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7 Revelations From Matthew Perry’s Memoir ‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing’

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

The book currently on the cusp of taking the world by storm, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing , began on the Notes app on Matthew Perry ’s phone. That’s where the Friends star started laying out his life story, as he told The New York Times  recently .

And eventually, those tapped-out notes coalesced into a memoir, the proposal for which impressed Megan Lynch, senior vice president at Flatiron Books.“There was a real voice to it,” Lynch said to the Times . “It was clear that he was going to share intimate details not just about his time on the show but about his entire life, and that felt revelatory.”

Flatiron is releasing the book on Tuesday, November 1, and already-published excerpts from the book are revelatory indeed. Perry writes at length about his time on Friends — and about his romantic relationships over the years — but much of the book is devoted to the drug and alcohol addictions from which the actor is now recovering.

Here are some of the anecdotes Perry shared about Friends , lovers, and “the big terrible thing.”

At one point, he was using methadone and Xanax and drank a quart of vodka a day.

In Diane Sawyer ’s recent interview with Perry , she mentioned that he wrote in Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing that he was using methadone and Xanax and going through “a full quart of vodka a day.”

“Fifty-five Vicodin a day,” the actor added, saying that at one point he fell into a coma and “escaped death really narrowly.”

Jennifer Aniston confronted him about his drinking.

Perry wrote in the book, per Us Weekly , that it was Friends costar Jennifer Aniston who talked to him about his alcohol consumption, something that other stars of the NBC sitcom noticed, too.

“‘I know you’re drinking,’ she said. … I was confused. ‘How can you tell?’ I said. I never worked drunk,” Perry remembered. “‘We can smell it,’ she said, in a kind of weird but loving way, and the plural ‘we’ hit me like a sledgehammer.”

He was sober for Friends ’ ninth season.

According to The Hollywood Reporter , Perry recounted in the memoir that he was living at a rehab facility in Malibu when the Friends cast and crew shot the Season 7 finale, and he was sober through Season 9, the only season for which the actor earned an Emmy nomination for best actor. “What did I do differently that season? I listened,” he wrote. “I didn’t just stand there and wait my turn to speak.”

He had to pull out of a role in Don’t Look Up after his heart stopped for five minutes.

Perry disclosed in the book that he had a part in the 2021 movie Don’t Look Up , which would have been the “biggest movie [he’d] gotten ever,” as Rolling Stone reports. He was meant to play a Republican journalist and was booked for three scenes with Meryl Streep , who played the President of the United States in the political satire.

Around the time of filming, however, Perry was staying at a rehab facility in Switzerland, where doctors prescribed him hydrocodone after he claimed to have stomach pain. The doctors also decided to treat the pain by putting “some kind of weird medical device” in his back. Perry spent the night before that operation taking hydrocodone pills, and the next morning, when doctors administered the anesthetic drug propofol in the operating room, Perry’s heart stopped.

“I was given the shot at 11:00 a.m.,” he wrote. “I woke up eleven hours later in a different hospital. Apparently, the propofol had stopped my heart. For five minutes. It wasn’t a heart attack — I didn’t flatline — but nothing had been beating. I was told that some beefy Swiss guy really didn’t want the guy from Friends dying on his table and did CPR on me for the full five minutes, beating and pounding my chest. If I hadn’t been on Friends , would he have stopped at three minutes? Did Friends save my life again? … He may have saved my life, but he also broke eight of my ribs.”

Amid the pain of the recovery from that medical crisis, Perry made the “heartbreaking” call to back out of Don’t Look Up , having only shot one scene which didn’t make it into the final cut.

He and Valerie Bertinelli made out next to her husband, Eddie Van Halen.

At one point in the book, Perry discusses his crush on Bertinelli, with whom he starred in the short-lived CBS sitcom Sydney in 1990. “I fell madly in love with Valerie Bertinelli , who was clearly in a troubled marriage,” he revealed, per Entertainment Weekly . “My crush was crushing; not only was she way out of my league, but she was also married to one of the most famous rock stars on the planet, Eddie Van Halen.”

And one night at their home, Perry said, he made out with Bertinelli after Van Halen got drunk on wine and passed out. “This was my chance! If you think I didn’t actually have a chance in hell, you’d be wrong, dear reader — Valerie and I had a long, elaborate makeout session,” he wrote.

The next morning, according to Perry, Bertinelli acted as if nothing happened between the two of them. “I quickly got the hint and also played the role I was supposed to, but inside I was devastated,” the actor wrote.

Seemingly in response to that revelation, Bertinelli posted a TikTok video to the tune of the Taylor Swift song “Anti-Hero” — specifically the lyrics, “It’s me, hi. I’m the problem, it’s me.”

“Anyone misbehave in their 20s and early 30s?” she captioned the clip. “Are you mortified?”

He wrote a physics paper to get Julia Roberts on Friends — and he tanked their real-life romance.

Perry was the one who sealed the deal for Julia Roberts to appear in the 1996 Friends episode “The One After the Superbowl: Part 2.”

“Julia had been offered the post-Super Bowl episode in Season 2 and she would only do the show if she could be in my storyline,” he wrote, per The Times (via Entertainment Weekly ). “Let me say that again — she would only do the show if she could be in my storyline. (Was I having a good year or what?) But first, I had to woo her.”

As Perry recalled in the book, he sent the Pretty Woman star three dozen roses, along with a romantic note, but Roberts responded with a homework assignment: “Her reply was that if I adequately explained quantum physics to her, she’d agree to be on the show,” he wrote. “Wow. First of all, I’m in an exchange with the woman for whom lipstick was invented, and now I have to hit the books.”

So Perry did his homework and got Roberts on the show, and by the time she filmed her Friends  appearance, she and he had already flirted via fax machine and struck up a romantic relationship. But Perry broke up with her after two months, he revealed in the book.

“Dating Julia Roberts had been too much for me,” he said. “I had been constantly certain that she was going to break up with me. Why would she not? I was not enough; I could never be enough; I was broken, bent, unloveable. So instead of facing the inevitable agony of losing her, I broke up with the beautiful and brilliant Julia Roberts. She might have considered herself slumming it with a TV guy, and the TV guy was now breaking up with her. I can’t begin to describe the look of confusion on her face.”

He went on a date with Cameron Diaz, and she accidentally punched him in the face.

Per Page Six , Perry wrote that he had a date with Cameron Diaz at a dinner party after her 2007 split from Justin Timberlake  and that she “immediately got stoned” at the get-together and “wasn’t interested in [Perry] at all.”

Then, Perry made a “witty” comment to Diaz during a game of Pictionary, and she “accidentally” punched him in the face while aiming for his shoulder, he said. (His response: “Are you f—king kidding me?”)

Perry doesn’t know why Keanu Reeves “still walks among us” after the deaths of other actors.

How Well Has 'Friends' Aged? The Sitcom's Cast & Critics Disagree

Perry seemingly has an issue with Keanu Reeves , comparing him unfavorably in the book to late actors River Phoenix and Heath Ledger . “Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?” he wrote, per BuzzFeed News .

The actor mentioned Reeves again in the book as he wrote about the death of Chris Farley : “I punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston’s dressing room wall when I found out. Keanu Reeves walks among us .”

