Gerica

Gerica is the het ship between Erica Goldberg and Geoff Schwartz from the The Goldbergs fandom.

Canon
According to him, Geoff had a crush on Erica since the second grade, but it is not known if she knew him as a child.

Season 2
Geoff is close friends with Erica's younger brother, Barry, and a member of his group, the "JTP". When Barry and Erica's best friend Lainey Lewis start dating, they begin spending all their free time together, neglecting their friends. Erica therefore begins to frequent the JTP and after a while tries to exploit them to separate her brother and Lainey. However, this plan fails miserably.

All three members of the JTP fall in love with Erica, and although she declares that she is not interested in any of them, the three woo her insistently. When Erica admits she tried to split Lainey and Barry because she missed Lainey, the two forgive her. Barry convinces his friends to stop courting his sister, telling them that Erica is unable to choose between them. Of the three, Geoff is the only one who remains in love with Erica.

Season 3
Erica does not want to go to the school dance and has little opinion of all the boys who attend her school, including Geoff. Her father, Murray, and Lainey inspire Erica to be less selective and she decides to go to the dance with Johnny Atkins. After learning that he also wants to go with another girl, Erica decides that Geoff Schwartz is a "nice idiot "and asks him. In the end they just go for a ride together. The two seem to have fun and enjoy each other's company.

After seeing music videos of their favorite rappers, the Beastie Boys, Barry and his younger brother Adam form a group called "Tasty Boys". Geoff joins them just to impress Erica, but fails because of his stage fright. On Valentine's Day, Geoff tries hard to win over Erica: he sends her a hundred roses anonymously, and hides doves in her locker. However Erica seems annoyed and irritated by all of this attention. However, after seeing Barry and Lainey profess their love, Erica realizes she wants the same thing and begins to stare at Geoff. Later, Erica is fully aware of Geoff's feelings, but claims to see him only as a friend. Nevertheless he declares that her sincerity only makes her more attractive to him. After watching their favorite movie, Dirty Dancing, Erica and her mother, Beverly, decide to host a school dance with a "Dirty Dancing" theme. Beverly soon stops supporting Erica's idea when she realizes that the dance can lead to unseemly acts, and forces the principal to withdraw the permit. However, Erica continues in the project and tries to recreate the main scene of the film with Geoff. However, they fail miserably. When they try again later in the episode, this time with Beverly's support, they succeed.

Geoff shows he loves the same music that Erica does, but for her it's not a valid reason why they start dating. Ironically when Johnny Atkins makes her passionate about Rush, Erica starts dating him. Geoff, the other members of the JTP, Lainey, and Murray do not approve at all, but she continues to date Johnny Atkins to spite them. When the two break up, Geoff tries to imitate Johnny, but this proves unsuccessful.

Erica signs Geoff's yearbook with an unimportant sentence. However, when Geoff gives her a mixtape, Erica realizes that she likes him back and decides to tell him. However, Geoff has finally moved on and started dating a new girl, Evelyn Silver. Eventually, Geoff greets Erica with the same sentence she wrote in his yearbook.

Erica's regret
Lainey decides to enroll her father in a video dating service and Erica also decides to make a video, but in every shot she only despairs about losing her chance with Geoff. Adam, the younger brother of Erica, takes inspiration from an episode of The Brady Bunch and creates a fake girlfriend a la George Glass to make himself desirable for a real girl he has a crush on Adam. Erica initially teases him about "Lampy Tableson", but soon does the same thing by inventing a university boyfriend named Jordan Wahlberg (joining the names of two members of the New Kids on the Block) in the hope that Geoff gets jealous. However nobody believes her, until a handsome guy who claims to be Jordan Wahlberg (sent by Adam) confirms her story in front of everyone. Geoff and Evelyn declare that they will go to the Halloween dance dressed as Audrey and Audrey Jr. of Little Shop of Horrors, and Erica lies saying that she will go to the dance with Lainey's cousin Nate. However, because of the pain of unrequited love, Erica has neglected her appearance, and so Lainey cannot convince Nate to take her to the dance. To avoid looking foolish, Erica rents an Audrey Jr. costume and forces Barry to wear it and take her to the dance, with Lainey’s approval. During the dance the head of the costume falls off and everyone sees that Erica has been accompanied by her brother. She runs away, humiliated. Shortly thereafter, Lainey and Barry ask Geoff to console Erica, and he does. They sing "Suddenly Seymour" together and he tells her they will always be good friends. Thanks to Geoff's intervention, Erica returns to the dance and enjoys herself, no longer worrying about the opinions of others. On Valentine's Day, Erica falls into total depression. Losing Geoff, compounded with seeing Barry and Lainey enjoying their romance, sends her off the deep end. To her great shame she admits that she is jealous of them, and neither her mother nor the teachers can cheer her up. Erica gets so sick that even Evelyn, who has understood her feelings, takes pity on her. This causes her a surge of pride, and she collects herself by organizing a clandestine party, succeeding thanks to her mother's help.

Become a couple
Murray tries to get involved in his daughter's love life after seeing her criticizing him for his lack of involvement. He knows that Erica likes one of her brothers' friends, but he doesn't know the details. He tries to set her up with Adam's friend, Dave Kim, who gives serenades her in a cafe the next day. Erica is humiliated her. Knowing her dad interfered, Erica confronts him at home, and Murray asks Pops for help to bond with Erica. Later, while trying to prove to her that he knows her better than she thinks, Murray references Erica’s love for Geoff Schwartz; as it happens, Geoff is there with Barry and overhears the whole thing. Later, Geoff confides to Erica that he's flattered she likes him, but he's happy in his relationship with Evelyn. Erica accepts this and lets him leave. However, just as Geoff has second thoughts, he turns around to see Erica has followed him outside the house, and the two end up kissing. After their first kiss, Erica and Geoff begin to see each other secretly behind Evelyn's back. They decide they want their relationship to become public, but Erica doesn't like the way it started with cheating. When the truth comes out, Evelyn is very hurt. Reluctantly, Erica suggests that Geoff wait to be seen together in public until it seems right. Upon the arrival of the school dance, Erica and Geoff desperately want to go together, but are unsure if it is the right time. They decide to go with other people, so that they can at least see each other at the dance. Erica invites Ruben Amaro Jr., while Carla forces Geoff to go with her, since she is angry with Johnny Atkins and is trying to make him jealous. However at the dance Erica and Geoff eventually kiss and start dancing with each other.



