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‘Friends’ Alum Jennifer Aniston Pays Tribute Matthew Perry After His Death: ‘This One Cut Deep’
Friends alum Jennifer Aniston has shared an emotional tribute to costar Matthew Perry more than two weeks after his death on October 28 at the age of 54.
“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,” Jennifer, 54, wrote in a November 15 Instagram post. “We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love. 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.”
She continued, “This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be. 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.”
She also included a text message that the actor had sent her where he wrote, “Making you laugh just made my day,” along with a photo of them cracking up. To conclude her message, Jen wrote, “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 say, ‘Could you BE any crazier?’ Rest little brother. You always made my day.”
For Jen, Matthew’s death was her second major personal loss within a year. Her beloved father, soap opera veteran John Aniston, died on November 11, 2022, at the age of 89.
The Morning Show star’s statement came on the heels of her fellow cast mates individually breaking their silence about Matthew’s death.
Matt LeBlanc, who played Matthew’s onscreen best friend and roommate, was the first to mourn the loss of his pal in a Tuesday, November 14, Instagram post next to a series of photos from some of their most memorable scenes together.
“Matthew. It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye. The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life,” Matt, 56, began.
“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,” he continued, adding, “Spread your wings and fly brother you’re finally free. Much love.”
Two hours later, Courteney Cox, who played Matthew’s onscreen wife, mourned the actor, writing, “I am so grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day.”
The Scream star, 59, then recalled how her character, Monica Geller, and Matthew’s Chandler Bing were initially never meant to be a couple and shared a video clip of the scene from the season 4 episode “The One with Ross’s Wedding,” where the two were revealed to have slept together for the first time.
“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,” Courteney began.
“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,” she explained.
“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,” Courteney added.
Matthew was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his Pacific Palisades home by an assistant. While paramedics were called, he was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy was performed on October 29, but his cause of death has been listed as “deferred” pending further tests, including a toxicology screening.
The following day, the five lead Friends costars shared a joint statement about Matthew’s passing.
“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” an October 30 statement signed by Courteney, Jennifer, Matt, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer read.
It continued, “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.”
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