In a statement to People , Perry apologized for the apparent diss: “I’m actually a big fan of Keanu,” he said. “I just chose a random name, my mistake. I apologize. I should have used my own name instead.”

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Matthew Perry: Seven of the biggest revelations from star’s book Friends, Lovers and Big Terrible Things

‘friends, lovers and the big terrible thing’ was released one year before his death, article bookmarked.

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Friends star Matthew Perry has died at the age of 54 , with many now revisiting the memoir he released almost exactly a year before his death.

The star, adored for his portrayal of king of sarcasm Chandler Bing in Friends , was found dead in his Los Angeles home on Saturday 28 October.

Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing came out on 1 November 2022, and in it, Perry wrote about his famous past relationships and his time on the hit sitcom that made him famous around the world.

However, Perry also explored his widely publicised addiction to alcohol and painkillers, which resulted in him visiting rehab 15 times over his lifetime, and having a number of near-death experiences.

Here are seven of the biggest revelations from Perry’s memoir…

His relationship with Julia Roberts

Perry’s six-month relationship with “beautiful and brilliant” Julia Roberts , who he’d met before her guest appearance on season two of Friends , is explored in the book.

Perry described how the pair would send “hundreds” of faxes and have five-hour phone calls before they began dating.

Reflecting on their split in April 1996, Perry wrote: “Dating Julia Roberts had been too much for me. I had been constantly certain that she was going to break up with me.

“So instead of facing the inevitable agony of losing her, I broke up with the beautiful and brilliant Julia Roberts.”

Reflecting on his past relationships , Perry said he’d broken up with all the “wonderful women” he’d dated because he was “deathly afraid that they will find out that I’m not enough… and they’ll break up with me”.

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His drug taking during Friends

Addiction plays a large part in Perry’s memoir, with the actor writing that at his worst moment, he would take 55 strong painkillers a day to get through filming.

Perry wrote that fans of the show will be able to tell whether he was drinking alcohol or taking drugs “from season to season” by “gauging” his weight and tracking his facial hair throughout the show.

“When I’m carrying weight, it’s alcohol; when I’m skinny, it’s pills; when I have a goatee, it’s a lot of pills,” he said.

Perry said that he used to “steal” pills from open houses , saying: “I think they thought, ‘Well, there’s no way that Chandler came in and stole from us.’”

He entered treatment while filming the later seasons of the show and describes being picked up from filming the season seven finale , in which Chandler and Monica (Courteney Cox) get married, to return to rehab.

However, Perry added that he “never” was high or drunk during filming.

Jennifer Aniston confronted him about his addiction

At the height of his addiction, Perry’s Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston was the one to confront him about his problem .

“‘I know you’re drinking,’” Perry recalled Aniston telling him. “To be confronted by Jennifer Aniston was devastating. And I was confused. ‘How can you tell?’ I said. I never worked drunk. ‘I’ve been trying to hide it.’

“‘We can smell it,’ she said, in a kind of weird but loving way, and the plural ‘we’ hit me like a sledgehammer,” Perry wrote.

His bizarre comments about Keanu Reeves

One surprise takeaway from Perry’s autobiography was his apparent feelings towards Keanu Reeves, after Perry repeatedly questioned why other actors die while The Matrix star is still alive .

“Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?” Perry wrote.

Upon learning that another former co-star Chris Farley had died of a drug overdose, he wrote: “I punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston’s dressing room wall when I found out. Keanu Reeves walks among us.”

However, Perry later apologised for the comments , saying in a statement: “I’m actually a big fan of Keanu. I just chose a random name, my mistake. I apologise. I should have used my own name instead.”

His near-death experiences

Perry’s drug use continued after Friends , with the actor explaining that he “nearly died” four years ago when he was 49 .

Perry’s colon burst due to opioid overuse, after which he spent two weeks in a coma, five months in a hospital, and nine months using a colostomy bag. His family were told he had a “two per cent” chance of living.

A couple of years later, Perry came close to death again after his heart stopped beating for five minutes .

Perry was in rehab in Switzerland at the time, but had lied to his doctors about having severe stomach pain in order to get prescribed hydrocodone, an opioid used to treat pain and as a cough suppressant.

Perry was due to have surgery to alleviate his pain, but he took hydrocodone the night before his surgery, which, combined with anaesthetic propofol during the procedure, stopped his heart for five minutes.

“It wasn’t a heart attack – I didn’t flatline – but nothing had been beating,” he said, explaining how eight of his ribs broke during CPR.

As a result, he was forced to pull out of appearing in Adam McKay’s Netflix film Don’t Look Up , despite having already filmed a scene.

His kiss with Valerie Bertinelli

Another one of Perry’s crushes was on former child star Valerie Bertinelli, who played his sister on the 1990s sitcom Sydney .

Perry recalled the pair once having a “long, elaborate make-out session” while her then-husband Eddie Van Halen was passed out less than 10 feet away from them.

However, the next day at work, Bertinelli “made no mention of what had happened and was behaving – as she should have been – like this was just a normal day”, leaving Perry “devastated”.

Bertinelli responded to the claims on TikTok in a Taylor Swift-inspired video in which she admitted she was “mortified”.

His crush on Jennifer Aniston

One unexpected revelation in Perry’s memoir is that he had asked out Aniston before filming Friends .

The actor explained how he and Aniston were the only Friends stars who knew each other before the show, having met three years before through mutual acquaintances.

“I was immediately taken by her (how could I not be?) and liked her, and I got the sense she was intrigued too – maybe it was going to be something,” he said.

However, when Perry asked her out, “she declined (which made it very difficult to actually go out with her), but said that she’d love to be friends with me, and I compounded the compound by blurting, ‘We can’t be friends!’”

Perry added that he was “still crushing badly” on Aniston during the early stages of filming Friends .

If you or someone you know is suffering from alcohol addiction, you can confidentially call the national alcohol helpline Drinkline on 0300 123 1110 or visit the NHS website here for information about the programmes available to you.

If you or someone you know is suffering from drug addiction, you can seek confidential help and support 24-7 from Frank, by calling 0300 123 6600, texting 82111, sending an email or visiting their website here .

In the US, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP.

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Matthew Perry recounts how Jennifer Aniston confronted him about his substance abuse

'Matthew Perry - The Diane Sawyer Interview' premieres Friday, Oct. 28, at 8|7c on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.

Matthew Perry is continuing to share candid moments from his long journey to sobriety and the struggles he endured during his run on NBC's "Friends" while yoyo-ing between addictions to Vicodin and alcohol.

In an excerpt from his new book "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing," Perry recounts how a visit from costar Jennifer Aniston to his trailer made him realize that his secret behavior when it came to alcohol wasn't so secret.

"'I know you're drinking,' she said," Perry, now 53, writes in the memoir, in an excerpt published by the Times of London.

"I had long since gotten over her -- ever since she started dating Brad Pitt, I was fine -- and had worked out exactly how long to look at her without it being awkward, but still, to be confronted by Jennifer Aniston was devastating. And I was confused," he continued.

"'How can you tell?' I said. I never worked drunk. 'I've been trying to hide it . . .'"

ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer has an exclusive broadcast interview with Perry ahead of his book release. During the one-hour special, airing Friday on ABC, he shares details from behind the scenes of "Friends" and about a near-death experience that left him in a coma for nearly 14 days.

