10 Things We’ve Never Understood About Joey Tribbiani

Friends is one of the most memorable sitcoms of all time, but some things about Joey Tribbiani are quite bothersome. Each character in the sitcom brings something different—Ross’ meltdowns and perfect comedic timing, while Rachel has incredible character development. Phoebe is lovably eccentric, and Chandler is easily the funniest and most iconic of the bunch. Monica ties the whole group together as the “mom friend.” Last but certainly not least, Joey is the dimwitted but fun-loving friend everyone wants to have.

Joey’s shenanigans are always entertaining, whether as an individual storyline or a plot involving the other friends. However, the 10 seasons of Friends present some unsettling truths about Joey Tribbiani that do not make sense. While they are not necessarily harsh realities that come from revisiting Friends, they are still worth discussing. These issues are usually plot holes, inconceivable details, or character inconsistencies. Regardless, they certainly present things about Joey Tribbiani that do not make sense.

10 Joey Treats Women Terribly Despite His Selfless Nature

Joey Has Proven He Can Be A Gentleman When He Wants To

Throughout Friends, Joey has shown over and over again that he has a heart of gold. He stands by a complete stranger while she gives birth during the Friends season 1 finale, all because she is alone. Joey is always there whenever his friends and family need him. He even offers to marry Rachel when she falls pregnant just because she will be a single mom. Joey Tribbiani treats some of his girlfriends well, such as when he dates Charlie in Friends season 9. Although they do not share much in common, Joey still supports and cares about her.

Therefore, Joey’s appalling treatment of women does not concur with his characterization. His personality as a player is a running gag that Friends capitalizes on, but it makes no sense for him to be a womanizer when he has proven to be a good man. Joey can be someone who is not interested in serious relationships while still treating women with respect. However, Joey treating women like objects just does not fit with his proven kindhearted nature.

9 Joey Gets Dumber In Later Seasons Of Friends

Joey Was Initially Clever With Lovably Dumb Moments, But He Just Becomes Plain Dumb Later On

Friends portrays Joey Tribbiani as a lovable and dimwitted friend who is clever at the strangest times. He is the first to discover Monica and Chandler’s secret romance because of her eyelash curler. He is smooth and knows his way around social interactions. However, in the last few seasons, Friends takes Joey’s dumbness to extremes — so much so that it is not even funny anymore. Suddenly, Joey cannot even spell the word “baby,” and does not realize Chandler and Monica named their daughter after her birth mother, Erica.

Joey’s dumb moments are initially funny because Friends spaces them out and allows Joey to be clever in the most unexpected situations. That is what made Joey Tribbiani’s slowness consistently funny. Towards the end, however, Friends makes Joey significantly dense without any bright moments of clarity, which waters down his character and makes him inconsistent. If the show had been consistent with Joey’s intelligence, perhaps his romance with Charlie could have lasted longer.

8 Joey Is One Of Ross And Rachel’s Biggest Supporters Despite His Feelings For Rachel

Joey Has Always Rooted For Ross And Rachel

There were many things about Joey and Rachel’s short-lived romance that made no sense whatsoever. One of those things is how Joey has been the most fervent supporter of Ross and Rachel’s romantic relationship. In earlier Friends seasons, he always rooted for them to get back together. Joey falling in love with Rachel does not work in this context. The only thing more absurd would be Phoebe falling in love with Ross after how much she supported Ross and Rachel. Joey’s insistence on Ross and Rachel ending up together is simply incompatible with him eventually falling in love with her.

7 Chandler & Ross Went To Joey For Relationship Advice

Joey Has Little To No Experience With Serious Romantic Relationships

Joey Tribbiani is the only character in Friends who has never had a serious relationship. Chandler was in the same boat as Joey but still had his on-again, off-again girlfriend Janice, and eventually married Monica. Joey has only ever had genuine romantic feelings for four people: Kate Miller, Cecilia Monroe, Charlie Wheeler, and Rachel Green. However, these relationships did not last long enough to become serious, leaving Joey with zero insight into providing good relationship advice. Therefore, it made no sense that Ross and Chandler went to Joey for relationship advice.

Ross taking Joey and Chandler’s advice led to Ross making the pros and cons list about Rachel in Friends season 2 and played a huge role in the downfall of Ross and Rachel’s relationship. Joey and Ross also give Chandler advice, which results in Chandler proposing to Monica. Joey’s romantic advice regarding serious relationships always backfired, so Friends continuously pursuing this road is nonsensical.

6 Joey Wanted A Relationship Like Chandler & Monica’s But Never Tried Pursuing One

Joey Has Never Been Interested In Serious Romantic Relationships Despite Wanting One

In Friends season 5, episode 16, “The One With The Cop,” Joey dreams about being in a relationship with Monica. At first, he worries he has feelings for her, but he eventually realizes that he wants what Chandler and Monica have: a relationship with a strong foundation of friendship. However, Joey suddenly deciding he wants this relationship does not make sense for his womanizer personality, especially since it is based on only one dream. It would make more sense if Joey grew envious of Chandler and Monica over time, but Joey’s decision is as if a switch flipped overnight.

