Any true “Friends” fan knows that Monica and Chandler are the best couple in the show. I mean, they are so in love and happy. They’re the couple everyone is always cheering for! However, as I was rewatching the show, I realized that even though they are perfect together, there is someone who seems to always come back and make an impact – Janice. I know, I know, she can be so annoying! Her high-pitched voice and that horrible laugh make her one of the funniest people in the show. Even though Chandler sometimes hates her, she always makes her way back in the most unexpected ways. Could that somehow mean that she is the one for him? It’s a crazy thought, but hear me out!
Those who believe in soulmates know that “the one” is the perfect person for you who will make you better. It can be hard to find that person, but the universe will somehow manage to bring this person into your life. Well, if the universe in the Friends’ world is giving signs, one of them is certain: Janice and Chandler have a special bond.
At the beginning of the first season, Chandler dumps Janice for being too annoying. You would figure, if she’s so awful, why would he then invite her to be his date for New Year’s Eve? He does invite her and then dumps her – again. This could be the end for those two, but their story is far from ending. On Valentine’s day, Janice turns out to be Chandler’s blind date. In a city as huge as New York City, those two ended up together, again.
After the death of the friends’ annoying neighbor, Mr. Heckles, Chandler calls Janice to restart their relationship – mostly because he’s scared of ending up alone. Somehow, in a desperate time, Janice was the one person he turned to for some comfort. Despite all her annoying traits, he was willing to restart their relationship. It turned out to be too late, though, since she was married and pregnant at the time. Bad timing – something that happens in every romance novel.
In his search for his one true love, Chandler starts chatting with a woman online. He claims that they are perfect for each other and that he wants to date her. To his surprise, he discovers that this woman was Janice. Their online conversations show that despite everything, the two of them do connect in an intellectual way – something that had yet to happen to Chandler by this point in the show. Their reconnection turned into a relationship, where Chandler, for the first time, becomes committed and even invites her to move in with him. Janice made him overcome his biggest fear – being in an adult relationship. She made him grow as a person, something that a soulmate would do.
Monica and Joey find out that Janice is cheating on Chandler with her ex-husband, the father of her child. He struggles to decide on what to do, and as soon as he tells her not to give up on her family, he immensely regrets it and asks her to stay. The thought of losing her messes with his head because he believes that she might be the one for him… And maybe she is.
Somehow they continue to appear in each other’s lives – they accidentally meet in a nail salon, Janice sleeps with his friend Ross, Monica plays a tape with Janice’s voice on it, Janice complains about the food in the restaurant where Monica works, she even had a baby in the same room as Rachel! Come on, there is some strong force connecting these two in a supernatural way!
There is an old saying that claims that if something is truly yours, it will find it’s way back to you. Could it be possible that despite all the odds against them, Janice really is Chandler’s? That they’re meant to be together? He did love her at some point, and she makes it really clear that she’s always loved him. If you believe in the old romantic idea that there is a perfect person for everyone – the so-called “soulmate” – would Monica actually be Chandler’s? Or is it possible that it is Janice who belongs with him?