"Imagine how scary a moment that was," he told Sawyer. " [ Aniston ] was the one who reached out the most, and I"m really grateful to her for that."

Elsewhere in the excerpt, Perry mentioned how he "never" worked high or drunk (although he "certainly worked hungover"), and he said he was largely able to function as part of the uber-successful "Friends" ensemble thanks to his castmates and how they would "group around [ him ] and prop [ him ] up" like an injured penguin being supported by the other penguins.

"I was the injured penguin, but I was determined to not let these wonderful people, and this show, down," he wrote.

But that day in Perry's trailer, Aniston told him plainly that he wasn't getting away with anything.

"'We can smell it,' she said, in a kind of weird but loving way, and the plural 'we' hit me like a sledgehammer," Perry wrote.

"'I know I'm drinking too much,' I said, 'but I don't exactly know what to do about it.'"

The "Whole Nine Yards" star also describes in the new book how his weight fluctuated wildly due to the pills making him sick and alleviating his appetite, or alcohol causing him to be bloated.

"You can track the trajectory of my addiction if you gauge my weight from season to season -- when I'm carrying weight, it's alcohol; when I'm skinny, it's pills. When I have a goatee, it's lots of pills."

Perry even referenced specific points in the hit show's 10-season run and clued readers in to what was going on with his addiction at that time.

"By the end of season three, I was spending most of my time figuring out how to get 55 Vicodin a day -- I had to have 55 every day, otherwise I'd get so sick. It was a full-time job: making calls, seeing doctors, faking migraines, finding crooked nurses who would give me what I needed," Perry wrote.

The actor recently said he is finally ready to share his experiences now that he is safely on the other side of addiction.

"I wanted to share when I was safe from going into the dark side of everything again," Perry told People of the book. "I had to wait until I was pretty safely sober -- and away from the active disease of alcoholism and addiction -- to write it all down. And the main thing was, I was pretty certain that it would help people."

"Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing," by Matthew Perry, will be published by Headline on November 1.

"Matthew Perry - The Diane Sawyer Interview" premieres Friday, Oct. 28, at 8|7c on ABC. Stream the next day on Hulu.

ABC Owned TV Stations contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

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StarTribune

Review: 'friends, lovers, and the big terrible thing,' by matthew perry.

Could Matthew Perry be any more vulnerable? In his bestselling memoir, the former "Friends" star shares his battles with addiction in excruciating detail: stealing pills from strangers' homes, emptying endless bottles of vodka and arranging for drug dealers to visit him in treatment centers. It's the part of his 12-step program where he's making amends with his fans.

Perry is less forthcoming about his showbiz adventures. He spends an entire chapter lauding "Whole Ten Yards" co-star Bruce Willis and shares dirt about how he blew a promising romance with Julia Roberts. But he shies away from backstage tales about his work, except for when he's dealing with how he let down his castmates. (He spends a lot of ink apologizing to Jennifer Aniston.)

TV fans would have loved at least more than passing references to his guest appearances on "The West Wing" and his fine performance as Teddy Kennedy in "The Kennedys — After Camelot" miniseries. Perry has written for stage and screen, so he knows how to tell a story. The book, however, leans a little too hard on cliches.

He ends up repeating certain anecdotes, sometimes within a few pages of each other. Those who have struggled with drugs and alcohol, though, will forgive him. If Perry's only goal was to be an inspiration to fellow addicts, he's succeeded.

Neal Justin is the Star Tribune's TV critic.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

By: Matthew Perry.

Publisher: Flatiron Books, 250 pages, $29.99.

Neal Justin covers the entertainment world, primarily TV and radio. He also reviews stand-up comedy. Justin is the founder of JCamp, a non-profit program for high-school journalists, and works on many fronts to further diversity in newsrooms.

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Jennifer Aniston Reflects on ‘Happy’ and ‘Healthy’ Matthew Perry, Texting Him the Day He Died: ‘He Wasn’t Struggling’

By Emily Longeretta

Emily Longeretta

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Jennifer Aniston wants the world to know that Matthew Perry was in a good place before his untimely death.

In her first interview following the loss of her “ Friends ” co-star, Aniston told Variety she hopes Perry is remembered “as he said he’d love to be remembered ” — a man who lived well and helped others.

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Perry died on Oct. 28 at the age of 54. He was best known for starring in all 236 episodes of “Friends,” alongside Aniston, David Schimmer, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow. In 2022, Perry opened up about his struggles with sobriety in his book, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir.”

Following his death, the cast, along with other actors and numerous reporters — myself included ! — wrote about their experiences with Perry and how much his character, Chandler Bing, meant. Additionally, a foundation was founded in his name to help others struggling with addiction.

“It’s so beautiful,” Aniston said of the outpouring of love. “I hope he can know that he was loved in a way he never thought he was.”

Additionally, Aniston tried to find the words to describe Perry’s dialect, which became synonymous with Chandler Bing. “His way of speaking created a whole different world,” she said. “We went with his lead, in a way. It just added something to our joy.”

Witherspoon, who appeared on two episodes of “Friends” in 2000, commended the entire cast of the hit sitcom.

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‘Kind of weird but loving’: the intense bond between Friends stars that made Matthew Perry $30m

From making a statement about Perry’s death as ‘a family’ to taking pay cuts to support co-stars, the relationship between the sitcom’s cast changed their lives – and the industry

W hen Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer broke their silence over the death of their Friends co-star Matthew Perry, it was as a group. Their joint statement was a short and eloquent message that pulsed with their palpable grief, in which they chose to share their pain collectively as “a family”, rallying around each other over this “unfathomable loss” of someone so special to them.

Putting on a united front is something that has always been one of the Friends cast’s main strengths. Perry highlighted this in his memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, last year when he spoke about how Schwimmer, who at the time was considered the breakout star of the show, approached his castmates with the idea that they should negotiate their salaries as a group rather than individually.

The actors had reportedly been paid $22,500 per episode in season one, but by season two, Schwimmer and Aniston had begun earning more than the other four actors as the popularity of on/off couple Ross and Rachel took off. For season three, Schwimmer decided it was time to club together and asked Aniston if she would be willing to take a pay cut, along with him, so the others could get equal pay.

Collective cast negotiations over salaries weren’t really the norm then but the strategy has been copied since by actors on shows such as The Big Bang Theory and This Is Us. It was a selfless act of generosity that Perry applauded Schwimmer for in his memoir. “David had certainly been in a position to go for the most money, and he didn’t,” he wrote. “I would like to think that I would have made the same move, but as a greedy 25-year-old, I’m not sure I would have. But his decision served to make us take care of each other through what turned out to be a myriad of stressful network negotiations, and it gave us a tremendous amount of power.”

By season eight in 2001, he revealed, they were making $1m (£818,240) an episode – an amount that Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman called “kinda ridiculous” at the 2015 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour. “Let’s be honest, that’s a lot of money.” (Commenting on the sum in an interview for Huffington Post , LeBlanc said: “How do you put a price on how funny something is?”) By season 10, they were making $1,100,040 an episode, Perry revealed, and doing fewer episodes. “We had David’s goodness, and his astute business sense, to thank for what we had been offered. I owe you about $30m, David.”

