Joey Tribbiani, one of the main characters on the popular 90s sitcom Friends, was well known for being a womanizer. Throughout the show’s 10 season run, Joey was frequently seen pursuing women and going on dates. But just how many romantic conquests did Joey have over the course of the series? Let’s take a closer look at Joey’s love life and try to determine an estimate of how many women he slept with.
Joey’s Character
First, it’s important to understand Joey’s personality and character traits. He was portrayed as a handsome, charming, yet ditzy aspiring actor who loved food, sports, hanging out with friends, and chasing women. Joey was a self-proclaimed ladies man who believed he had an irresistible effect on women. He was very confident in his abilities to attract members of the opposite sex. Joey also had no qualms about one night stands or casual relationships. Commitment and long-term relationships were not his style. Overall, Joey was the least picky about women and sex compared to the other male Friends characters.
His Many Girlfriends and Dates
Over the course of 236 episodes, Joey had countless girlfriends and went on innumerable dates. While most of his relationships only lasted an episode or two, below are some of the more notable women he was involved with:
- Erica – His ex-girlfriend who he accidentally proposed to in season 2
- Katie – His girlfriend for most of season 3
- Erin – The girl from the building who Joey briefly dated in season 3
- Kathy – Chandler’s ex-girlfriend who Joey hooked up with behind Chandler’s back in season 4
- Celeste – The girl Joey breaks up with by pretending his roommate is his wife in season 4
- Melanie – The girl Joey double-booked dates with in season 4
- Janine – The dancer girl Joey lived with for a while in season 5
- Charlie – Ross’ ex-girlfriend who Joey had a crush on in seasons 9 and 10
In addition to his individual relationships, Joey was constantly hitting on Phoebe’s friends, his various acting class classmates, Central Perk waitresses, and random women he met walking around New York City. He had a habit of using corny pickup lines to hit on women like “How you doin’?” There were many episodes centered around Joey meeting a new girl at a party, play, coffee shop, class, gym, etc. and trying to get her number or set up a date.
His One Night Stands
Outside of his attempted relationships, Joey also had a penchant for one night stands and casual hookups. He frequently brought women home from bars and clubs. There were also numerous references to Joey bringing home women from late night parties. And it certainly seemed implied that Joey would often hook up with his various acting classmates and coworkers while doing plays and TV shows.
A few of Joey’s notable one night stands and hookups include:
- The woman in the cat costume he meets on Halloween
- The woman he picked up after pretending to be Dr. Drake Ramoray
- The female roommate he hooks up with when Chandler moves out
- His one night stand nurse while visiting a hospital
- The woman he meets on a family trip to Atlantic City
Estimating Joey’s Total
So how many individual women did Joey Tribbiani sleep with over the course of Friends’ 10 seasons? Determining an exact number is impossible given the show’s episodic nature. But we can make an educated guess based on available information:
- Joey had at least 20 individual girlfriends shown or referenced on the show
- He went on dates with dozens more women that didn’t develop into relationships
- There were at least 50 distinct one night stands or random hookups shown or implied
- Between seasons there were presumably interim relationships and flings that weren’t shown
Given Joey’s voracious appetite for women and his casual approach to sex and relationships, an average of just 3 relationships or hookups per month over 10 years would give him a total of 360 women. Cutting that estimate in half to account for any periods of dating slumps, long term relationships, or being single still puts an approximate figure around 180 different sexual partners throughout the entirety of Friends.
Comparing Joey’s Number to Other Characters
While an estimate of 180 partners may seem outrageously high, Joey’s number is substantially higher than any of the other Friends characters based on facts revealed about their sex lives:
| Character | Known Partners |
|---|---|
| Chandler | 11 |
| Ross | 13 |
| Monica | 13 |
| Rachel | 14 |
| Phoebe | 16 |
The only two characters who even come close to Joey’s numbers are Chandler, who slept with around 50 women before settling with Monica, and Phoebe, who had a wilder sexual history including a period of homelessness and a drug problem.
Joey’s Perspective on His Sexual History
Interestingly, Joey did not necessarily view his revolving door of sexual conquests as a point of pride. While he thoroughly enjoyed the act of sleeping with beautiful women, he sometimes expressed regret about his inability to form lasting relationships. After yet another breakup in season 8, Joey wonders out loud, “Why can’t I just have something real?” This indicates that his constant womanizing was likely filling an emotional void or distraction from deeper intimacy issues. But old habits die hard, and promiscuity was such an ingrained part of Joey’s character that he was largely unable to change his ways.
Conclusion
While an exact count is impossible to confirm, based on all available evidence it’s reasonable to estimate Joey Tribbiani slept with around 180 different women during Friends 10 season run from 1994 to 2004. Joey’s degree of promiscuity far exceeded any of the other characters on the show. But his constant philandering appeared to be a mask for deeper emotional issues. Despite genuinely wanting a stable relationship, Joey’s lifelong womanizing habits were too difficult for him to overcome. Nevertheless, his numerous sexual escapades provided endless humor and helped establish Joey as the lovable but perennially single character on one of the most popular sitcoms of all time.