Erica and Geoff are sad when Erica's graduation approaches, since Geoff is one year younger than her. This means they will be attending seperate schools, and will be forced to start up a long-distance relationship.

Long distance relationship
When Erica starts attending college, she and Geoff find themselves having to manage a long-distance relationship. The two spend so much time talking on the phone that Erica accumulates a huge telephone bill.

Surprisingly, her father, who has always been stiff about money, does not mind, because he knows that Erica spending all her free time talking to Geoff means she won't experience the "party" side of college. However, her roommate, "Valley" Erica, makes her understand how pathetic she is, doing nothing but talking to her high school boyfriend. Valley Erica convinces her to go to a party. Geoff doesn't see this as a problem because he trusts Erica. Murray, however, does see a problem and forces Geoff to go visit Erica, even leading him to ask her to marry him. Fortunately, Erica realizes that this is not a serious proposal, and when Geoff admits that he was manipulated by Murray, Erica gets very angry with her father. She forgives Geoff immediately and asks him to stay with her for the night.

Lainey visits Erica for Halloween and the two attend a masquerade party. However, Lainey can't resist the desire to see Barry again, and rushes to the party he is attending. Erica, however, senses what's going on and follows Lainey to the party. Here Geoff and Erica see each other again, although they are a little disgusted when they realize they accidentally both dressed in costumes from Back to the Future -- Marty and Lorraine McFly, mother and son.

When she learns that Barry and Lainey have gotten back together, Erica is not at all happy and explains to them how difficult it is to maintain her relationship with Geoff. While Erica and Geoff live three hours apart from one another, Barry and Lainey now live twelve hours apart. This causes Barry and Lainey to reconsider their long-distance relationship. Although she knows she did the right thing, Erica feels terrible about hurting two people that are so important to her. Geoff nevertheless consoles her by confirming that she had done the right thing. The two confirm that their relationship will continue, since there is less distance between them than between Lainey and Barry.

Erica returns home to celebrate Thanksgiving, and when she says she wants to talk to him, Geoff fears that she wants to break up with him. In reality, Erica wants to inform him that she has accumulated $3000 in debt and wants him to help her make money from Beverly. Geoff refuses and the two have a little argument. Later, Geoff offers to repay Erica's debt, but she refuses, saying that she must be responsible for her mistakes. Erica returns home for the winter holidays and Geoff smothers her with romantic gestures. Erica, however, gets tired of it after she slips down the stairs on rose petals Geoff had laid out for her. She tells Geoff that she just wants to relax during the holidays and that his gestures are getting stifling. At that point Erica worries about becoming the same as her rough and unromantic father, and asks Adam and his girlfriend, Jackie, for advice. She tries to recreate a romantic scene from one of her and Geoff's favorite movies, but only manages to create a disaster. In the end, Erica merely tells Geoff that she really loves him, even though she struggles to show it.

When Erica's birthday comes around, Geoff invites her whole family to join them for her birthday dinner in a restaurant. Erica is not at all happy, because her family are unbearable customers, and Geoff completely loses patience and loudly scolds the Goldbergs in front of the entire restaurant. This is exactly what Erica feared would happen. She later tells Geoff that he is part of her family now.

Erica is encouraged by her roommate, Valley Erica, to become more educated, so she refuses to see The Hooters. Later, Geoff and Beverly reach the two Ericas at a musical show, partly to show their support, but above all to convince Erica that she is becoming pretentious. Erica initially avoids both, but then realizes she has taken on a bad attitude and runs to apologize to Geoff.

Erica and her roommate start to irritate each other, and when she complains to Geoff, he suggests she irritate the other Erica by inviting a guest. The implication is that Erica will invite Geoff, but she invites Barry instead. When that plan fails, she invites Lainey. In the end it is Barry who invites Geoff and the other JTP members, and Geoff forces the two Ericas to talk out their problems.

When Barry complains about the past year, Geoff says it was a good year for him as his relationship with Erica remained solid despite the distance. However, it should be noted that when Erica decides to drop out of college to form a band, unlike Barry in ecstasy that Lainey has returned to live in the city, Geoff doesn't seem particularly happy with this, perhaps because he is worried about the future of his girlfriend.

Season 6
Adam's sixteenth birthday arrives, and everyone in his family forgets. He is persuaded by his friends to organize a clandestine party and asks Erica to help organize it for him. Even Erica has completely forgotten her little brother's birthday, but immediately sees the opportunity to get him in trouble so that her parents divert attention away from her and the large electricity bill she's racked up. Geoff understands this and clearly disapproves of Erica's plan, but says nothing. Erica urges her parents and Bill Lewis, Lainey's father, to take Barry and Lainey to Atlantic City to celebrate the couple's engagement. The city is far enough away for a change, but close enough to get them back in time to find out about Adam's party. Just as it happened in Season 1 when Erica and Lainey threw a party for Barry, the party falls apart and causes a lot of confusion. No one knows Adam, despite it being his birthday party, and only people who know Erica come. Everyone is convinced that it's Erica's party, Adam gets bored quickly and tells Erica that it is her party.

Shortly after Erica discovers that it's Adam's birthday, she confesses that she framed him to avoid being scolded. Adam goes on a rant and calls his sister a selfish loser and a miserable failure, hurting her a lot. Geoff is clearly sorry for what happened, but doesn't say a word in defense of his girlfriend, probably admitting that Adam is right to be angry, and not wanting to get into an argument that doesn't really concern him. Eventually brother and sister make up and Erica makes sure that Adam gets a taste of her popularity. Geoff finally seems to be enjoying himself at the party, probably happy that the two have made peace and that his girlfriend has understood her mistake.

Erica goes to the day Career Day at William Penn Academ (for free food only), to talk to the high school students about her music aspiration. Geoff stops by her booth to ask her how she is doing. When Geoff lets it slip that his father's ophthalmologist work doesn't appeal to him, Erica suggests that he try something else. Seeing Murray, she takes the opportunity to ask him to do an internship in his furniture store. Geoff agrees, perhaps to make a good impression on the man (since despite having been with Erica for years and has been friends with Barry for even longer, Murray does not seem to remember his name).

