with a trivia game, sit down in an interview with James Corden and re-read their lines more than a decade after the show’s finale.

As one of the most popular television shows of all time, “Friends” won countless awards, accolades and fans over the show’s 10-year run from 1994 to 2004. On paper, the show might seem rather ordinary. As its name suggests, the show revolves around a group of six friends — Rachel Green (Jennifer Anniston), Monica Geller (Courtney Cox), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) and Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) — as they live life as young adults in New York City. The show follows the ensemble cast as they date each other, move in together and further their careers in Manhattan.

The NBC show also saw its fair share of guest appearances from stars like Tom Selleck, Reese Witherspoon, Maggie Wheeler and Thomas Lennon, who will also appear on Thursday’s reunion special.

Shortly before the reunion special airs, Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox gave an online interview on Access Online where they recalled their favorite celebrities who appeared on the show, and one very special name came up. 

Not only is “Friends” the highest-rated television show of all time, but it also aired one of the most-watched television episodes in history: the series finale attracted 52.5 million viewers. To say the least, that means that the NBC show has its fair share of fans. And at the end of May, those fans are likely going to be very, very happy.

Given the show’s incredible success and long-lasting legacy, the reunion, which was originally set to air in 2020, is sure to be a huge hit for fans of the show. After all, this is the first time most “Friends” fanatics will be able to see this group of six together in more than a decade.

The May 27 reunion special is going to feature all six cast members for the first time in years as they revisit a recreated “Friends” set on Stage 24 at Warner Bros. Studios, including Monica and Rachel’s apartment, the Central Perk cafe and Joey and Chandler’s pad.

"I was flooded with 10 years of irreplaceable memories," a 56-year-old Cox told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview ahead of the show’s premiere.

In another interview with Access Online, Aniston, Cox and Kudrow recalled some of their favorite celebrity guest stars on "Friends." Some of their favorites included Tom Selleck, who played Monica's love interest, Richard, Ben Stiller, who had a cameo as Rachel's date "Tommy" in season 3, Resse Witherspoon, who played Rachel's sister, and Paul Rudd, who played Pheobe's boyfriend-turned-husband Mike.

During the discussion, one more name came up, which may have left Aniston fans surprised. 

"Mr. Pitt was wonderful," Aniston said, referring to Brad Pitt's cameo as a former classmate Rachel and Monica, Will Colbert, on the show in 2001. Us Weekly reported that even though he only showed up in one episode in season 8, he went on to receive an Emmy nomination for his role.

Back in 2001, Pitt and Aniston were married, and their relationship was one of the most followed ones on media. Most significantly, Pitt's romantic relationships have been at the forefront of gossip columns and tabloids for over a decade. His first marriage to Aniston was, as all major celebrity relationships, followed by media for a while. However, the public dissolution of this marriage and the rumors of infidelity with his co-star Angelina Jolie led to a very public interest in all the concerned parties. For a while, arguments would erupt over people who identified either as #TeamAniston or #TeamJolie, reported CNN. 

Pitt ended up leaving Aniston for Jolie, and the supercouple pair, nicknamed "Bangelina" by the media, became something of a media sensation themselves for their marriage as wells as their growing family. Jolie and Pitt remained together from 2005 and married in 2014, but eventually divorced in 2017 and went their separate ways. 

Both Pitt and Aniston had been very vocal that the end of their relationship was not as the media portrayed it, but the stories of drama took a life of their own over the years. Marie Claire reported that the couple was back on speaking terms since Pitt's divorce in 2017 and had since rekindled their friendship.

It seems like the friendship is going well enough, and neither person has any bad feelings left over from their divorce. 

Are you excited to watch the reunion special? Do you have a favorite moment from the show? Let us know, and be sure to pass this news on to your friends and family members.