Jennifer Aniston has revealed that she had been grieving for her ‘Friends’ co-star Matthew Perry “for a long time” before his death in 2023 from a drug overdose.
The 56-year-old actress, who played Rachel Green alongside Perry’s Chandler Bing in the beloved sitcom from September 1994 to May 2004, remained close to him for years after the series ended.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Aniston reflected on her efforts to help Perry during his long struggle with addiction. “We did everything we could, when we could,” she said. “But it almost felt like we’d been mourning Matthew for a long time because his battle with that disease was such a hard one for him to fight.”
Describing her grief following his death, she added: “As hard as it was for all of us, and for the fans, there’s a part of me that thinks this is better. I’m glad he’s out of that pain.”
Five people, including two doctors and a drug dealer known as the ‘ketamine queen’, have been charged in connection with Perry’s overdose, following an official investigation.
Perry had spoken openly about his decades-long battle with addiction, which saw him enter rehab 15 times and survive several near-death experiences.
In his candid 2022 memoir, ‘Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing’, he noted that viewers of Friends could gauge his substance use “from season to season” by observing his appearance: “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.”
Following his death, the main cast of Friends released a joint statement to People, expressing that they were “utterly devastated”: “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.”