Natalie Imbruglia's blunt reply to ex David Schwimmer's Friends crush on Jennifer Aniston

Ross and Rachel's rocky relationship in Friends has officially been seared into our minds forever - but their on-screen chemistry had consequences in the real world.

The hot-and-cool romance left fans yearning for years and the age-old 'we were on a break' debate still ruffles feathers.

And when actors David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston admitted years later that they had the hots for each other on set, it sent the fandom into a fresh frenzy. But David, 57 was in a relationship at the time, with none other than Neighbours star Natalie Imbruglia.

READ MORE - Conor McGregor shares pictures from sister's wedding as Erin thanks UFC star

READ MORE - Tommy Fury's brother Tyson's wild love life - 'lying, cheating' and sleeping with 500 women

In 2021, the co-stars revealed they were both "crushing hard" on each other at the time, and while Natalie only found this out years after filming came to a halt, she wasn't surprised.

In an interview on KIIS FM's Kyle and Jackie O Show, Natalie said she "thought so" in a blunt response to the revelation. When the Torn signer was quizzed on whether she thought there had been any "crossover," she cheekily replied: "I thought that too... no I'm joking."

The 49-year-old went on to say that her and David's relationship was so long ago that she can barely remember during what series she was dating the TV star.

She said: "I remember being on set and everyone being lovely and really, really nice, I wasn't paying attention to whether they were giving each other, you know, little looks over my shoulder. I'm okay with whatever happened back then, it was a long time ago."

Natalie and David first shacked up in 1996, at the heights of the Friends global frenzy. The Australian actress and singer rose to fame in Neighbours as Beth Brennan in the Ramsay Street soap between 1992 and 1994. She then had a mega hit with Torn in 1997.

Their relationship was incredibly high-profile owing to David's skyrocketing fame, but the spotlight always remained firmly on Schwimmer and Aniston's intoxicating chemistry on-set.

The pair haven't shied away from revealing their true feelings, and they came very close to becoming a real-life couple. But incredibly, they both admitted the only thing stopping them was that one was always committed to someone else.

James Corden, who quizzed the actors on their romantic status on set, said he couldn't believe they never took their real-life relationship to the next level.

"You were hot, young, good look actors - it is inconceivable to me that there weren't off-screen romances," he boldly stated.

Without holding back, Daivd said: "First season, I had a major crush on Jen," to which she chimed in and replied: "It was reciprocated."

He continued: "We were crushing hard with each other. But it was like two ships passing, one of us was always in a relationship."

And Jen added: "I remember saying to David 'it is going to be such a bummer if the first time you and I actually kiss is going to be on national television', and sure enough.... we just channelled all of our love for each other into Ross and Rachel."

Sign up to the Irish Mirror's daily newsletter here and get breaking news and top stories direct to your inbox.