and have children with her. Monica is left confused and when Chandler talks about how he hates marriage and cannot see why anyone should get married she starts to feel unsure about their whole relationship. After Joey tells Monica that Chandler seemingly has no interest in getting married, Monica tells him that Richard wants to marry her, leading Joey to tell her that Chandler does love marriage, making Monica even more confused. She decides enough is enough and goes to meet Richard at his apartment. After talking to him about the unfairness of the situation, she soon leaves to think things over. Feeling envious of Chandler and Monica, Rachel decides to follow Phoebe's lead and secure Ross as her marriage "backup": they will get married if they are both still single at 40. However, she finds that Phoebe had long since made Ross her second backup after Joey. All three confront Phoebe about this, and it is decided that Joey will remain Phoebe's backup, while Ross becomes Rachel's. Joey tells Chandler how his plan has backfired on him and he is now in serious danger of losing Monica for good, and he leaves on a frantic search intending to propose when he finds her. Chandler comes to Richard's apartment and asks for Monica, only to find that she has left. He tells Richard off for blowing his own chances years ago, and also says that he and Monica are meant to be together, revealing he had intended to propose. Richard advises Chandler to go to Monica, telling him if he succeeds in winning her back, he must never let her go. After searching for Monica all day, Chandler hurries back to his apartment and when he gets there, Joey meets him in the hall, claiming Monica has left because of his commitment issues, despite Joey trying to convince her otherwise. When Chandler enters their apartment, believing he has destroyed his relationship with Monica, he discovers that it is far from being abandoned, there are candles lit all over and Monica is kneeling to propose. In the midst of proposing to Chandler, she cries from sheer emotion and is unable to continue. Instead, Chandler gets on his knees and proposes to her and Monica accepts. They then open the door to Joey, Rachel, and Phoebe, who have been waiting to celebrate. At first, they hesitate, feeling Ross should be there to