Nearly 30 Years Later, Friends’ Most Divisive Ross & Rachel Story Just Got An Even Worse Remake

July 19, 2025

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Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3, episodes 1 and 2.

Prime Video’s popular YA romance drama, The Summer I Turned Pretty, has just reimagined Ross and Rachel’s most divisive storyline from Friends. Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) might be one of the most iconic TV couples of all time, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have their fair share of problems. During their first relationship, Ross became increasingly possessive of Rachel.

Ross’s jealousy became intolerable once Rachel started working at Bloomingdale’s in season 3. After a particularly nasty fight, Rachel suggested they take a “break” from their relationship. That same night, Ross ends up sleeping with someone, a major mistake he unsuccessfully tried to hide from Rachel when she asked him to get back together.

And so, the “we were on a break” debate was born: did Ross cheat on Rachel, or did their 24-hour hiatus absolve him of his guilt? The answer didn’t matter; Rachel ended their relationship anyway.

The romantic drama in The Summer I Turned Pretty is a little more complicated than in Friends. Leading lady Belly (Lola Tung) is one-third of a love triangle involving two brothers, Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) Fisher. In The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s season 3 premiere, Belly has been in a happy years-long relationship with Jeremiah, but the reveal of Jeremiah’s worst secret threatens to ruin everything.

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Repeats Friends’ Infamous “We Were On A Break” Debate

During a frat party, Belly overhears two girls talking about Jeremiah. As it turns out, Jeremiah slept with one of them during a spring break trip to Cabo. Right before he left, he and Belly had a heated argument. Jeremiah believed he and Belly had broken up, while Belly was left to stress about Jeremiah’s lack of contact, eager to make up with him.

Lola Tung as Belly in The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3

The Summer I Turned Pretty author and show creator Jenny Han hints that the upcoming third and final season will deviate from the books significantly.

Just like Ross did in Friends, Jeremiah excuses his behavior by telling Belly that he believed she’d dumped him. If he truly thought that their relationship was over, doesn’t that mean he technically didn’t cheat on her?

While one of Belly’s friends agrees with his point of view, she also points out that Jeremiah’s hiding the truth from Belly proves that he knew he made a mistake. He was (rightfully) worried it would ruin their relationship, so he decided not to tell her.

Jeremiah, like Ross, went out of his way to keep Belly from discovering the truth. He may not have run around New York trying to silence the gossip trail, but he took away her right to choose.

For Belly, Jeremiah sleeping with someone else (twice, I might add) did feel like cheating. She still believed she was in a relationship with him, and she’d only ever been with one other person before him – his older brother, Conrad. She was honest with him about her former experiences. That makes Jeremiah’s lie even worse.

Jeremiah, like Ross, went out of his way to keep Belly from discovering the truth. He may not have run around New York trying to silence the gossip trail, but he took away her right to choose. Belly deserved to know what happened. Their entire relationship after the Cabo trip was built on a lie. At least Rachel discovered what Ross had done the very next day.

Jeremiah & Belly’s Engagement Makes The Cheating Debate Even More Complicated Than Ross & Rachel’s

Jeremiah proposes to Belly in The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3

Whereas Rachel broke up with Ross after the “we were on a break” debacle (for a while, at least), Belly is almost immediately persuaded to get back together with Jeremiah. Belly’s best friend, Taylor (Rain Spencer) – who was involved in an affair herself, it should be noted – tells Belly that she shouldn’t throw away four years of good memories for one mistake.

Then there’s Jeremiah, who, after apologizing profusely, proposes to Belly in front of the hospital where her brother is being treated after a car accident. Surprisingly, Belly enthusiastically agrees, making the whole cheating scandal even more complicated. Belly’s emotions were heightened during Jeremiah’s proposal: her brother had been injured, and she and Jeremiah had just discussed his indiscretion in detail.

What happens when she comes down from what was undoubtedly an adrenaline-induced high? Her brother, Steven (Sean Kaufman), has been reintroduced as a voice of reason in Belly and Jeremiah’s relationship. I can’t imagine he’ll be very pleased to hear what Jeremiah did, especially after he decided to do the right thing in his own romantic relationships.

Belly and Jeremiah may not have broken up after Jeremiah’s reveal the way Friends‘ Ross and Rachel did. I have a feeling their biggest fight is still to come in The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3, however, especially once Conrad re-enters Belly’s life and shows her a different potential future.

New episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty release weekly on Wednesdays exclusively on Prime Video.