Geoff appreciates the work at the furniture store and Murray points out that if he doesn't want to be an ophthalmologist his father can't force him. When Geoff tells his father, Lou, this, he freaks out and complains about it to Barry, who has been interning at his office. Barry promises to get Geoff to reason. Geoff, however, does not pay attention to him, and indeed calls himself the new leader of the JTP. Barry then asks Erica to talk to him, but Geoff immediately understands this and tells her that he no longer intends to be anyone's doormat, not even Erica's and that he will stop trying to please everyone, including Erica.

Erica, however, finds Geoff's new strong attitude sexy and kisses him passionately. She then tells Barry and Lou that she has no intention of helping them change his behavior and that she loves the new Geoff. Geoff continues in his rebellious behavior and even goes so far as to heavily insult Coach Mellor, the gym teacher. When he is punished for this he calls Murray and not his father. Murray is somewhat annoyed by this and when he tries to make Geoff understand that his father only wants the best for him, the boy loses patience with him too. Eventually Murray goes to talk to Lou and lets him know that he can't force Geoff to go the same way as him. The latter returns to behave as usual and Erica tells him that even she has no idea what she will do in life: she can only follow her heart and she loves that Geoff is starting to do the same.

Geoff would love to go to the Halloween dance with Erica in a couple costume, but she doesn't want to and finds all of Geoff's proposals stupid. Erica takes Geoff to school one morning and one of the teachers convinces her to talk to the students as an ex-pupil. Erica remembers how popular she was in high school, and decides to relive her glory days by going back to school every day, much to Geoff's embarrassment. Geoff tries to kindly explain it to her, but Erica doesn't listen to him and tries to organize a party by bringing beer to the students, failing miserably. Eventually Geoff loses his temper and blurts out that Erica's behavior makes him embarrassed. Erica retorts that she too was ashamed to date Geoff at the beginning of their relationship, because she was a popular and Geoff was Barry's shy friend, who had followed her like a puppy in love for ten years until she relented.

Geoff gets very angry and offended and leaves the Erica who is devastated. On Halloween night, Erica puts on one of the couples costumes Geoff wanted and goes to his house. Erica tells him that she feels embarrassed, yes, but for herself: she has realized that she peaked in high school. Geoff replies that saying these things doesn't fix everything, but Erica replies that she knows, and that she hopes to solve everything by going to the dance with him. The two go to the party together and have a lot of fun.

Geoff takes a practice college entrance test and scores very well. Rather than being happy and proud of him, Erica panics when Geoff says she intends to go to college in Los Angeles. Not wanting her boyfriend to go away from her, she decides to sabotage Geoff's preparation for the real admission test. When Beverly warns Geoff, Erica denies the accusation. Geoff immediately says he believes her because their love is based on trust, which leads Erica to admit what she did. Surprisingly, Geoff is happy and flattered that Erica loves him to the point of taking such an action to keep him close to her, and says he would like to have her come to California with him. This is more than feasible because Erica has relatives in LA who could get her work in writing advertising jingles. Erica eagerly applies, but Beverly doesn't want her to move to California and sabotages her demos. Eventually she confesses what happened, but Erica has already sent the tape of absurd jingles to her cousin, Marcy. Erica is angry, but luckily the jingles are well received, so Geoff and Erica's project remains viable.

The Dropouts (the band made up of Erica, Valley Erica, and Lainey) decide to participate in the Star Search program and Lainey proposes a song that she dedicated to Barry. Erica initially likes the song, but when she discovers that Lainey has dedicated it to her brother, Erica is disgusted and categorically refuses to sing it. Erica complains to Geoff and he replies that Erica should sing songs about him, not Barry. When Erica has the opportunity to record a demo herself, Geoff supports her and pays the registration for her. This leads Erica to quarrel with her bandmates and decide to debut as a soloist. Barry starts filming Lainey and Valley Erica's audition but Erica gets angry when she finds out that the two want to sing her own song. Geoff initially supports her, but later admits that since they cover Queen, Lainey and Erica Coolidge have the right to sing it as much as his girlfriend. Geoff goes to Erica's concert at the mall, but she falls flat and eventually Erica returns to the band. When the holidays come, Geoff spends a lot of time at the Goldberg house and spends Hannukah's first evenings with them. When the Goldbergs throw a surprise Christmas party for the Lewis', Geoff is there and he and Erica kiss under the mistletoe. The anniversary of the first kiss between Geoff and Erica arrives and to celebrate he decides to take Erica to the Poconos. Seeing that his father would not give him permission, Geoff plans to tell him a lie, but Erica is skeptical as Geoff is a terrible liar. In the end, it is Erica who lies to Lou and the two go off to the mountains. Unfortunately, they get out of the car forgetting to put the brake on, so the car crashes into a van. Erica tries to pass another lie to her parents and Lou, but Geoff lets the truth slip. Erica, however, decides to take all the blame. At that point Lou decides that Erica has a bad influence on Geoff and declares that he will no longer allow Geoff to go out with the Erica. Erica tries to make her boyfriend's dad change his mind by showing him slides of all the good things she's done for Geoff. Unfortunately, her photos show that she made him drink beer, that she had him skip school to take him to mini golf, and that she organized a surprise party for him at his home, taking advantage of Lou's absence.

Lou's decision to keep Erica away from her son is strengthened, but Geoff loves her so much that he tries to secretly see her. Erica tries to unleash her mother on Lou, but it turns out that her parents agree with him and that they judge a good student like Geoff to be too good for Erica. Erica into total depression, like when Geoff was dating Evelyn. Erica admits that she loves Geoff madly, but that in fact it is possible that he deserves better than someone like her, with no job or prospects, even if all she wants is to be with him.

Erica: ''Look, I know I get Geoff into trouble and force him out of his comfort zone and have him throw parties in your living room. But there is not a slide show in the world that will make you see just how much I love your son. Even though I'm selfish and moody and have so much growing up to do... You still love me. So, yeah, I'm not nearly good enough for a guy like you. But you make me wanna do whatever it takes to prove I can be.''

