In a new interview for ‘Vanity Fair’, Jennifer Aniston opened up about the profound loss of her friend and ‘Friends’ co-star, Matthew Perry, who passed away at the age of 54 in October 2023.
Perry, who became a household name playing the sarcastic and lovable Chandler Bing on the iconic sitcom, struggled with addiction for much of his life, something he was candid about throughout his career.
Aniston, who portrayed Rachel Green alongside Perry’s Chandler, admitted that the ‘Friends’ cast had been “mourning” Perry long before his death. She explained that his battle with substance abuse was something they had all been painfully aware of, both during the ‘Friends’ years and after.
“We did everything we could when we could,” Aniston shared with ‘Vanity Fair’. “But it almost felt like we’d been mourning Matthew for a long time because his battle with that disease was a really hard one for him to fight.”
Jennifer Aniston on Matthew Perry:
Despite the struggles, Aniston expressed a sense of relief that Perry was finally free from his pain. “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,” she added.
This reflection came after Perry’s passing from what was reported as the “acute effects” of ketamine, a substance he had battled with for years.
In the wake of his death, Aniston shared an emotional tribute to her friend. She posted a text message Perry once sent her, along with a photo of the two of them laughing together on set. “Making you laugh just made my day. It made my day,” Perry had written.
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On social media, Aniston wrote a statement mourning Perry’s loss. “Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before,” she wrote. “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 went on to describe how important laughter was to Perry. She said, “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.”
Aniston also spoke with ‘Variety’, revealing that she had texted Perry on the very day he passed away.
“He was happy, he was healthy. He had quit smoking, and was getting in shape. That’s all I know… He was not in pain, he wasn’t struggling,” Aniston said. She reassured fans and friends that Perry had been on a positive path at the time of his passing.