 Rachel <unk> in the pilot episode of Friends as a runaway bride who is distraught after abandoning her fiancé Barry Farber ( Mitchell <unk> ) at the altar . She locates her high school best friend Monica Geller ( Courteney Cox ) , the only person she knows in New York City , who agrees to let Rachel reside with her while she attempts to reorganize her life . Rachel meets and befriends Monica ’ s friends Phoebe <unk> ( Lisa <unk> ) , Joey <unk> ( Matt <unk> ) , and Chandler Bing ( Matthew Perry ) , while reuniting with Monica 's older brother Ross Geller ( David Schwimmer ) , who has <unk> <unk> romantic feelings for her since high school . Having previously relied on her parents ' money her entire life with a sole goal of marrying wealthy , Rachel attempts to reinvent herself as an independent young woman by <unk> at Central <unk> , a coffeehouse where her new friends regularly <unk> . 