Lou: Maybe they do bring out the best in each other.

Beverly: ''No maybe, Lou. They just do.''

Seeing her daughter's pain, Beverly is moved and collects her by pushing her to take back Geoff. Beverly is ready to go wild on Lou, but there is no need as Erica says she loves Geoff more than anything and that it is the only thing that drives her to improve even if she is not worthy of him at the moment. Lou admits that Erica and Geoff bring out the best in each other. Without Lainey the band is not doing very well and Geoff offers to help Erica find a replacement, even if his girlfriend is not very convinced. Eventually Geoff succeeds and Erica is very grateful to him. Evan, the new member of the band, is very handsome and Barry fears he might take Erica away from Geoff. He tells Geoff that it was his passion and jealousy that got Lainey, and that the only time he was acted like Geoff with Lainey was when she left for Los Angeles. All the other JTPs agree with Barry and cause Geoff to panic, so he ends up making a scene that convinces the new guitarist to walk away. When she finds out that Geoff was jealous, Erica tells him that he is the only constant in his life. She asks Barry what he was thinking, after Geoff confesses that everything was Barry's idea. He replies that Lainey leaving broke his heart, and that he didn't want his best friend to suffer as much as he did. Realizing how sad he is, Geoff, Erica, and the JTP all gather to keep him company in the evening, and the group go to a concert together. When Barry begins to fear that after high school the JTP will stop being friends, even Geoff panics despite the fact that he is dating Erica. When the JTP fantasize about the class reunion ten years after graduation, Geoff seems confident he's still with Erica by that date. When Adam has to create a video game for school, he takes inspiration form his own family. Erica doesn't want to be included so, to make fun of her, Adam creates a character named Eric. Eric is a good-for-nothing slacker who is served and revered by his girlfriend, Geoffina. When Geoff tries the game he likes the character of Eric, but is offended when he discovers that Geoffina is based on him, even though the representation is very faithful.

Geoff manages to secure a good gig for Erica's band, but he only succeeds thanks to a demo sent when Lainey was also in the band. Geoff still manages to convince her to participate. In the end, however, he comes back and the concert goes well. Erica then goes to Geoff and tells him that she is thinking of going back to college, but only wants to tell him until she is sure. Geoff really appreciates this. Geoff is named valedictorian for his graduating class. He has to give the graduation speech which terrifies him because he hates public speaking. When he finds out that her boyfriend has been planning his graduation summer minute by minute, Erica is shocked. Due to graduation and pressure from his family, Geoff is a bundle of nerves and constantly thinks about the future in which he sees marriage and children with Erica. Erica she worries about him, and declares that she does not want her husband to be reduced to a wreck from stress. This implies that Erica also believes that she and Geoff will get married. Erica realizes that Geoff needs to relax and she decides to accept Matt and Ruben's invitation to join the Grateful Dead tour, and he gladly accepts.Erica's parents are not at all thrilled with Erica's decision, but Linda and Lou find it a wonderful idea. Beverly tries to sabotage their vacation by scaring Geoff, and Erica is furious that it would harm Geoff. Eventually, Beverly realizes that Erica was right about her and blesses her on their journey.

Season 7
Upon returning from the tour, Beverly decides to take a family outing to Disneyland. Erica invites Geoff to come with them, but he refuses because he still wants to follow the band. Before leaving, Geoff tells his girlfriend that they need to talk when they return. Erica is very worried about what Geoff told her, and Barry tells her that Geoff wants to ditch her, and Erica is instantly convinced and the thought terrifies her. Erica begins to freak out, so much so that she comes to express her worries to a saloon bartender, self-confident that Geoff wants to ditch her. Erica tries desperately to get in touch with the boy, and panics more and more.

Erica: So what did you want to talk to me about so much?

Geoff: ''Well ... I had so much fun not opening a book all summer that I want to keep doing it. I'm not going to school in the fall.''

Erica: ''Oh, that's great! Is that all there is ?!''

Geoff: ''Yes of course. I mean, it seems very important to me. My father is not enthusiastic about it, and let's say your messages have not filled him with confidence for my future.''

Erica: I believe you, I thought you decided to break up!

Geoff: ''What? I could not! You are the best thing that ever happened to me.''

Erica: I've never doubted it

Worried about Erica's messages, Geoff decides to join her (just in time as the Goldberg's car is unusable after an accident). Thankfully the great news that Geoff wanted to give to Erica, and that after all that stress she decided to take a year off, before starting college, and the girl is very relieved. When she discovers her girlfriend's fears, young Schwartz reassures her. Geoff accompanies the Goldbergs to Disneyland, and joins them on their visit to the park.

When they start college Geoff accompanies Erica and Barry and this shows how integrated he has become in the Goldberg family. However, it turns out that applications for housing have not been sent, so Erica and Barry are forced to continue living in their parents' home, and Geoff helps Erica get all of her belongings back to her home.

Erica and Barry eventually manage to get a room together in college and since she has nothing to do, Geoff spends a lot of time in Erica's room and ends up annoying her, so Erica turns to tell the other JTPs to find him something to to do. The boys convince him to open his own food delivery business which they join.

Geoff: I need a purpose in life!

Erica: ''And we will find it. Together.''

Geoff: ''But ... I was driving you crazy.''

Erica: ''Do you know what drives me even madder? See you in this state. You need to take the time to understand what makes you happy.''

Geoff: Right now it's you. Fearing that this will stress Geoff, Erica takes him to the cinema, but because of the job, he leaves her in the lurch. Erica then makes him close the business by saying that the time has come for her to take care of him and that she will help him find a purpose for his life. The two then go to the cinema together.

This time Erica really applies herself to the study and starts getting excellent grades. However, this takes away her time to socialize and Geoff tells her to try to go out more. This shows that he continues to trust Erica. When Erica befriends a girl named Lauren (called Ren by everyone) Geoff is happy.

