Rachel's side i knoe she did say lets go on a break but that doesnt mean they were spilt up and it was like 2 hours afterward if tht was me i would proberly go in a massive screaming fit hehe and nvr speak to the person again

for me the whole 'on a break' thing represents the power struggle at the core of ross & rachel's relationship. they are both at fault. she (unreasonably) demands an unconditional apology for his one night stand & loads all the blame on him. ross (stubbornly)repeats his excuse so often that it has become a kind of catchphrase, in later series we see him 'teaching' his version to ben & baby Emma. they have jointly kept their grudge alive and passed it onto their children! they are both responisble for the situation which effectively kept them apart for so long.