This repeated act of solidarity, as they continued to renegotiate their salaries together, is likely to have been a key factor in what kept them together as a cast. Other TV shows regularly see core cast members leave after disagreements over their salaries. Take Lauren Cohan, who left The Walking Dead after a failed bid to get the same salary as her male co-stars (although she later returned), or Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park, who quit Hawaii Five-0 due to a dispute over equal pay. Discrepancies in salaries, unsurprisingly, have a tendency to push actors to walk.

But there was no such rancour or resentment when it came to Friends. “It would’ve destroyed us, I think, if someone was soaring financially,” Aniston told WSJ Magazine earlier this year. Instead, she remained until the very end with the others to give us the perfect ending where Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, Ross and Joey’s storylines could be wrapped up neatly.

Off-screen, the Friends cast also did their best to reach out to Matty, as they liked to call him, while he battled his own demons with drink and drugs throughout the years. When he was cast as Chandler in Friends, he was 24 and had already started to drink heavily. During the show’s run, Perry was consuming 55 Vicodin a day at one point and weighed 128lb [58kg]. Aniston confronted him about his drinking, Perry wrote, in a “kind of weird but loving way”. His co-stars eventually staged an intervention in his dressing room after a read-through was cut short because he was slurring, again banding together as a family trying to help someone that they truly cared for.

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But as he told the Heart of the Matter podcast for Partnership to End Addiction, it didn’t work: “You need a professional. You need somebody who really knows [addiction]. Because what people don’t really understand is if there’s an intervention, the only thing you have to do to end an intervention is just say: ‘No. No, get out of my house.’ And then it’s over. If you have a professional, somebody who does this for a living, and an interventionist and a plane waiting and then you go to rehab, that’s the way to do it.”

In 2022, while promoting his memoir, Perry revealed to the New York Times that he had spent close to $9m (nearly £7.4m) to get clean and that he had been sober for 18 months. Through his struggle with addiction, he remained grateful for the love, kindness and support his Friends castmates showed to him. “In nature, when a penguin is injured, the other penguins group around it and prop it up until it’s better,” he wrote. “This is what my co-stars on Friends did for me.”

Perhaps, at some point, Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, LeBlanc and Schwimmer will be ready to share their individual memories and stories of Perry. But for now let’s leave them to mourn the loss of their charming, talented and vulnerable co-star, who could light up the room in an instant with his quick wit and comic timing. They remain as united in their grief as they have been during times of success – the very best of friends who’ve always had each other’s backs.

• Matthew Perry
• Matt LeBlanc
• Lisa Kudrow
• David Schwimmer
• Jennifer Aniston

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Jennifer Aniston shares text from Matthew Perry that ‘says it all’ in poignant tribute

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

Jennifer Aniston has paid moving tribute to her late Friends castmate Matthew Perry.

The actor, best known for his portrayal of sarcastic jokester Chandler Bing , was found dead at his home in Los Angeles, California, on 23 October. He was 54.

On Wednesday (15 November) Aniston, who played Rachel Green on the ultra-popular NBC sitcom, shared a message about Perry on Instagram, around the same time her co-star David Schwimmer also shared a heartfelt tribute .

“Oh boy this one has cut deep... Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before. We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love,” the Morning Show star, 54, began.

“Being able to really SIT in this grief allows you to feel the moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone that deep. And we loved him deeply. He was such a part of our DNA. We were always the 6 of us. This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be. For Matty, he KNEW he loved to make people laugh. As he said himself, if he didn’t hear the ‘laugh’ he thought he was going to die.

“His life literally depended on it. And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard. In the last couple weeks, I’ve been pouring over our texts to one another. Laughing and crying then laughing again. I’ll keep them forever and ever. I found one text that he sent me out of nowhere one day. It says it all. (See the second slide…),” Aniston continued.

“Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying ‘could you BE any crazier?’” she concluded. “Rest little brother. You always made my day…”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jennifer Aniston (@jenniferaniston)

Aniston’s poignant tribute comes the day after co-stars Courteney Cox and Matt LeBlanc remembered Perry in separate Instagram posts.

On 30 October, the show’s lead stars released a joint statement asking for time to “process this unfathomable loss”.

They wrote: “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”

“In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”

His 3 November funeral service at the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills was attended by all of the core Friends cast members, including Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Schwimmer, Cox, and LeBlanc.

Earlier this week, Perry’s death certificate was released by the Los Angeles Police Department .

According to the paperwork, his cause of death remains “deferred” pending further investigation, after initial toxicology tests revealed there was “no meth or fentanyl” in Perry’s system at the time of his death.

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Jennifer Aniston Reveals She Was Texting Matthew Perry Hours Before His Death

Jennifer aniston revealed that she was messaging her late friends costar matthew perry in the hours before his sudden death on oct. 28..

Jennifer Aniston will always be there for Matthew Perry . 

While reflecting on her bond with her late Friends costar, she recalled messaging with him on Oct. 28—just hours before his sudden death. 

"I was literally texting with him that morning, funny Matty," Jennifer told Variety in an article published on Dec. 11. "He was not in pain. He wasn't struggling."

The Morning Show actress emphasized that Matthew was in a good place before his death and would want to be remembered that way. "He was healthy," she added. "He had quit smoking. He was getting in shape. He was happy—that's all I know."

Matthew—who was candid about his struggles with addiction and sobriety journey, particularly in his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing —had been on a "pursuit" toward a healthier life.

"He worked so hard," Jennifer noted. "He really was dealt a tough one. I miss him dearly. We all do. Boy, he made us laugh really hard."

And that was a sentiment she made clear to her late friend himself. While sharing a tribute to Matthew on social media , she posted a screenshot of an old text conversation in which he told her, "Making you laugh just made my day. It just made my day."

And she replied, "Awww the first of THOUSANDS of times."

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In the month since the Fools Rush In  star's sudden death, his former costars on the iconic NBC sitcom—Jennifer, Matt LeBlanc , Courteney Cox , David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow —have spoken out about their grief.  

"Matty, I love you so much," Jennifer wrote in her Nov. 15 post. "I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day…sometimes I can almost hear you saying ‘could you BE any crazier?'"

And Matthew's  Friends castmates credited him with making the show—and set—filled with laughs. 

"Thank you for showing up at work when you weren't well and then, being completely brilliant," Lisa wrote in her own post on Nov. 15. "Thank you for the best 10 years a person gets to have. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for all I learned about GRACE and LOVE through knowing you. Thank you for the time I got to have with you, Matthew."

Read on for more moving tributes from Matthew's friends and former colleagues .

Molly Hurwitz

"He would love that the world is talking about how talented he was. And he really was very talented. As the Friends reunion was approaching, we rewatched the show together. 'F--k, I was so good!!!…See what I did there???' We rewound and studied scenes. Our respect and appreciation of humor is something that connected us. Being with him as he rediscovered his brilliance was magical. But, I obviously knew that man in a very different way, too. While I loved him deeper than I could comprehend, he was complicated, and he caused pain like I’d never known. No one in my adult life has had a more profound impact on me than Matthew Langford Perry. I have tremendous gratitude for that, for everything I learned from our relationship. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Al Anon, an invaluable resource for those who love someone struggling with this destructive disease. Matty, I feel relief that you are at peace.Sincerely,Moll-o-Rama(…fication)."

