Each of the women in FRIENDS, (Monica Geller, Rachel Greene and Phoebe Buffay) were unconventional mothers. Monica Geller adopted twins, Rachel Greene gave birth before marriage, and Phoebe Buffay was a surrogate mother. None of them conceived a child in the traditional wedlock way, as accepted by marital rituals.
Each of the characters from FRIENDS became an inseparable part of our lives. We watched Rachel Greene change from a spoiled American brat to a young aspiring American woman. We watched Monica Geller and Chandler Bing fall in love. Joey struggled with various emotions through the best and worst days along with his best friends, Ross and Chandler. Phoebe never had a strict lifestyle and yet survived in New York doing work at the right hours and crazy gigs in her off time.
From marriage obsessed young girls to independent mothers
Most feminists might find it slightly infuriating that the three women, Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe, who had been financially independent, kept begging for men and marriage to happen. In their urge to find the right guy, they ended up going on the worst of dates, failed to notice that the best of men in their lives, were just one apartment walk away, and in an attempt to get a dreamy-eyed stranger, they ended up cheating on their best friends, (which was later forgiven).
The motherhood experience:
Phoebe Buffay had been the first from the group to become an aunt. She had a strong role to play in Rachel's decision to be a mother. Watching Phoebe cope with her emotions of being separated from the triplets, helped Rachel understand that her life would be widely different since she would receive support from Monica and Phoebe for her child. Even though Rachel's parents later became supportive of her decisions, it was her immediate best friends who had played a role in making Rachel an independent mother. She knew she was scared, her life won't be about getting dressed for dates anymore, men in her life will be restricted and limited mainly to Ross, the father of her child, but she learnt to live with it.
Monica had a motherly side which the viewers had experienced during her friendship with Rachel and later as an aunt to Emma. Monica had practically raised Rachel, given her a roof, and made her an independent woman. Later, she would babysit Emma when Rachel needed to get her break from regular motherhood. Monica had practically raised everyone in the group. She supported Chandler when he chose to change profession, she supported Ross during his worst of times. Phoebe once confessed that Monica has been the only friend she just couldn't cut out from her life. She had baked lasagnas for Joey before leaving for her new home.
Coming to Phoebe, she always remained consciously different from the crowd. She may not have been a great cook like Monica, she didn't pick her outfits from branded stores of New York, but Phoebe knew well how to be a friend and often also became a mother to them.
When Monica had been at her lowest point, even with her limited income, Phoebe motivated her to start her own business, where she became partners in the catering business. Although she had been extremely excited for Monica when they started her entrepreneurship together, Phoebe knew when to take a step back and allow her friend to be happy without bringing in restrictions.
When Chandler was going through the worst of break up phase she instilled some sense into him that motivated him to go to a strip club with the girls. Hence when we try to form a conclusion on who could win a possible 'best mom' award among these three women, it's difficult to come to an end. Only, if the prize really existed, Monica Geller would have secretly grabbed it forcefully and kept it hidden in her messy closet.
