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‘Friends’ Star Courteney Cox Says Late Costar Matthew Perry Still ‘Visits’ Her ‘a Lot’
Courteney Cox reflected on late Friends costar Matthew Perry nearly seven months after his death, and revealed that his spirit still “visits” her.
“You know, he’s just so funny. He has genuinely a huge heart, obviously struggled,” Courteney, 59, said during the Sunday, May 19, episode of CBS Sunday Morning while discussing the 20th anniversary of the Friends finale. “I’m so thankful I got to work so closely with him for so many years. He visits me a lot, if we believe in that.”
She then explained that she believes her late family and friends have reappeared to help guide her following their deaths. “You know, I talk to my mom, my dad, Matthew — I feel like there are a lotta people that, I think, guide us,” the Cougar Town actress said. “I do sense, yeah, I sense Matthew’s around for sure.”
Courteney and Matthew appeared on the beloved sitcom as Monica Gellar and Chandler Bing. While their characters initially started as friends, they eventually became one of the show’s favorite couples.
Matthew died on October 28, 2023, at the age of 54 from acute effects of ketamine, which was confirmed in his December 2023 autopsy.
Two days after his shocking death, Courteney and her former costars Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc released a joint statement to address the news.
“We are all so utterly devastated,” the group wrote at the time. “We were more than just cast mates. We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve.”
Meanwhile, the stars also penned personal tributes to Matthew on social media.
“I am so grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day,” Courteney captioned an Instagram post on November 14, which was accompanied by a clip of their character’s in the season 4 episode “The One with Ross’s Wedding.” “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.”
She added that “Chandler and Monica were supposed to have a one night fling in London.” However, “the audience’s reaction” to the episode inspired the writers to make it the “beginning of their love story.”
“In this scene, before we started rolling, he whispered a funny line for me to say,” Courteney recalled about filming the episode. “He often did things like that. He was funny and he was kind.”
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