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc & David Schwimmer

"We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now we're going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss. In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty's family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world."

Bradley Whitford

"Matthew Perry made me laugh. Hard. You have not lived until you havewitnessed one of his in-between-the-takes confidential riffs on the absurdity of show business and the idiocy of male confidence, wrapped up perfectly with the sudden realization that we were both grown men who wear makeup for a living. Without substances, Matt had a huge, open heart and a pyrotechnical, joyous brain. I think the most beautiful parts of Matt made him the most vulnerable to the monster that he would have to fight for the rest of his life. His battle was heroic. They don’t have award shows for that. They should. Matt was full of contradictions. He was hilariously self deprecating and insecure and wildly self confident. He was a fountain of light with a huge capacity for darkness. He was profoundly blessed and terribly cursed.I want his parents to know that Matt was kind. Not just to his costar. To everyone. To honor Matt, I hope we can continue the work that mattered most to him: to open our hearts to so many who share his vulnerabilities, to encourage them to get the help they need, and to give them the love and the support they deserve. I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to work with Matt, to spend some precious time with him, and most of all, to be his friend."

Ben Winston

"I feel so unbelievably lucky to have been able to make that reunion show with six truly remarkable people, witnessing their precious unbreakable bond with each other. Spending time with Matthew was simply a dream come true. Kind, caring… and a comedic genius."

Gwyneth Paltrow

"I met Matthew Perry in 1993 at the Williamstown Theater Festival in Massachusetts," Gwyneth Paltrow wrote in a tribute on Instagram . "We were both there for most of the summer doing plays. He was so funny and so sweet and so much fun to be with. We drove out to swim in creeks, had beers in the local college bar, kissed in a field of long grass. It was a magical summer. He had shot the pilot of Friends but it had not aired yet. He was nervous, hoping his big break was just around the corner. It was. We stayed friends for a while until we drifted apart, but I was always happy to see him when I did. I am super sad today, as so many of us are. I hope Matthew is at peace at long last. I really do."

During Adele 's Oct. 28 concert in Las Vegas, which took place just hours after Matthew's death was confirmed, she paused her show to honor him , recalling the impact he had on her childhood. "One of my friends, Andrew , when I was 12 did the best Chandler impression," she told the crowd. "And he would do it all the time to make us laugh. And if anyone was having a bad day or feeling low, he would just pretend to be Chandler. And I'll remember that character for the rest of my life." 

Maggie Wheeler

Maggie Wheeler , who played one of Perry's most memorable love interests on Friends , wrote on Instagram , "What a loss.The world will miss you Matthew Perry . The joy you brought to so many in your too short lifetime will live on. I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared." 

Salma Hayek

After his passing, Perry's Fools Rush In costar Salma Hayek noted it took a "couple of days to process this profound sadness."

"There is a special bond that happens when you share dreams with someone, and together you work towards them," she wrote in an Oct. 30 Instagram post. "I was very moved last year when Matthew shared on his Instagram stories how much he loved 'Fools Rush In,' and how he thought that that film we did together was probably his best movie."

"Throughout the years, he and I found ourselves reminiscing about that meaningful time in our lives with a deep sense of nostalgia and gratitude," she continued. "My friend, you are gone much too soon, but I will continue to cherish your silliness, your perseverance, and your lovely heart. Farewell, sweet Matthew, we will never forget you."

Alongside her final texts with Matthew days before his death, his former costar Ione Skye wrote on Instagram , "My last exchange a week ago. I’m very very sad. Loved this guy."

Kathleen Turner

Kathleen Turner , who played Chandler Bing's parent on Friends , told People , "He had a good sense of humor and a good heart. He liked other people, which, to me, is terribly important, especially for an actor." 

Shannen Doherty

The Beverly Hills, 90210 star remembered her time spent with the Emmy nominee.

"Matt always had THAT sense of humor," she wrote on Instagram . "Matt and I had a date and it was on Valentine's Day. He wanted to get a reservation at a restaurant in Malibu but couldn't so my dad got the reservation for him. We went and he talked about my dads Irish persuasiveness the majority of the night. Our friendship spanned a long time. A lifetime really. I know many are hurting, especially our little gang. He will be missed by many and definitely by us. Yes. I could be more poetic or say things better but right now, shock and sadness prevail."

Morgan Fairchild

Morgan Fairchild, who played Chandler Bing's mother on Friends , paid tribute to her onscreen son, captioning a social media post, "I'm heartbroken about the untimely death of my ‘son'. The loss of such a brilliant young actor is a shock. I'm sending love & condolences to his friends & family, especially his dad, John Bennett Perry , who I worked with on Flamingo Road & Falcon Crest ."

Rumer Willis

The Whole Nine Yards actress, who worked alongside dad Bruce Willis and Perry during the 2000 film, shared a touching tribute after Perry's passing.

"I'm so sad to hear about Matthew Perry passing," she captioned an Instagram post. "When I was a kid and I was on set while he and my dad were doing whole nine and whole 10 yards he was so kind and funny and sweet with my sisters and me and I think his physical comedy and that movie still makes me laugh so much, I know he had many challenges in his life and brought a lot of joy to people with his comedy I hope he can rest peacefully." 

Paget Brewster

Paget Brewster, who played the role of Kathy in the fourth season of Friends , remembered the time spent alongside the actor on set.

"I'm so very sad to hear about @MatthewPerry," she wrote on X . "He was lovely to me on Friends and every time I saw him in the decades after. Please read his book. It was his legacy to help. He won't rest in peace though.. He's already too busy making everyone laugh up there."

Yvette Nicole Brown

Perry's Odd Couple costar reflected on his legacy, sharing a statement to social media.

"Our #OddCouple family suffered a great loss today," she wrote on X, alongside a photo featuring the cast. "The entire entertainment world has. I am too sad about the news to say more than this: @mattyperry4 was a sweetheart who deserved more peace in this life. 54 is too young to go. We love you, Matty! #RIPMatthewPerry."

Olivia Munn

The Violet star praised the actor for opening up about his sobriety journey after his passing.

"He struggled so much with addiction and was brave enough to be open and honest about it," Olivia Munn wrote on Instagram Story Oct. 28. "I'm so sorry to his family and friends who are getting this news today. Nothing short of heartbreaking."

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Matthew Perry said Jennifer Aniston reached out to him 'the most' during his opioid addiction battle

• Matthew Perry said Jennifer Aniston reached out "the most" during his opioid addiction battle.
• He also said his "Friends" costar once confronted him and said: "We know you're drinking."
• Perry, 54, died Saturday from an apparent drowning at his California home.

On Saturday,  outlets reported that Perry died at his Los Angeles home from an apparent drowning. He was 54. 

Per  the Los Angeles Times , authorities responded to Perry's home around 4 p.m. Sources who spoke to the outlet on the condition of anonymity due to the ongoing investigation didn't cite a cause of death, said no drugs were found at the scene, and indicated no foul play was suspected. 

Prior to his death, Perry shared details about his life and his addiction to alcohol and opioids in his November 2022 memoir, " Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing ."