However Erica begins to get more and more involved in the studio and also begins to pay less attention and time to Geoff. Barry decides to throw a Halloween party, but Erica is against it. However, Barry proceeds anyway, much to Geoff's fear, who tries to hide the party from Erica. Eventually the girl discovers everything and as usual Geoff ends up trying to be peacemaker between the two to no avail. Eventually the two fight and Geoff accompanies them to the rector's office who eventually authorizes the party. Barry takes a bad vote and decides to give up the party and Geoff helps his girlfriend organize the party to cheer up her brother.

Later the Schwartzes pass their thanks with the Goldbergs. Barry and Erica who share the same room in college continue to argue and eventually appoint Geoff as arbiter of their matters, even though he doesn't want to. Erica is pleased because she is Geoff's girlfriend and she is sure that he will favor her.

Geoff doesn't want to know, but in the end he is persuaded and does his best to be the peacemaker between the two. Geoff doesn't want to know, but in the end he is persuaded and does his best to be the peacemaker between the two. Eventually Geoff loses his temper and leaves them in the lurch. The two brothers decide to go and apologize to Geoff and Barry decides to go to live with the other JTPs and Erica proposes to Geoff to move in with her and the boy accepts enthusiastically. Geoff and Erica decide to keep their coexistence a secret. When the holidays arrive, Beverly wants to take a family photo, but Erica doesn't want to know. Geoff, on the other hand, would like to be included in the photo, but Bev doesn't want to and he is upset. Eventually Geoff manages to persuade Erica's mother to include him in the photo, and when his girlfriend finds out she's not happy, but pretends she does. Geoff participates in the photo, but it all falls apart (much like when he invited the Goldberg family to the restaurant). Geoff participates in the photo, but everything falls apart (much like when he invited the Goldberg family to the restaurant), but later Geoff runs into the Goldbergs at the mall and discovers that they have redone the photo without him. Beverly notes that they wanted Geoff in the photo, but Erica told them he had diarrhea. So the boy goes away very sad and disappointed. Back in the room, Erica sees Geoff packing his bags to leave.

Erica: ''Geoff, I've never been ashamed of you. Never. You are the best thing in my life.''

Geoff: So why can't I be on your family's stupid postcard?

Erica: I'm not ready.

Geoff: ''But what's the point? Living together in secret in this little room was your idea.''

Erica: ''And I'm fine. But if you are that photo with my family ... I started to get anxious about the future.''

Geoff: The future?

Erica: ''Our future. Of having to get married and start our own family and be together forever.''

Geoff: ''Barry and Lainey. You're afraid this postcard will forever remind you of us if it doesn't work.''

- Erica explains to Geoff why she didn't want him in the family photo.

Geoff believes that Erica is still ashamed of him, and decides to go back to live with his parents, but Erica tells him that she is not at all ashamed of him and that she is afraid for the future and shows him the family photo of last year in Lainey also appears. Last year Barry and Lainey wanted to get married, and now she and Geoff are living together. Like her brother and best friend, she and her boyfriend took a big step forward in their relationship and Erica feared that if she and Geoff broke up too, the photo would be an everlasting and painful reminder of their love (after breaking up with Lainey, Barry was shredded for quite some time and that may have contributed to Erica's fear).

Geoff understands his girlfriend's fears, and dismisses the photo story, saying they can take things as calmly as they want but at this point Erica decides that the two of them take a picture together.

Geoff and Erica don't want anyone to know that they are living together and pretend that Barry continues to live with Erica. Erica and Geoff convince Barry to try to fool Beverly who keeps showing up in Erica's room because she misses her, and invite her to a family board game night. Geoff, however, panics, because he is afraid of letting the coexistence escape. Worse still, Beverly invites her parents as well. Eventually Bev learns all about her, but Murray convinces her to allow the two to live together.

Geoff later begins to participate regularly in Goldberg game nights. Geoff now seems to be a permanent part of his girlfriend family and businesses.

Geoff gets tired of constantly doing things for Erica and the other JTPs and gets Murray to help him make sure no one asks him anything more.

Erica and the JTPs, however, do not give up and come to follow Geoff in class, and there the boy blurts out that they are all too lazy and selfish to do something on their own and that they are ruining his art history course. Repentant the girl and Geoff's friends decide to get by on their own and encourage him to take other courses at the university. Geoff then decides to enroll in college to Erica's great delight.

Realizing that Erica has completely stopped devoting herself to music, and that because of this she is often sulky, Geoff tries to bring music back into her life and when Erica joins a singing group he is very happy about it. Geoff, however, warns her not to take it too seriously, but Erica does just that, being kicked out of the group and decides to form her own, managing to recruit only the JTPs. Rehearsals don't go very well and Erica gets mad at Geoff for making her go back to music. But he doesn't get angry and convinces her to love music, only as a form of entertainment.

Erica takes (and ignores) a lot of fines, and when they put the brake shoes on the car she shares with Barry, she tells him it's her fault for making him pay for the removal of the brake shoes. But Geoff tells him the truth.

For Spring Break Geoff and Erica then go on vacation to Jamaica with Ren and the rest of the JTPs. Erica feels sick, and Geoff spends his time taking care of her. The two on the return flight sleep leaning against each other. Geoff's father has a heart attack and he rushes to the hospital. But Erica doesn't understand that she wants me to accompany her, until he tells her. Erica tries to get away at the first opportunity, Barry instead runs alongside his friend, as soon as he receives the news and to Erica's amazement he proves to be an excellent emotional support for the Schwartzes. Erica is determined to help Geoff, but since she is pitying as a nurse she lets Barry explain how to act. Given their relationship, and the girl's ego this is a really hard thing for her to do. Erica attempts to use Barry's system, taking Geoff on a picnic, but she fails miserably only to be creepy. Eventually Erica leaves, telling Geoff to call Barry if he needs comfort and the boy replies that he would like, but that his friend is looking after his mother Linda.

Back in their room, Geoff discovers that Erica tried to make them cookies but failed at that too.

Erica: Why am I always a mess?

Geoff: You are not.

Erica: ''Geoff look at us: let's play husband and wife. We live together, but the first adult problem that comes up I don't even know how to give you a hand.''

Geoff: ''Nobody can do it. A terrible thing has happened. And everyone feels uncomfortable in a hospital room.''

Erica: Certainly not Barry.