5 Joey Developing Feelings For Rachel After One Fake Date

The Entire Premise Of Joey’s Feelings For Rachel Is Weak

One of the most nonsensical things about Joey Tribbiani is his romance with Rachel, specifically, how his feelings developed. Joey begins falling for Rachel after they go on a date in Friends season 8, while she subsequently develops romantic feelings for him in season 9. They break up when they cannot consummate their relationship because they cannot cross that boundary. This ending for Joey and Rachel’s relationship makes the most sense, especially given that the storyline was illogical. Joey and Rachel’s feelings are forced and contrived. Unlike Monica and Chandler’s, their friendship does not organically develop into a romance.

Their romance could have worked had Friends decided to end Ross and Rachel’s relationship permanently in season 3. However, by the time this storyline rolls around, Friends has deeply cemented Ross and Rachel’s will-they/won’t-they dynamic to the point where anything else would not feel right. That being said, if Friends aired today, Joey and Rachel would most likely have ended up together. It is plausible that the show would have pursued their friends-to-lovers dynamic over Ross and Rachel’s arc.

4 Joey Cannot Afford His Apartment & The $20,000 Boat He Won At An Auction

Even With A Roommate, Joey Keeping The Boat Is Unrealistic

Joey Tribbiani pursued a career in acting. Besides a brief stint on Days Of Our Lives in Friends season 2, Joey is not a very successful actor. He only makes enough money to get by. In later seasons, Joey finally gets his big break by returning to Days Of Our Lives and starring in a war film. However, long before these events occur, Joey had already purchased a boat for $20,000 at a silent auction. At first, he was going to give it up, but he changed his mind. Rachel even subsequently taught Joey how to sail his boat.

Joey’s decision to keep the boat is not feasible because of his income. He lives in an apartment in Greenwich Village, and while Rachel was living with him at the time, covering his part of the rent and affording an expensive boat was unrealistic. There is a long-running debate about whether Monica could afford her apartment, but the boat scenario also raises questions about Joey’s financial capabilities. At least Friends attempted to explain Monica’s situation—Chandler mentions rent control in the series finale. However, there has been no explanation for how Joey could afford the boat and his apartment’s rent.

3 Joey’s Appetite Is Unbelievable

Joey Never Gets Full And Always Has Room For More Food

One of the biggest running gags in Friends is Joey’s relationship with food. He is notorious for refusing to share even a few grapes and is constantly looking for food to eat. In Friends season 8, episode 9, “The One with the Rumor,” Joey promises Monica that he can eat a 19-pound turkey, which he does. Although Joey with food is an iconic staple of Friends, the show should have focused more on his refusal to share food rather than testing his appetite limits. It is just inconceivable for any human to consume a whole turkey.

2 Joey’s Lack Of Affinity For Romance Despite Playing A Key Role In All The End Game Relationships

Joey Sets Up Mike & Phoebe, Orchestrated Monica & Chandler, And Rooted For Ross & Rachel

One notable thing about Joey Tribbiani is that, despite his lack of serious romantic relationships, he plays a critical role in each of the main romances in Friends. He is the first person to find out about Monica and Chandler, and he helps them keep their relationship a secret. Joey accidentally sets up Mike and Phoebe, who end up getting married. Joey officiates both of Monica and Chandler’s and Phoebe and Mike’s weddings. Additionally, Joey is also one of the strongest advocates for Ross and Rachel’s relationship, despite his brief affair with her.

Joey even helps Phoebe set up Ross and Rachel on terrible blind dates so that they will realize they are meant to be together. It is nonsensical for Joey to play these roles and still not find a partner for himself. Although it fits with Joey’s womanizer personality, it is disheartening to see how much he has done for his friends’ romantic relationships while not getting to find his own partner. Joey Tribbiani’s Friends spinoff, Joey, explores this aspect more, but regardless, it still feels unrealistic for him to play Cupid this much and not find someone for himself.

1 Joey Moves To Los Angeles Despite Monica & Chandler’s “Joey Room”

Joey Leaving His Friends Behind Even If He Felt Left Out Still Makes No Sense

One of the least understandable things about Joey Tribbiani is his spinoff, Joey, where he moves to Los Angeles shortly after the Friends finale. His reason is somewhat compelling because he feels left out since all his friends got married and had kids, but that does not seem to bother him before. Monica and Chandler have moved to Westchester, but Phoebe and Mike are still in Manhattan, and so are Ross and Rachel. Los Angeles would be ideal if Joey’s main motivation was to continue his acting career, but even that does not seem right.

Joey was against Monica and Chandler moving the most; he was vocal about his dissent until Monica and Chandler showed him his “Joey room.” After this scene, Joey leaving New York, let alone moving across the country, is completely out of character. Thankfully, Joey only lasted two seasons, so it is possible that Joey moved back to New York afterward. However, the premise of Joey would have been a lot stronger if Joey just moved to a different borough in New York or a city nearby.