Related stories

During an October 2022 interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer , Perry shared that at some point, he took "55 Vicodin a day" plus "Methadone, Xanax, a full quart of vodka a day," Sawyer says in the clip.

He told Sawyer there was one friend who provided continuous support throughout the journey, his "Friends" costar Jennifer Aniston. Perry played the character Chandler Bing on the NBC sitcom from 1994 to 2004.

"She was the one who reached out the most," Perry said of Aniston, 54, whom he referred to in the interview as "Jenny." "I'm really grateful to her for that," he added. 

In a different clip from the interview, Sawyer — referencing Perry's book — said Aniston once confronted him about his addiction, telling him: "We know you're drinking."

"Imagine how scary a moment that was," Perry said. 

The actor's journey to recovery had other scary moments, including the time when he said he almost died after his colon burst from his opioid use .

As Insider previously reported, the actor revealed the near-death experience, which happened when he was 49, in his memoir. At the time of the incident, Perry did not disclose the cause of the perforation to the media.

Privately, he said he was given a "2% chance to live" by his doctors. "I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that's called a Hail Mary. No one survives that," he said. 

Perry said he was  in a coma for two weeks and was in hospital for five months. He had to use a colostomy bag for nine months. 

When you buy through our links, Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more .

• Main content

Jennifer Aniston recalls her final exchange with Matthew Perry: "He was happy. He was healthy."

In a chat with reese witherspoon, aniston reflected on her relationship with her late friends costar.

It’s been about six weeks since the death of Matthew Perry, and those who knew and worked closely with him are gradually opening up about their memories with the late actor. The cast of Friends quickly put out a joint statement days after his death, while the individual actors followed with their own social media posts in the following weeks. Now, in a joint interview with her Morning Show costar Reese Witherspoon for Variety , Jennifer Aniston shared some of her final memories with her departed friend.

Related Content

“He was happy. He was healthy. He had quit smoking. He was getting in shape. He was happy—that’s all I know,” Aniston said. “I was literally texting with him that morning, funny Matty. He was not in pain. He wasn’t struggling. He was happy.”

Perry had been open about his struggles with drug abuse in the past and discussed them at length and his process of getting sober in his 2022 memoir , Friends, Lovers, And The Big Terrible Thing . “I want people to know he was really healthy, and getting healthy,” Aniston continued. “He was on a pursuit. He worked so hard. He really was dealt a tough one. I miss him dearly. We all do. Boy, he made us laugh really hard.”

Aniston also praised Perry’s style of delivering dialogue, presumably the Chandler Bing-isms à la “Could I be wearing any more clothes?” and the like. “I also have to say I think Matthew Perry’s dialect, his way of speaking, created a whole different world,” Aniston said. “We went with his lead, in a way. It just added something to our joy.”

Most of these comments echo what Aniston said last month in her Instagram tribute to Perry, which included a screenshot of a text message between the two of them. “Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain,” she wrote at the time. “I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying ‘could you BE any crazier?’”

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Jennifer Aniston says Matthew Perry was happy and healthy at the time of his death

Jennifer Aniston says her late "Friends" co-star Matthew Perry was on a successful "pursuit" to be a happier and healthier version of himself when he tragically died.

During a Q&A with her "Morning Show" co-star Reese Witherspoon published by Variety , Aniston said she and Perry, who died on Oct. 28 at age 54 , communicated on the morning of his death.

"He was happy. He was healthy. He had quit smoking. He was getting in shape. He was happy — that’s all I know," said Aniston. "I was literally texting with him that morning, funny Matty. He was not in pain. He wasn’t struggling. He was happy."

The Emmy winner said Perry, who had long struggled with addiction , had "worked so hard" to get to a better place in his life.

" I want people to know he was really healthy, and getting healthy. He was on a pursuit. He worked so hard. He really was dealt a tough one. I miss him dearly. We all do. Boy, he made us laugh really hard," she said.

As for the countless tributes from Perry's friends and colleagues in Hollywood — including tributes from all five of his former "Friends" co-stars  — Aniston called them "beautiful."

"I hope he can know that he was loved in a way he never thought he was," she added.

She also credited Perry for setting a comedic tone on "Friends" that she and the other actors followed.

"I also have to say I think Matthew Perry’s dialect, his way of speaking, created a whole different world. We went with his lead, in a way. It just added something to our joy," she explained.

Perry was found unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his home on Oct. 28. He was pronounced dead later the same day. A preliminary investigation found “no obvious signs of trauma” and no signs of foul play. Perry's official cause of death is  pending a coroner’s investigation .

On Nov. 15, Aniston honored Perry on Instagram when she shared a behind-the-scenes photo of the pair laughing on the "Friends" set. She also included a screenshot of a text message between the two and a video of one of the sitcom's scenes.

"Oh boy this one has cut deep... Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before," Aniston wrote in her caption.

She went on to say that she and the other "Friends" actors loved Perry "deeply."

"He was such a part of our DNA. We were always the 6 of us. This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be," she explained.

Aniston mentioned how much Perry "loved to make people laugh."

"As he said himself, if he didn’t hear the ‘laugh’ he thought he was going to die. His life literally depended on it. And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard," she wrote.

She added, "Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying 'could you BE any crazier?'"

Gina Vivinetto is a writer for TODAY.com.

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Jennifer Aniston Shares a Heartfelt Text Matthew Perry Sent Her Before His Death

The  Friends  star called Perry "our Matty" and said "we loved him deeply."

Jennifer Aniston has spoken out on the death of her  Friends  co-star Matthew Perry, who  died on October 28 at the age of 54. 

On November 15, Aniston shared a moving tribute post to Perry via Instagram . The post featured a sweet black and white photo of the two laughing together on set. Then, she offered a glimpse at a sweet text message Aniston and Perry exchanged before his passing. 

"Making you laugh just made my day. It made my day :)" Perry wrote after sending the same photo to Aniston. 

"Awww the first of THOUSANDS of times," Aniston responded. 

The last part of the post was a sentimental clip of a Season 10 episode of  Friends , where Chandler and Rachel exchanged earnest goodbyes before her character left for Paris. 

RELATED: Matt LeBlanc Shares a Moving Tribute Post for Matthew Perry: "You're Finally Free"

What Jennifer Aniston wrote about Matthew Perry

Aniston followed the post with a heartfelt message honoring Perry's talent and integrity. 

"Oh boy this one has cut deep," she said. "Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before. We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love. Being able to really SIT in this grief allows you to feel the moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone that deep. And we loved him deeply. He was such a part of our DNA."

RELATED:  Courteney Cox Reveals Her Favorite Monica-Chandler Moment in Tribute to Matthew Perry

She continued, "We were always the 6 of us. This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be. For Matty, he KNEW he loved to make people laugh. As he said himself, if he didn't hear the ‘laugh’ he thought he was going to die. His life literally depended on it. And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard. In the last couple weeks, I’ve been pouring over our texts to one another. Laughing and crying then laughing again. I’ll keep them forever and ever. I found one text that he sent me out of nowhere one day. It says it all...

Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying 'could you BE any crazier?' Rest little brother. You always made my day…" she wrote.

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What Was Matthew Perry's Relationship With Jennifer Aniston Really Like?