Geoff: ''Barry is known to be no ordinary guy. And I don't want you to be Barry. I don't want you to say, or do anything. Just be there.''

Erica: ''Only present? That's all?''

Geoff: ''That's all. This is enough to make me feel better.''

Erica: So, I know how to do it. Geoff then says that it is enough for him that Erica is there, not that she makes herself useful or knows how to console like Barry. The girl then watches over in the hospital with Geoff.

Season 8
Beverly decides to take the family on vacation to Miami, but Erica refuses, preferring to stay with Geoff until school begins, and Bev having foreseen it decides to invite Geoff too. Erica then instructs Geoff to steal information from her mother, and although he is opposed to the brunette's wishes, he discovers that Beverly has dragged the family to Miami to attend a Bar mitzvah. Beverly orders Geoff not to say anything and he tries to keep the secret, but Erica extorts the truth from him. Once Erica learns the truth, the Goldbergs make such a stir that they get kicked off the plane and Geoff berates his girlfriend and brothers by telling them that Beverly just wanted to proudly display them in front of relatives. Moved by Erica, Barry and Adam manage to be readmitted on the plane and Erica thanks Geoff for making her think and assures him that he is part of the family.

Since she hasn't seen them much over the summer before school starts, Beverly begins to serve, pamper and revere Barry and Erica in every way possible. Geoff finds this co-dependent relationship strange and unhealthy and tries to make it clear to his girlfriend and her brother. Erica decides by herself that Geoff shouldn't have the usual freshman experiences and as usual the boy doesn't react to please her. Barry, however, his guidance counselor has other ideas and Geoff eventually lets his friend persuade him to go to freshmen week. Erica later finds an apartment for her and Geoff, off campus. Geoff doesn't like it, but as always he yields to Erica's wishes and misses all events due to the distance from university. Eventually Geoff loses his temper and says he doesn't want to live with Erica in that apartment and forces his girlfriend to make him relive everything he's lost through her, yelling at her that he's tired of always and only thinking about her. Even Barry makes a partaccia to his sister, who thus apologizes by telling Geoff that she was wrong to impose her choices on him and take him for granted. Geoff, however, points out that when he and Erica got together, he was so insecure and happy that she fell in love with him that he did everything she wanted and that if their relationship is still like that, it's his fault too, but that now it's time to stop. Erica fears that Geoff wants to drop her and begs him not to, saying she is ready for anything. Geoff, however, declares that he does not intend to leave her, but he does not want to live with her anymore, so Geoff begins to cohabit with Barry. A psychic predicts to the Goldberg brothers that one of them will soon be dumped and Erica quickly tries to convince herself it's not her, but when she finds out that Geoff has been admitted to a study program in Spain. Erica is upset, but she urges Geoff to go. Later, however, Erica begs Geoff not to go saying that after learning the lesson she wanted to support one of his projects, but who does not want her beloved to leave. However, Geoff decides not to leave, as all he wants is Erica.

Erica dent another car and is shocked when Barry and Erica decide not to leave a note to compensate the car owner, going so far as to say that he doesn't like this side of Erica at all. The young man leaves a note on his own initiative, finding himself face to face with a scammer who tries to steal a lot of money from the three of them. He then tries to adjust to the Goldberg lifestyle, but fails. Eventually Erica gives the car owner the fair compensation and she says that the more time she spends with Geoff, the more she will improve as a person, saying she would like to be more like him. For Hannukah, Erica decides to go to the Schwartzes instead of on a cruise with her family and Geoff is very happy. Erica immediately feels disturbed by the preference that Geoff's parents show towards his sister Joanne. Erica tries to point this out to her boyfriend, but he denies the evidence and the two end up getting angry. Eventually, however, Geoff becomes furious and admits that Erica was right, and asks her to teach Joanne a lesson. When her parents think it's Erica's fault that Geoff is angry, he angrily replies that the young Goldberg is the only one to support him and then walk away with her. Geoff later regrets overdoing it, and she comforts him. Then his parents realize they were wrong and apologize. Erica and Geoff go back to the second house and enjoy the party. Erica seems very convinced that she will marry Geoff one day Geoff signs up for a beauty pageant and Barry helps him prepare for the audition, Erica doesn't like it, but Geoff ignores her opinion. Erica tries to persuade Geoff to retire, because she thinks such a thing is not like him, but the boy ignores her again and later tells her he wants her to appreciate him more. Eventually Geoff wins the contest thanks to the help of Erica who showcases the fact that he is a wonderful boyfriend.

Fed up with the fact that Geoff always prefers Erica to him, Barry agrees with Joanne to pretend to be his girlfriend, so that he takes one of them instead of Erica on the Nancy Glass talk show. Geoff seems to fall for it, but Erica eats the leaf and decides to indulge them certain that they will soon get tired of pretending. Eventually Geoff and Barry end up arguing and Erica tries to make them up. Barry and Joanne decide to try dating for real and find they like each other, much to Geoff's annoyance. When he and Erica decide to go camping, Barry and Joanne join up. After a while, Erica also begins to be annoyed by the relationship between their brothers, but Joanne retorts that she and Barry are undoubtedly a better couple than she and Geoff and the facts show that despite the recent dating Barry and Joanne are able to collaborate much better than Geoff and Erica and they know each other even better. Erica also realizes that Geoff continues to give up what he wants or likes just to make her happy and that she even unconsciously takes advantage of it. Young Goldberg goes so far as to admit that Barry and Joanne are a better couple than they are and that it takes very little to be. At the end of the camp Erica tells Geoff that if he continues to devote himself completely to her and give up everything to please her one day he will stop loving her and begin to hate her, then tearfully states that he must find his own identity without her and that they have to take on a break from their history. Geoff, as always, accepts Erica's will, despite the fact that he is clearly devastated by it.

