Jennifer Aniston has spoken about the most tragic part of Matthew Perry’s death, two years on from when he was found in his Los Angeles home after a long battle with addiction
Jennifer Aniston has opened up about the heartbreak of losing her Friends co-star and long time friend Matthew Perry, and the detail she finds the mist tragic in the wake of his death.
The 55-year-old actress, famed for her role as Rachel Green on Friends, spoke about Chandler Bing actor Matthew’s death and the impact it still has on her and the rest of the Friends cast. Matthew died two years ago in October 2023, but his shocking death still has an impact on his friends, co-stars and fans today.
“It was so alarming and shocking, yet not shocking,” Jennifer said. “We always said, ‘I hope I never get that phone call.’”
She added in her interview with Elle magazine: “We miss him. He’s missed. He was a brilliant human being and an extraordinary talent, loved deeply, and wanted happiness more than anything. It makes me sad that he never really achieved that, because he deserved it.”
Elsewhere in her interview, Jennifer also shared some thoughts on her Friends character, Rachel Green, admitting she has a lot of similarities to her but came from very different beginnings. When asked which role she thinks represents her the most, she said: “I would probably say Rachel, except my family had no money growing up, and she did.”
Matthew, who famously played Chandler Bing on the hit sitcom, was found dead at his Los Angeles home, aged 54. The actor’s cause of death was ruled as the “acute effects of ketamine” and subsequent drowning in his hot tub. Jennifer’s comments come after other interviews where she has spoken openly about the pain of losing Matthew and watching him struggle with addiction even before his death.
She told Vanity Fair: “We [the cast of Friends] did everything we could when we could. 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. 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 that he’s out of pain.”
Jennifer and Matthew’s friendship stretched back decades, and actually started years before Friends started filming. In his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Matthew revealed he had harboured a crush on his co-star early on, and even asked her out before the show began.
Although she turned him down, the two remained close. Matthew often credited Jennifer for being the one who “reached out the most” during his darkest days.
At the height of his substance abuse, Jennifer confronted him on set, telling him, “We know you’re drinking.” Matthew later told Diane Sawyer that it was a “scary moment,” but one that ultimately helped him realise he needed help.
“I’m really grateful to her for that,” he added. Since Matthew’s death, Jennifer has continued to speak warmly about her late co-star. In a Variety interview, she shared that their final exchange was a light-hearted one.
She explained: “He was happy. He was healthy. He had quit smoking. He was getting in shape. He was happy — that’s all I know. I was literally texting with him that morning. Funny Matty. He was not in pain. He wasn’t struggling.”
Read the full story Jennifer Aniston Has No Regrets by Claire Stern Milch on elle.com
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