Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer were sooo close to being the real-life Rachel and Ross ... but alas, the timing just wasn't right.
Jen and David reveal -- during the "Friends: The Reunion" special -- they had mad crushes on each other! David, in particular, said he had a major crush on Jen during the first season.
He said, "At some point, we were both crushing hard on each other -- but it was like a two ships passing [in the night] because one of us was always in a relationship."
David added they never crossed the line because they respected that. Jennifer says she remembers telling David, "'It's going to be such a bummer if the first time you and I actually kiss is ... on national television!' Sure enough, the first time we kissed was in that coffee shop."
No word if Ross revealed his crush with an 18-page letter ... FRONT AND BACK!!!
Matt LeBlanc had a little fun with that real-life storyline ... coughing and blurting "Bulls***" when David suggested he and Jen kept things platonic. But, Matt later laughed and said, "I'm kidding!" Or was he? The world may never know.
Pretty cool moment during the reunion when Lisa Kudrow was joined by Lady Gaga, dressed in a very Phoebe Buffay outfit, for a rendition of "Smelly Cat."
David Beckham, Justin Bieber, Elliott Gould, Maggie Wheeler, Tom Selleck and Reese Witherspoon also make guest appearances.