Throughout his time on "Friends," Matthew Perry maintained good relationships with all of his cast mates, but his bond with Jennifer Aniston was something truly special. The two actors met through a mutual friend three years before the highly successful TV series started filming, with Perry being immediately in awe of her. But while the two never became romantically involved, their real life friendship became something so much more significant for Perry, who dealt with substance abuse and addiction behind-the-scenes for decades. "She was the one that reached out the most," Perry told Diane Sawyer in 2022. "You know, I'm really grateful to her for that."

Tragically, M atthew Perry died on October 28, 2023 in an apparent drowning at his own home in Los Angeles. Although Aniston has yet to release a public comment on the death, it's clear from their history that the two "Friends" meant a lot to each other.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Perry had a crush on Aniston

Although their "Friends" characters were not love interests, behind-the-scenes everything was a different story — at least for Perry. According to The Independent , the "17 Again" actor developed romantic feelings for Aniston three years before they even sat down for the first "Friends" table read.

Perry recounted these feelings in his tell-all 2022 memoir "Friends, Lovers, and The Big Terrible Thing," describing it as an instant attraction, writing, "I was immediately taken by her (how could I not be?) and I liked her, and I got the sense she was intrigued too – maybe it was going to be something." Knowing that the two were both young actors getting started in the industry, Perry tried to win her over by telling her whenever he landed impressive roles. But when he eventually asked her on a date, Aniston declined and said she wasn't interested in being anything more than friends.

Although the rejection hurt, Perry forced himself to move on and keep things professional when he and Aniston were both cast on "Friends." He elaborated on this in a 2022 interview with the Sirius XM podcast "The Jess Cagle Show," sharing, "That first day we were able to sail right past the past and focus on the fact that we had both gotten the best job Hollywood had to offer." However, he later admitted that during those early seasons, there was some awkwardness, as he would scrutinize every one of their interactions together. However, this seemed to be more one-sided, and eventually, he was thankful just to have her friendship. 

Aniston was very supportive of Perry through his struggles with addiction

Perry has long been open about his substance abuse and how his "Friends" cast members played a pivotal role in helping him stay on track while the show was filming. However, he has made a point to highlight how Aniston was the "Friend" who went above and beyond to make sure he was okay. During a 2022 interview with Diane Sawyer , Perry pointed out that she was not afraid to be honest with him, recalling one moment where she knocked on his dressing room to tell him the cast could smell alcohol on him. The star alluded to that being a wake up call for him, pointing out that being confronted by Aniston was "devastating."

Despite the tough love, it was clear that Aniston was coming from a place of genuine care and concern. Back in 2004, the actor also appeared on ABC News Diane Sawyer, where she broke down in tears when talking about her co-star's addiction struggles and the casts' inability to help him. "We didn't know" she told the journalist. "We weren't equipped to deal with it. Nobody had ever dealt with that..."

In the years that followed "Friends," Perry experienced many ups and downs with his sobriety journey, including several stints in rehab and multiple hospitalizations. Even though Aniston did not comment publicly on these events, Perry assured Diane Sawyer in 2022 that his friend made an effort to stay in touch well after the show ended. Perry also reunited with Aniston and fellow "Friends" co-stars on the television special "Friends: The Reunion," where they shared several emotional moments together.

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Jennifer Aniston Gets Nostalgic About the "Magic" of 'Friends' and Her Co-Stars

"Everything was exciting."

From the groundbreaking Rachel haircut to the iconic phrase "we were on a break," few shows in television history have been quite as culturally impactful as Friends. And now, 30 years later, Jennifer Anniston has explained exactly why the show remains as important to her as it is does to her fans.

In a new interview celebrating People 's 50th anniversary , the actor recalled her first years as Rachel Green on the iconic NBC show while reminiscing about the cast's first photoshoot for People back in Season 1. "I think we were holding a sheet over us and I don't know what that meant," she said.

"Oh, everything was the most exciting thing on the planet," she gushed. "It was just magic. Nothing was not exciting. Everything was exciting."

Friends debuted 30 years ago in 1994 and catapulted a young, then-unknown Aniston to fame along with her five co-stars, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc.

"I do remember stepping onto the set and I don't know, it was just magic," she said of her first day on set. "It was the best."

She added, "The cast that I met, the show that I was able to be on that has touched so many people and continues to touch people — that's probably the most important."

Aniston and her castmates remained close for decades after the show ended in 2004 following 10 seasons. The gang have reunited numerous times over the years, including in 2021 for a televised reunion. Last year, when Perry, who starred as Chandler Bing, died, Aniston shared a touching tribute to her "little brother".

Three decades have passed since Aniston's Rachel Green days — and a lot has certainly changed. But it's clear that for her and her fans, Friends will always be magical.

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Jennifer Aniston Looks Back on the ‘Magic’ of  Friends  and What She’s Learned About Life

Revered for her style and grace, the Emmy winning actress is still captivating audiences on 'The Morning Show' while keeping it real with her fiercely loyal group of friends

Julie Jordan is an Editor at Large for PEOPLE. She has been with the brand for 25 years, writing cover stories and features and managing special issues including the Beautiful Issue and Sexiest Man Alive. 

There are three boxes in the garage of Jennifer Aniston’s Los Angeles home that she absolutely treasures.

“They’re filled with trinkets and journals and pictures. Just life,” the Emmy winning actress-producer, 55, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview for the magazine's 50th anniversary special issue. “If anybody wants to find out the truth of everything, they can just go in there.”

No doubt the memorabilia reflects the LolaVie founder ’s fiercely loyal group of friends and her beloved dogs . Not to mention her three decades in Hollywood—from her roles in movies like The Break-Up , Cake and Murder Mystery to her current portrayal of news anchor Alex Levy on Apple TV+’s The Morning Show .

But of course the most indelible are surely from the 10 seasons she starred as Rachel on the megahit comedy Friends , whose cast was first featured on PEOPLE's cover in 1995.

When did you realize you wanted to be an actress?   Probably when I was onstage for the first time when I was about 11. I was in a Nativity play, and I played the archangel. From that moment on I caught the bug. 

What advice would you go back and give yourself when you were starting out? That feeling when it wasn’t about “making it” but just working—maintain that.

What’s been the most important lesson you’ve learned along the way?   There’s so many. Patience, to be kind, to respect your fellow actors. And just tell the truth.

Art Streiber

Your style has become iconic. Do you still get nervous on the red carpet?   Always. Always. Right now, literally in this chair.

What was it like getting your Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2012?  It was a really special day. And I still have that dress. Like I do pretty much all my clothes from every decade.

Looking back on that first Friends feature in PEOPLE, do you remember how it felt—knowing it was all just beginning? Oh, everything was the most exciting thing on the planet. It was just magic. Nothing was not exciting. And it’s still exciting, but we’ve had more experiences. We’ve learned more lessons. There’s a little more behind us.

Photographer Art Streiber

Cinematographer   Eric Longden

Set Design Anthony A. Altomare/Buffalo Art Co.

Hair Chris McMillan /Solo Artists

Makeup Angela Levin

Stylist Ryan Hastings

Wardrobe Top & Skirt: Rick Owens, Shoes: Christian Louboutin, Necklace: Cartier

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Reese Witherspoon sets the record straight about her  Sweet Home Alabama  costar: 'That is not Matthew McConaughey'

Josh Lucas stars opposite Witherspoon in the 2002 romcom.

