Jennifer Aniston says ‘Friends’ cast was ‘mourning’ Matthew Perry before his death

Jennifer Aniston is still grappling with Matthew Perry’s death almost two years later. 

In a recent profile for Vanity Fair, the Morning Show star recalled the last time she and Perry reunited with their costars, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer for the show’s 2021 special Friends: The Reunion.

Unbeknownst to the six stars, the reunion would serve as a “final curtain call” for their group. Perry died on Oct. 28, 2023, from the acute effects of ketamine, with drowning, coronary artery disease, and buprenorphine effects listed as contributing factors. He was 54.

“We did everything we could when we could,” Aniston told the outlet of her and her costars’ attempts to help the actor with his longtime struggle with addiction. “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.”

Perry openly discussed his decades-long battle with drug and alcohol addiction, as well as his friends’ efforts to help him, in his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. He became an outspoken substance abuse treatment advocate during his career. In 2013, he turned his former Malibu, Calif., home into a sober living facility called the Perry House, which ran for two years. He was regularly candid about his addiction struggles and difficult journey to sobriety.

In his memoir, Perry recalled how Aniston was the first costar to confront him about his troubles despite him never having been drunk on set.

Perry called the confrontation a “scary” moment during an interview with Diane Sawyer in 2022. He told Sawyer that Aniston remained in close contact with him during those dark times. “She was the one that reached out the most,” Perry said. “You know, I’m really grateful to her for that.”

Looking back on Perry’s struggles, Aniston shared told Vanity Fair, “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.

News of Perry’s sudden death sent shockwaves across Hollywood. His tight-knit Friends costars issued a joint statement about the “unfathomable loss” before sharing their own homages. In her own tribute, Aniston said the loss of her “little brother” Perry 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 on social media at the time. “We all experience loss at some point in our lives. 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.”

Added Aniston, “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?'”

Speaking with Variety in December 2023 in her first interview following Perry’s death, an emotional Aniston said she hopes her late costar is remembered “as he said he’d love to be remembered” — someone who lived well and loved to help others. (The actor wrote candidly about his addiction struggles in his 2022 memoir, writing in an excerpt, “When I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I did to try to help other people.”)

“I want people to know he was really healthy, and getting healthy,” said Aniston. “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.”

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Perry’s personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa and an alleged drug dealer known as “the Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood, Jasveen Sangha, were among the five people charged last August for distributing ketamine to Perry during the final weeks of his life. All but Sangha have agreed to plead guilty in exchange for their cooperation.