Jennifer Bromley is obsessed with the sitcom Friends. And her fella has a surprise in store when transforms a room in their home into the set of her favourite show.
As one episode of Friends ends Jennifer Bromley quickly hits pause before the next one begins.
Then she heads to the bathroom to spend a penny.
When she opens the door, it’s as if she’s just walked on to the set of her favourite TV show.
She grins as she takes in the purple walls, bright yellow tiles and black and white chequered floor.
And, before she sits down on the loo, she presses a red button under the sink and a familiar theme tune starts to ring out… I’ll be there for you (when the rain starts to pour)…
Her bathroom is inspired by the very distinctive one in Monica and Rachel’s New York apartment in the hit US show Friends and Jennifer has her devoted boyfriend Dan to thank for creating it.
Jennifer has loved the sitcom since it started in the Nineties when she was just 13.
‘I adored the characters and the humour,’ Jennifer, 40, from Hertford, says. ‘Ross was always my favourite character because he’s so funny and gets himself into silly situations.’
After the show ended, Jennifer bought herself the box set and continued watching at least one episode a day.
‘I couldn’t live without it,’ she says.
When Jennifer qualified as a primary school teacher and started her first job, word got round about her obsession with Ross, Rachel and the gang.
‘I even organised a Friends fundraiser quiz for the parents. They loved it!’ she says.
And when FriendsFest — an event for fans of the show that included different sets, costumes and other memorabilia — came to London, Jennifer got tickets immediately.
‘The day was amazing,’ she recalls. ‘I loved walking around the Central Perk coffee shop set and my friend Carly took a picture of me behind the counter.’
Soon after, Jennifer tried a bit of online dating.
‘I hadn’t had a relationship in years and knew I needed something more than Friends in my life,’ she says. ‘I logged on and a handsome man with a dark beard caught my eye.’
She got chatting to Dan and the pair arranged to go for a walk together. From that very first date, Jennifer was instantly smitten.
‘I didn’t tell him about my love of Friends at first,’ she explains. ‘But when he came to my house, it was obvious because I had the boxset and lots of pictures and memorabilia around.’
The couple soon became serious and decided to buy a house together.
But Jennifer could never have foreseen what Dan had in mind for the loo in their new home.
‘He offered to build me a bathroom just like Monica’s,’ she says. ‘I think he thought it would be a good way to keep all the memorabilia around the house contained in one room.’
Jennifer thought Dan, 45, just meant a splash of purple paint — but he was planning to go much further than that!
A project manager by trade, he was handy around the house and soon got to work.
‘I came with him to the DIY stores to choose the colours and the new bathroom suite, but I still couldn’t envisage what it would look like,’ Jennifer says.
Soon, the signature Friends washroom began to emerge in their three-bedroomed house, complete with pictures on the wall.
Jennifer was so thrilled when it was finished that she tied a ribbon across the doorway so they could have their own official opening ceremony, complete with champagne!
But Dan had one last surprise in store for his other half.
‘He told me to close my eyes and suddenly I heard the theme tune!’ Jennifer says.
Dan had installed a big red button under the sink.
‘When you press it, the Friends chorus plays,’ Jennifer explains. ‘It’s ingenious and finishes the room off perfectly.’
Now, this Friends super-fan can feel like she’s stepping on to the set every time she pops to the loo.
And, after his romantic DIY gesture, Jennifer says she’ll always be there for her kind, creative boyfriend.
‘Because I know he’s always there for me too!’ she adds.