LOS ANGELES — On the surface, it seemed like nothing. A running joke between co-stars. But for Jennifer Aniston, one silly moment with Lisa Kudrow in 2003 became something much more — something that stuck for twenty years.

It started in the makeup trailer during Season 9 of Friends.

Jennifer had walked in late — coffee in hand, half-awake, wrapped in a cardigan three sizes too big. Her hair was in a messy bun. She dropped her bag, sighed, and muttered, “I feel like a wet sock today.”

Lisa looked at her, completely deadpan, and said:
“Well, that wet sock still makes everyone in this room nervous.”

Jennifer burst out laughing.
The makeup artist at the time, Gina Velasquez, recalls it vividly. “They just collapsed into giggles for like five minutes. Lisa kept going, saying things like ‘Queen Sock of NBC!’ and ‘All hail the Damp One.’ It was ridiculous. And unforgettable.”

What no one expected was what happened after.

The next morning, Jennifer showed up five minutes early. This time, she had a little sticky note taped to her mirror.

“Queen Sock of NBC — reporting for duty.”

Lisa snorted when she saw it.
And for the next six weeks, the sticky note stayed there.

But here’s what Lisa didn’t know.

Jennifer kept every single one of those notes — and continued the tradition on every set she worked on after Friends ended.

Movie after movie. TV sets. Awards shows. Even during darker periods when she wasn’t filming anything, she’d stick a blank note somewhere near her vanity — a silent nod to a moment that made her feel grounded. Like herself.

“She never told anyone,” said a stylist who worked with Jennifer on The Morning Show. “I found a note once and asked her about it. She smiled and said, ‘Old joke. It’s… for someone else.’”

Then, earlier this year, Jennifer and Lisa reunited for a shoot tied to the 30th anniversary of Friends. Between takes, Lisa wandered into Jen’s dressing room, looking for lip balm.

She stopped when she saw the note.
Taped to the vanity.
Same handwriting. Same words.

“Queen Sock of NBC — reporting for duty.”

Lisa blinked.
“You still do that?”

Jennifer turned, caught off guard — then went red.
“I… yeah. Kind of embarrassing, huh?”

Lisa didn’t laugh. She walked over, hugged Jennifer tightly, and whispered:
“That sock thing? It was never a joke. You were exhausted. And still showed up for everyone. I just wanted you to know that.”

Jennifer didn’t speak for a moment.

Later, she would say it was the first time anyone had ever acknowledged how tired she really was during those final seasons.

The photo from that shoot — the one that ended up going viral on social media — shows the two of them grinning, arms slung over each other, Lisa holding a lipstick, Jennifer holding a blank sticky note.

No one knew the meaning.
But now, we do.

Because sometimes, the things that get you through the day aren’t grand gestures or dramatic speeches.
Sometimes, they’re just a little joke between friends — one that reminds you that you matter, even on your wet sock days.