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The couple will celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary on the same day. Friends: The Reunion Coming Out.
Lisa Kudrow’s quirky character is one of the many reasons millions of fans still enjoy seeing the show reruns today. Like the fictional massage therapist she once played and who ultimately fell in love with Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd), Lisa fell in love with her real-life husband Michel Stern in an unexpected way off-screen.
Lisa and the French-born LA- Advertisers first crossed paths in the 1980s when he was with their roommate. Although Lisa immediately had a crush on him, she respected their relationship and kept mom about their feelings.
« I lived with a French girl and he had just moved here and they were together when we first met » she said, according to The Daily Mail. « But I’m incredibly polite, so I saw him and said, ‘Well, he’s the perfect man and it’s all ruined because they’re together now and I can’t [try to do something with him]. » > She continued, “I thought it wasn’t nice to flirt. But the moment I saw him I said, “Well, that’s it, there he is.” When he came to pick her up, he said, “Oh, hello Lisa” and I said, “Hello, ‘and I would go and leave the room and he thought I was a freak. «
Two and a half months later, Lisa’s roommate and Michel ended their relationship and the former couple remained friends. This would later prove to be an important connection. » Six years later, I met him again at their birthday party and we just never stopped, » she said.
A week after the first season of Friends ended, Lisa Michel married on May 27, 1995. From the beginning of their union, the duo made a pact that they would always work hard on their relationship. </ p "When [Michel and I] decided to get married, we understood that we weren't going to promise to love each other forever because you couldn't, but we promise to work on any issues that arise," she told Glamor Year 2014.
The couple welcomed their first and only child, a son named Julian Murray Stern, on May 7, 1998. When Lisa announced her pregnancy in real life, Friends writers worked her into Phoebe’s story season four to explain her growing belly. Fans now know this as the time the Central Perk singer became a replacement for her brother’s triplets.
Decades later, the Emmy winner remembered a special ritual of the Friends cast, which eventually included her son Julian.
« The six of us got together backstage and just said, ‘All right ‘Have a good show, love you, love you, love you, love you,’ « she told People in 2018. » And when I was pregnant they said, ‘Have a great show, love you, love you love you little Julian! « Because we knew it was a boy and that was his name. So cute they added my little fetus to the group. »
Coincidentally, HBO is debuting Max’s special friends : The Reunion on the 26th wedding anniversary of Lisa and Michel. Last year, the couple couldn’t celebrate the day together as the coronavirus pandemic forced them to quarantine separately. However, it hasn’t changed how meaningful the milestone was.
« We’re so used to not being able to be together on our anniversary, » she said in 2020 at Jimmy Kimmel Live. « We said, » Oh, good. Is that important? I love you. You still love me? Yes. Great. We are well. ‘ »
In the past, Lisa has shown how much they value the importance of individuality in their relationship.
» [Michel and I] respect each other’s independence, and I don’t mean that as a euphemism .. . If he wants to go on a golf trip, he goes, « she told Glamor. » I think people get in trouble [assuming they are] supposed to be one unit, in sync with everything. [Marriage] is like one Team. Every teammate is different, but they have the same goal. «
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