Jennifer Aniston had spoken to Matthew Perry on the day he died.
The 54-year-old actress played Rachel Green in the NBC sitcom ‘Friends’ alongside Matthew as Chandler Bing but he was found dead in October aged 54 in an apparent drowning and she has now recalled that her former co-star – who had struggled with addiction for a number of years – had been texting her in the hours before he passed away and he seemed “happy” to her.
She told Variety: “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. He was happy.”
The ‘Morning Show’ star went on to add that she knew others who were aware of how “healthy” he was during the time leading up to his death wants his fans to know how well he was doing at the time of the tragedy,
She said: “I want people to know he was really healthy, and getting healthy. 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.”
Jennifer attended Matthew’s funeral with her fellow cast members Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, and Lisa Kudrow but was said to have “kept to herself” throughout the sombre event.
Another insider explained that Jennifer had really believed that his “worst days” were in the past and his passing as come as a “bitter body blow” to her.
The source said: “Nobody shed more tears for Matthew during the darkest points of his struggles with addiction than Jennifer. There was speculation at the time of the 2021 Friends reunion that Matthew wouldn’t be a part of it because his demons had gotten the better of him.
“But Jennifer absolutely wouldn’t have done it without him. He put in the work and made it a success even though he seemed frail. But Jennifer genuinely thought his worst days were behind him. So his death just two years later has come as a bitter body blow to her.”