Jennifer Aniston reveals ‘Friends' cast was already ‘mourning' Matthew Perry before his death: ‘This is better'

New York Post

5 hours ago

Jennifer Aniston is opening up about Matthew Perry's tragic death.
The actress, 56, shared in a new interview that the 'Friends' cast was already 'mourning' their co-star before he died in Oct. 2023 from a ketamine overdose.
'We did everything we could when we could,' Aniston told Vanity Fair in an interview published Monday. '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.'
10 Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry at the 1995 NBC Fall Preview event in New York City.
Getty Images
10 The cast of 'Friends.'
'As hard as it was for all of us and for the fans, there's a part of me that thinks this is better,' Aniston admitted. 'I'm glad he's out of that pain.'
Perry, who starred in 'Friends' alongside Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer, battled addiction for decades before his death at age 54.
10 Jennifer Aniston on the cover of Vanity Fair.
Norman Jean Roy / Vanity Fair
10 Jennifer Aniston for Vanity Fair.
Norman Jean Roy / Vanity Fair
10 Jennifer Aniston for Vanity Fair.
Norman Jean Roy / Vanity Fair
In his 2022 memoir, 'Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,' Perry wrote that he attended about 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, went to rehab 15 times and estimated that he spent around $9 million trying to get sober.
Over the years, Perry's co-stars opened up about how they tried to help him beat his addiction.
'Hard doesn't even begin to describe it,' Kudrow, 62, told the New York Times in 2002. 'When Matthew was sick, it was not fun. We were just hopelessly standing on the sidelines. We were hurting a lot.'
10 The 'Friends' cast in 1999.
LeBlac, 58, told People that same year: 'I tried to talk to him. There wasn't a response. It's such a personal struggle; they need to bottom out on their own.'
In his memoir, Perry recalled that Aniston confronted him about his alcohol and drug problems on the 'Friends' set.
10 Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry at the 'Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story' screening in 1995.
Ron Davis
''I know I'm drinking too much,' I said, 'but I don't exactly know what to do about it,'' Perry wrote.
After Perry's death, the 'Friends' cast said in a joint statement they were 'utterly devastated' by the 'unfathomable loss.'
In her own own tribute, Aniston called Perry her 'brother.'
10 Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry at NBC's 7th anniversary live broadcast event in 2002.
StarPix/Gamma
'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,' the 'Morning Show' actress wrote in Nov. 2023.
'We were always the 6 of us,' she added. 'This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be.'
Aniston, who attended Perry's funeral with the rest of her co-stars, later revealed to Variety that she texted Perry the morning of his death.
10 Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston during Lili Claire Foundation's 5th Annual 'Helping Kids Fly Higher' Benefit.
FilmMagic
'He was happy. He was healthy. He had quit smoking. He was getting in shape. He was happy — that's all I know,' she said through tears.
'He was not in pain. He wasn't struggling,' Aniston stated. 'He was happy.'
10 Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox Arquette, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry.
Perry was found dead in his hot tub at his Pacific Palisades, Calif. home on Oct. 28, 2023.
Authorities have arrested five people in relation to his death, including his longtime assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who has been accused of administering the ketamine shots that allegedly killed Perry.