Paul Rudd upset Jennifer Aniston on Friends and feared he would ...

Once upon a time, Hollywood actors Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston were said to have been more than friends.

The pair met in 1998 while playing pals who develop romantic feelings for each other in the hit movie, The Object of My Affection.

And according to the legend, life quickly started to imitate art.

Jennifer, 54, once admitted they'd been "together when we were, like, 12,".

They later starred as a couple in 2012 movie, Wanderlust. And asked whether or not it was weird to kiss on screen, Jen joked, "Nah. I've kissed him for years," and Paul quipped, "we've made out for decades."

Years later, Paul joined the cast of Friends as Phoebe Buffay's boyfriend, but feared that his time on the show was over before it had begun after an accident involving his ex.

At the time, Jennifer had broken her toe and was using a Segway to get around the set.

A curious Paul - who was named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in 2021 - begged to have a go of the machine.

But he soon regretted his choice when he ran over Jennifer's injured foot as horrified bosses looked on.

"I was on the set for my first episode and Jennifer was on a Segway because she had broken her toe, and everyone was marvelling at it," he previously told the Graham Norton Show.

"Matt LeBlanc asked to have a go and immediately knew how to do it. I then asked to try it too. I spun round and rolled it right over Jennifer's foot!

"The producers look of panic was if to say, 'Is it too late to fire him? Has his character been established yet?' I felt awful. Such an inauspicious start."

And Paul's awkward times with lead actress Jennifer did not stop there.

After being hired to play Phoebe Buffet's new boyfriend Mike, Paul had only been booked to appear in a few episodes but ended up sticking around when producers changed their script.

Paul told chat show host Norton that he couldn't believe it when he was asked to appear in the iconic last episode of the series.

"The show was a phenomenon and I was in the very last episode, which made no sense to me whatsoever.

"I was on the sound stage and Jennifer Aniston was crying and I thought, "I'm not supposed to be here", so to break the ice I went over and said, "Well, we did it, what a ride."

"The joke inevitably fell flat!" he recalled.

Clearly there was no grudge on Jennifer's part as she went on to play Paul's wife in the 2012 Wanderlust.