Celebrity
Jennifer Aniston Pays Tribute To Friends Co-Star Matthew Perry
In 2022, Perry said that Aniston kept in touch with him most consistently through his sobriety journey.
Over two weeks after Matthew Perry died at 54, his Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston has spoken out. On Instagram, the actor shared an emotional tribute to her late friend on Nov. 15, both on and off-screen, posting a throwback photo from the Friends set and their sweet texts about that moment.
“Oh boy this one has cut deep,” she began her note. “Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before.”
Aniston’s Tribute To Perry
In her tribute, Aniston said “being able to really SIT” in her grief has reminded her of how grateful she is to have “loved someone that deep.” “And we loved him deeply,” she said of her Friends castmates. “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 recalled how Perry loved to make people laugh, especially his co-stars. “As he said himself, if he didn’t hear the ‘laugh’ he thought he was going to die,” she wrote. “His life literally depended on it. And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard.”
She went on to explain that she’s been looking over her texts with Perry for the past several years. “Laughing and crying then laughing again,” she wrote. “I’ll keep them forever and ever. I found one text that he sent me out of nowhere one day. It says it all.”
In the text she shared, Perry sent a photo of them giggling on the Friends set. “Making you laugh just made my day,” he wrote, to which she responded, “Awww the first of THOUSANDS of times.”
Aniston ended her note with an emotional Friends reference. “Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain,” she wrote. “I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying ‘could you BE any crazier?’ Rest little brother. You always made my day…”
Perry & Aniston’s Friendship
Perry previously spoke about how the Friends cast helped him through his struggles with substance use. But in a 2022 interview, he revealed that Aniston was the first person to confront him as his drinking became evident, then stayed in touch most consistently.
“She was the one that reached out the most,” he said. “You know, I’m really grateful to her for that.”
After his death, Aniston issued a brief joint statement with the rest of the Friends cast — Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer — saying they were “utterly devastated” and asking for more time to process the loss of Perry.
“We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” nthey wrote in a statement to PEOPLE. “There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss. In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”
If you or someone you know is seeking help for substance use, call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
