15 November 2023 , 15:11
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Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer have paid heartbreaking tributes to their Friends co-star Matthew Perry.
Rachel Green star Jennifer admitted his death has "cut deep" while Ross Geller star David thanked Perry for "ten incredible years of laughter and creativity". Matthew died at the age of 54 after reportedly being found in his hot tub. He had attended a pickleball session a few hours before, and his assistant had gone out soon after to run an errand for him. When they returned home, they noticed Matthew unresponsive and called for help but the actor was tragically pronounced dead by medical professionals.
In a tribute to her co-star, Jennifer took to Instagram wrote: "Oh boy 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. We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love.
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Jennifer as Rachel and Matthew as Chandler (NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
The star paid a heartbreaking tribute to her friend (WireImage)"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. 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."
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Jennifer continued: "For Matty, he KNEW he loved to make people laugh. As he said himself, if he didn't hear the ‘laugh’ he thought he was going to die. His life literally depended on it. And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard.
"In the last couple weeks, I’ve been pouring over our texts to one another. Laughing and crying then laughing again. I’ll keep them forever and ever. I found one text that he sent me out of nowhere one day. It says it all. (See the second slide…)
"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?” Rest little brother. You always made my day…"
Jennifer and Matthew had been friends for years, where she played Rachel Green and he played Chandler Bing on the US sitcom show. The group's bond goes way back, having made 10 series of the hit show together.
Matthew had previously spoken of how Jennifer had continued to reach out to him after the filming wrapped on Friends. By his own admission, filming the series had been difficult for him as he battled his addictions.
Speaking in October 2022, he shared: "She was the one that reached out the most. You know, I'm really grateful to her for that." The interviewer also mentioned that Jennifer had been the one who told him they knew he was drinking. He added: "Yeah, imagine how scary a moment that was," before adding of how he struggled with his addiction, "I should have been the toast of the town, but I was in a dark room meeting with nothing but drug dealers and completely alone."
David Schwimmer also paid tribute to Matthew on Instagram as he shared a picture of the two of them on set. In the caption, he wrote: "Matty, Thank you for ten incredible years of laughter and creativity.
"I will never forget your impeccable comic timing and delivery. You could take a straight line of dialogue and bend it to your will, resulting in something so entirely original and unexpectedly funny it still astonishes.
"And you had heart. Which you were generous with, and shared with us, so we could create a family out of six strangers. This photo is from one of my favorite moments with you. Now it makes me smile and grieve at the same time."
David finished his tribute writing: "I imagine you up there, somewhere, in the same white suit, hands in your pockets, looking around— 'Could there BE any more clouds?'"
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Matt LeBlanc, who starred as Joey in Friends, said Matthew is "finally free" as he paid tribute to his pal. Matt took to Instagram to share the heartfelt post. He wrote: "Matthew. It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye. The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life."
He continued: "It was an honor to share the stage with you and to call you my friend. I will always smile when I think of you and I’ll never forget you. Never. Spread your wings and fly brother you’re finally free. Much love. And I guess you’re keeping the 20 bucks you owe me."
Courteney Cox, who played Matthew's on-screen wife Monica Geller, also shared a heartbreaking tribute and explained Matthew's key role in changing a now iconic Friends scene. She wrote: "I am so grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day. When you work with someone as closely as I did with Matthew, there are thousands of moments I wish I could share. For now here’s one of my favorites.
"To give a little backstory, Chandler and Monica were supposed to have a one night fling in London. But because of the audience’s reaction, it became the beginning of their love story. In this scene, before we started rolling, he whispered a funny line for me to say. He often did things like that. He was funny and he was kind."
Co-star Lisa Kudrow thanked Matthew for his "open heart" and for making her laugh her own emotional tribute to the Friends star.
"Shot the pilot, Friends Like Us, got picked up then immediately, we were at the NBC Upfronts. Then… You suggested we play poker AND made it so much fun while we initially bonded. Thank you for that," she wrote on the heartfelt post on Instagram.
"Thank you for making me laugh so hard at something you said, that my muscles ached, and tears poured down my face EVERY DAY. Thank you for your open heart in a six way relationship that required compromise. And a lot of 'talking.' Thank you for showing up at work when you weren’t well and then, being completely brilliant.
"Thank you for making me laugh so hard at something you said, that my muscles ached, and tears poured down my face EVERY DAY. Thank you for your open heart in a six way relationship that required compromise. And a lot of 'talking.' Thank you for showing up at work when you weren’t well and then, being completely brilliant," she concluded.
The Friends cast have shared tributes to Matthew (NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
They all shared a very close bond (Getty Images)Matthew was was found dead in his Los Angeles home on October 28 after reportedly drowning in his hot tub. At the time, law enforcement sources said that no drugs were discovered at the scene and there is no indication of foul play. His death certificate still indicates the cause of death as being inconclusive amid further tests.
In the years before Matthew's tragic passing, he had been vocal about his struggles with opioid addiction. He suffered from an opioid overdose several years ago, which led to him needing to go to hospital. landed him in the hospital. After his colon burst, his loved ones were told he would only have a 2% chance of survival and after he thankfully pulled through, he went through an extensive recovery process that included surgeries and rehabilitation centre visits.
Matthew said he felt his co-stars may be "surprised" by how close he came to dying in the height of his addiction. "I think they'll be surprised at how bad it got at certain times and how close to dying I came," he said. "I say in the book that if I did die, it would shock people, but it wouldn't surprise anybody. That's a very scary thing to be living with. My hope is that people will relate to it, and know that this disease attacks everybody. It doesn't matter if you're successful or not successful, the disease doesn't care."
*Frank offers confidential advice about drugs and addiction (email frank@talktofrank.com, message 82111 or call 0300 123 6600) or the NHS has information about getting help.
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