Courteney Cox's Throwback 'Friends' Photo Before the Show Finale Has a Sweet Secret

Hint—look at the food on the table.

Friends
(Image credit: Getty)
  • Last night on Instagram, Friends (opens in new tab) star Courteney Cox shared a throwback photo  (opens in new tab)of the entire cast before the show finale. 
  • Fans immediately lost their minds, and spotted a sweet little detail: There are lobsters on the table, just like the iconic line from Phoebe about Ross and Rachel being each other's lobsters.
  • Have you checked out our gallery of behind-the-scenes set photos (opens in new tab)? They'll blow your mind.

Courteney Cox, hero, has given us fabulous non-official Friends reunion photos—like with Matthew Perry (opens in new tab) and Matt LeBlanc and Jennifer Aniston (opens in new tab)—as well as throwback photos from the show that fans love to see—like the pic where the whole cast went to Vegas (opens in new tab) before the show started. Now she's done it again, breaking the Internet with a reunion photo that looks like it was taken just before filming of the final episode.

The best part, to me, is that the tray in the center looks like it's filled with lobsters (and fans noticed it too, so I don't think I'm making that up). As you will recall, Phoebe said that Ross and Rachel were each other's lobsters: "She's your lobster. Come on, you guys. It's a known fact that lobsters fall in love and mate for life. You know what, you can actually see old lobster couples, walking around their tank, you know, holding claws."

It's become one of the show's most iconic lines/references. It's a (potentially unintentional) Friends Easter egg! Cox captioned the photo, "'The Last Supper' before taping 'The Last One' on Jan 23, 2004."

Fans commented on the spectacular detail. "The longer I look at what’s on the table the more confused I get," said one comment. "They’re eating lobster!! They’re each other’s lobsters!!!! 🦞" wrote another. "But Ross doesn’t eat lobster..." said another show fan, referencing another show detail. Another little thing you might have missed: Courteney Cox is actually pregnant in the photo. And it looks like Lisa Kudrow might be holding some scrapbooks...potentially of old episode/set pics? (weeps)

Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow responded (Aniston with the crying emoji, Kudrow with "Awwwww"). And fans, famous and not famous, continued to beg for a reunion/reboot/gathering of some kind—apparently a special is in the works (opens in new tab) at HBO Max, but doesn't quite have the green light quite yet. So fear not, everyone. We might get a bunch more amazing photos like this one very soon.

Here's the original post—and if you swipe you'll see the script:

A post shared by Courteney Cox (@courteneycoxofficial) (opens in new tab)

A photo posted by on

Amazing.


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Katherine J. Igoe
Contributor

Katherine’s a Boston-based contributor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle—from “Clueless” to Everlane to news about Lizzo. She’s been a freelancer for 11 years and has had roles with Cosmopolitan and Bustle, with bylines in Parents, Seventeen, and elsewhere. It’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.