Barry and Joanne are the only ones who know of their brothers' breakup, and Erica begs the former not to tell their family. Barry promises, but since no one cares about the beginning of her romance with Joanne and everyone keeps asking where Geoff is, he blurts out that they'll stop talking about her sister's ex-boyfriend and listen to him. Obviously Beverly tries to get in the way and get Geoff back with Erica and then manipulates Barry instead of him too, but fails miserably. Joanne suggests that her brother play the dating game and all the JTPs agree. Erica and Geoff are so embarrassed that they try to avoid each other as much as possible, but their sibilings decide to force them to find a solution and the two decide to try to be friends. When Barry says Geoff will play the dating game (he signed it up without his knowledge), Erica is upset, but she doesn't object. A friend pushes her to hang out with other people as well, and since Geoff wins the game, she takes her date to the same restaurant Geoff goes to. The boy realizes that his ex is jealous, and angrily decides to enjoy the date. Erica later goes to apologize, but only finds Barry telling her it will only make things worse. Erica retorts that her situation with Geoff is not like that between Barry and Lainey, and he retorts that it is worse, since Geoff is not gone like Lainey and convinces his sister to get away from Geoff for a while. Geoff was planning a dinner for his and Erica's fifth anniversary, but since they broke up and the reservation is no longer refundable, he goes to the Goldberg house to ask her to give the voucher to Barry. Erica is visibly sad and embarrassed in front of Geoff and as soon as the boy leaves, she bursts into tears.

Erica eventually goes to the restaurant with her father, but it turns out that Geoff had arranged dinner as a tribute to their relationship, so the brunette gets even more depressed. On the advice of her brothers, Erica visits Lainey in Los Angeles, but unfortunately she meets Geoff there. The boy looks very embarrassed and Erica who has promised to play with Lainey asks him to come to their concert.

Although she is thinking of moving to Los Angeles and playing in a popular club, Erica can only think about the fact that Geoff did not come to the concert. She eventually bursts into tears and runs off stage. Later Lainey urges her friend not to give up and to try to win back Geoff, so the girl decides to return to Philadelphia. However, hearing her voice outside the door, Geoff believes Erica came to ask him why he didn't go to the concert (he tried in vain to impress her by saying that he went surfing when he and his mother accompanied their father on a trip. and he had been caught quickly, so he hadn't moved to limit the damage) and asks Barry to send his sister away on some pretext. Barry then makes up the story that Geoff is out with his new girlfriend Paula Hogan. Erica is clearly jealous and Geoff, still desperate, is not happy with the excuse his friend has set up.

Geoff in turn decides to win back Erica and asks the JTPs for help to get out of his state of depression and improve himself. But Beverly eats the leaf and convinces her daughter to investigate. However, Erica discovers that there is indeed a Paula Hogan on campus and decides to move in with Lainey, saying that now Geoff seems happy and forces her mother not to interfere. Meanwhile, Geoff who tried new things found confidence in himself decides to win back Erica. Erica is very happy to discover that Geoff is not dating Paula and when the boy yells at her that he loves her and that is all that makes him happy, she rushes over to him and they share a passionate kiss.

Geoff decides to ask Erica to marry him and Barry hides the ring in his room, where it is found by Beverly. The blonde rushes to talk to her husband about it, but due to a series of misunderstandings the man realizes that Barry wants to marry Joanne and goes to talk about it with the Schwartzes. Joanne overhears and runs to tell Barry that she is not ready for marriage, but the boy realizes that she wants to tell him that Erica is not ready for marriage. Barry then runs to tackle his friend while he is asking Murray's blessing and Geoff believes what his friend tells him, and since he and Erica are planning to go to the beach and he had promised her something romantic, he organizes a little party for her. Geoff is hurt by Erica's refusal. Erica is disappointed to discover the surprise, but luckily family and friends join the two and explain the misunderstanding to Geoff. Erica is delighted when Geoff proposed her and accepts. Afterwards everyone celebrates with a party on the beach.

The engagement
Unfortunately, Erica's grandfather, Albert, dies and like the rest of the Erica family is devastated. Geoff plans to take advantage of it to avoid Beverly's interference in choosing the wedding venue, but Erica ignores him. Due to a ploy by Murray, Albert's relatives take a tour of his favorite places. Geoff keeps trying to arrange the wedding, but Erica is never satisfied with his ideas. Eventually Murray explains to Geoff that Erica hates all locations, because wherever they go, Albert won't be there and Geoff apologizes, realizing that he hasn't respected his girlfriend's pain. Erica replies that they will have a splendid wedding as her grandfather would have liked and later decides to have the wedding in front of the tree where Albert asked his wife Irene to marry him.

Erica attempts to ingratiate herself with Geoff's father, but fails, while Barry shows that she gets along very well with Lou. Eventually it turns out that Lou is angry with Erica for a silly joke Joanne made that she blamed her.

Erica tries to convince Joanne to tell the truth, but she doesn't want, so Barry proposes to blame a stranger, but due to a series of coincidences the guilt try to take it on Geoff and Barry himself, but Lou doesn't believe it and so Erica ends up breaking one of his beloved ornaments, only to leave depressed, certain that her future father-in-law will never like her. Eventually Joanne confesses, but Lou doesn't take it out on her and Geoff scolds him for treating Erica badly regardless and yells in his face that Erica will become his wife and that he'll be better off if he pleases it. After Geoff's outburst, Lou goes to apologize to Erica, telling her that when he and Erica started dating he felt lost because he feared losing his son to Erica. The girl then forgives her future father-in-law.

Erica and Beverly can't agree on the details for the wedding, and Bill gives Geoff pre-wedding lessons to do with Erica. The young Goldberg, however, does not want to know and sends Geoff alone. After Geoff asks Beverly to take a step back and she is horrified, but Geoff points out to his girlfriend that if Beverly gets out of the way, they can do the wedding however she wants and the girl seems to like the idea.

After a while, however, the girl misses her mother and takes it out on Geoff, who tries to get the two to get along by failing and eventually loses his patience and tells the two that if they can't find a way to get along, there may be no more marriage. Erica and her parents join Geoff at the class and after apologizing to him, she sends him away so that she can get advice on how to handle Beverly.

Barry gets hurt and touches and Erica and Geoff look after him, and the girl leaves all the work to her boyfriend who one afternoon leaves her with her brother with an excuse and goes to the cinema. Erica finds out and unmasks him and when she tells him the two have a fight. Geoff later feels guilty, but Erica later tells him she got scared because Geoff said looking after Barry was practical for when they had kids, and he seemed good and she didn't, but Geoff replies that he too is afraid of becoming a father and the girl comments that he has always thought that they will be good parents, but that they will only find out when they really are.