Reese Witherspoon is tired of people not recognizing her leading man from Sweet Home Alabama .

While revisiting her iconic roles with PEOPLE , the actress made sure to shut down a common misconception about her love interest in the 2002 romcom.

"All I want to say about Sweet Home Alabama is that is not Matthew McConaughey ," Witherspoon told the outlet. "I know a lot of people think it's Matthew. Matthew always says, 'Everybody comes up to me and says, 'Are you in Sweet Home?' And I'm not.’ And I’m like, well, I know.”

David Livingston/WireImage (2); Noam Galai/Getty

Sorry McConaughey-truthers, but Witherspoon actually stars in the film opposite Yellowstone actor Josh Lucas . Unfortunately for him, McConaughey isn’t the only one getting confronted with this case of mistaken identity. Lucas previously recounted a fan interaction that nearly became a fight when he was recognized for his role in the movie, while still being confused for McConaughey.

“The weirdest story I have is, I once almost got into a fight with a guy because I refused to sign his autograph because he was basically telling me, ‘Hey, Matthew McConaughey, I need you to sign this autograph,’” the American Psycho actor recalled. “I was like, ‘I'm not Matthew McConaughey.’” 

Though Lucas tried to explain the truth of his identity, the fan insisted otherwise and eventually concluded, “‘You’re an a--hole, McConaughey.’”

Identity mishaps aside, Lucas has said that he is game to return for a Sweet Home Alabama sequel — but only if Witherspoon can find the time.

“I would love to do the sequel,” Lucas said in 2021, during an appearance on SiriusXM's Pop Culture Spotlight. “The issue is Reese has got a book club. And I'm saying that like, laughingly, but Reese is, you know, I've heard like, 'Oh, you can talk to her about stuff five years from now, now.'... She's a mogul."

The romcom follows big shot New York fashion designed Melanie Smooter (Witherspoon) as she returns home to convince her ex Jake Perry (Lucas) to sign their divorce papers so she can get married to the city’s most eligible bachelor. But along the way, she finds herself falling back in love with the man she left behind.

Perhaps if Witherspoon finds the time, the love story of Melanie and Jake can continue. You can watch the actress revisit her other iconic roles in the video above.

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Matthew Perry's emotional final birthday gift to lifelong friend Lauren Graham revealed

The friends star and the gilmore girls star had been long-time friends.

Lauren Graham is getting candid about her relationship with the late Friends star Matthew Perry , who passed away last year.

Lauren and Matthew, rumored to have dated for a while, were longtime friends - and the Gilmore Girls star opened up about his final gift to her - "a pickleball set", she revealed during a Q&A for her Have I Told You This Already? book tour, which caused the audience to laugh.

"He's like really into tennis and pickleball, with a card that said: 'Be older'", she added, explaining that the gift was for her 56th birthday in March 2023.

Lauren clarified that "while he was not technically ever a boyfriend, he was an almost in my life," adding that he was "a friend and a constant."

"We would stretch for a year, then he would come back in my life, and he had just come back in my life last year", she explained, calling his death a "terrible loss".

"It’s still really hard to believe", she said of his death. 

Lauren added that she had been able to take solace in seeing him at the time as "he was so thrilled with how his book was received — and not just because it was a huge success, but because his life’s work kind of became, 'How can I give back? How can I talk about the struggles I had and hopefully help someone else?'"

The duo had been close, with the Friends  star calling Lauren "one of my favorite people" during a Q&A for the show The Odd Couple, adding: "We have great chemistry when working together and it’s fun to work with a close friend".

Matthew passed away October 28, 2023 in his Los Angeles home. He was found dead in his jacuzzi by his assistant. The Los Angeles County coroner attributed his death to the acute effects of ketamine.

Stars across the industry spoke out about the tragedy of his loss.

Zac Efron made a special mention of the actor as he unveiled his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: "I really also want to mention someone that’s not here today, And that’s Matthew Perry, who was so kind and generous with me when we worked on 17 Again ."

The High School Musical star added: "Collaborating with him and Burr Steers was so much fun and it really did propel me and motivate me in so many ways. It really pushed me into the next chapter of my career and for that, thank you so much Matthew. Thinking about you a lot today."

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Jennifer Aniston said of her Friends co-star: "He KNEW he loved to make people laugh. As he said himself, if he didn't hear the ‘laugh’ he thought he was going to die. His life literally depended on it." 

She added: "And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard. In the last couple weeks, I’ve been pouring over our texts to one another. Laughing and crying then laughing again."

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Jennifer Aniston Reflects on Her Early Days on ‘Friends’: “It Was Just Magic”

T his September 22, Friends will celebrate 30 years since its premiere in 1994, and one of its six stars, Jennifer Aniston, is reminiscing on the “magic” of her early days on the show.

Speaking to People , Aniston—who played Rachel Green for the show’s 10 seasons—reflected one of the first cast photoshoots she took part in with Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer: “I think we were holding a sheet over us and I don’t know what that meant,” she said. “Oh, everything was the most exciting thing on the planet. It was just magic. Nothing was not exciting. Everything was exciting.”

The show followed the lives of six twentysomethings living in New York City’s West Village. Though set in New York City, the show was shot at the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. “I do remember stepping onto the set and I don’t know, it was just magic,” Aniston said. “It was the best. The cast that I met, the show that I was able to be on that has touched so many people and continues to touch people—that’s probably the most important.”

Aniston shared that she learned “so many” life lessons during her early Friends days, and said she would tell her younger self “that feeling when it wasn’t about ‘making it’ but just working—maintain that,” she said, adding she’d also tell herself about “Patience, to be kind, to respect your fellow actors. And just tell the truth.”

After Perry’s shocking death last October, Friends has been top of mind for Aniston frequently as of late. She told The Wall Street Journal last year of being cast in the series “I had auditioned the day before. I really wanted it really badly. I just gave it my all and came home. I think it was that day, by 2 p.m. that same day, I got the job.”

Looking back deeper into 1994, Aniston revealed in an April 2023 interview with PopSugar that she regretted a “big splurge” she purchased with her first paycheck from Friends . She revealed that she purchased a “Mercedes that had a ‘For Sale’ sign on it,” and added “I drove it, and then drove it again. And it never drove again. It was a lemon.”

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The Crown , The Sixth Sense and The Father actress Olivia Williams has opened up about the “harrowing” time she spent on the set of Friends back in 1998. Williams appeared as a bridesmaid in the two-part season 4 finale of the iconic series, “The One with Ross’ Wedding.”

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Williams also told the newspaper, “ Friends was a brand, and you had to fit the brand. You go into hair and make-up and you’re told, ‘There’s a look here, this is what we do.’ And that involved, essentially, plucking off all of your eyebrows.” She added that she begged, “Please don’t take my eyebrows off, I might need them in another job… That’s the sense in which it was harrowing.”

Williams recently appeared in sci-fi romance Another End which world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February. She is next up in Max series Dune: The Prophecy which is set within the mystical world of Dune , and 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides. It follows the Harkonnen Sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect known as the Bene Gesserit. Williams will play Tula Harkonnen. 

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