For one reason or another all of Erica's friends cannot organize her bachelorette party and so the girl is forced to ask Joanne. Her future sister-in-law gives her all, but she knows little about Erica and arranges things that don't reflect her tastes, which leads the young Goldberg to complain.

Geoff who instead has all the JTPs and his other friends, understands Erica's feelings who recognizes that he always understands her well and he replies that he succeeds because he loves her and pushes her to talk to Joanne.

It was decided that year to go to the Schwartzes for Thanksgiving, but Bevery tries to take the party for herself. Erica seeing that her future mother-in-law is upset, so Erica threatens her mother to spend the party with the Schwartzes if she doesn't agree to leave the party to Linda, forcing the blonde to give in.

Erica then bonds with Linda by helping her cook Thanksgiving dinner and her mother becomes jealous, so she invites the Schwartzes to dinner the night before Thanksgiving by offering them a pharaonic Thanksgiving meal, which her daughter doesn't appreciate. Erica then begins to call Linda mom to hurt her mother, a sign that she doesn't want the effort she went through to integrate into Geoff's family to be ruined by her mother's stupidity. Eventually Beverly understands her mistakes and apologizes.

Erica realizes that she and Geoff are too much of a couch potato so she arranges a dinner inviting Barry and Joanne and another boring couple of fiances. Both Barry and Joanne believe their sibiling is to blame for the flatness that plagues their life as a couple and they convince Erica and Geoff to throw a mega-party. The two follow Barry and Joanne's advice and throw a huge party, but talking Erica and Geoff realize they don't want to be crazy partygoers. So the two decide to have fun in their own way.

Erica later advises Adam to lie to avoid problems in his relationship, Geoff wonders if Erica is hiding something from him, but she assures him not. She later forces him to destroy all his videotapes of the actress Morganna that he has a crush on.

The marriage
Beverly gets out of control and turns the wedding into an exaggerated thing more like a circus show than a wedding ceremony. This displeases Erica and Geoff tries to tell her future mother-in-law to calm down by failing miserably. The young man then pretends to be ill to postpone the ceremony, but the future mother-in-law makes him do a complete check-up and the doctor realizes that the boy has cold sweats. Erica later explains why they tried to postpone the wedding to the brothers and at which point the two boyfriends decide to face Beverly together. A providential snow storm leads to the cancellation of the ceremony and Erica tells her mother that she wants to get married with a simple and pleasant ceremony and not with her ridiculous circus. Beverly later apologizes to her daughter and Geoff and eventually the two marry in the Goldberg house with only their relatives and Richard Marks present. Shortly thereafter, the two go on their honeymoon to the Poconos.

Marital life
Both Barry and Geoff are medical students and both apply for the same residency. Both Erica and Joanne are certain that their partner will get an internship, and they both decide to give it up so as not to hurt the other. When the two discover that each of them is certain to beat the other, they get angry and decide to compete. Erica then helps her husband. When Barry manages to get over it, Geoff takes it out on Erica and his wife gives him more advice that her husband follows. In the end, neither of them gets an internship, but Erica and Joanne realize that it was also their fault that the two had a fight and make them reconcile. Erica fails her admission test miserably and asks her husband not to tell Barry, who is fine with hers. Geoff is dubious but accepts, but in the end Barry's fault discovers the truth. Because of this Erica and Barry fight and Geoff scolds them. The two then apologize to Geoff and thank him for telling him what they must have heard.

In short, the two Goldberg-Schwartz couples start going to dinner with Lou and Linda on Sunday nights. Erica gets bored quickly also because Geoff's parents take advantage of their son to make him do some work around the house. Erica then tells her husband that she no longer intends to go to dinner with her parents and manages to persuade him. When the two newlyweds inform Lou and Linda, all the Schwartzes are disappointed. Barry takes care of doing the housework for Geoff, but by a series of coincidences, Lou ends up falling and getting hurt. When he finds out about what happened, Geoff blames Erica for what happened, but also blames his parents for taking advantage of him, so Erica decides to find a compromise, spending a few Sundays with Geoff's parents.

Because of Erica, black mold develops in Erica and Geoff's house and the two are forced to spend a week at the Goldberg house. Beverly finds Geoff's behavior strange. The boy is just angry because if they have mold in the house it is Erica's fault and he and his wife have a little argument that is resolved quickly, but Beverly believes that the two are on the verge of divorce and gets in the way as usual. Erica understands what has happened and to take revenge for her mother's intrusiveness she pretends to quarrel with her husband, but the latter gets really angry and leaves in a rage. Erica eventually acknowledges her mistake and makes peace with Geoff.

Knowing that Cyndi Lauper is auditioning to find a backing vocalist, Geoff urges Erica to give it a try by telling her he liked to see her perform and his wife decides to try. Not only does Erica pass the audition (and thanks Geoff for pushing her to try), but during a concert she goes so well, that Cyndi suggests that she join her entourage. Erica is hesitant, but Geoff urges her to accept. At home, however, Erica gets angry that Geoff never thinks about himself, but only about her and comes to define him as perfect by asking him to tell her what he really wants and he admits that he doesn't want her to go to Europe. Erica states that she doesn't want to go either and that now he is her dream. The two then declare mutual love. The couple later attend Adam and Erica's graduation ceremony and there the brunette informs her husband that she is pregnant.

Fanon
Gerica is a very popular ship, in The Goldbergs fandom. There are videos, fanfictions and gifs dedicated to this ship. However, the fact that it has never been more than a side detail in the second and third seasons, to then become one of the central themes of the fourth, has led some to prefer Blainey which has had a slower and more constant evolution. In the fifth season Gerica replaces Blainey as the main couple of the show. In the sixth season the couple returns to be secondary compared to Barry and Lainey, only to gradually regain more and more importance. From the seventh season onwards Gerica returns to be the main couple of the show.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Erica/Geoff on FanFiction.Net

Notes and Trivia

 * Erica is based on Eric Goldberg, Adam Goldberg's older brother in real life while Geoff Schwartz is one of Barry Goldberg's best friends in real life but despite this, the relationship was purely made up for the show.