Actor Matthew Perry has delved into some of the worst times of his life on highly awaited memoir Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing, which was released on November 1, 2022.
The 53-year-old sitcom star, who is famous for his portrayal of Chandler Bing on Friends between 1994-2004, has shared details of his dating life as well as his lifelong struggle with addiction in his book.
From secretly struggling with not just addiction but associated health issues at the height of his fame, to being in a coma for two weeks, here are some of the biggest revelations from his memoir.
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Jennifer Aniston confronted him about his alcoholism
(Image: NBC via Getty Images)
Matthew revealed that at the height of his alcohol addiction, Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston confronted him about his drinking.
He recalls Rachel star Aniston telling him “I know you’re drinking,” adding that it was “devastating” to be confronted.
He wrote: “And I was confused. ‘How can you tell?’ I said. I never worked drunk. ‘I’ve been trying to hide it.’ We can smell it,’ she said, in a kind of weird but loving way, and the plural ‘we’ hit me like a sledgehammer.”
Pancreatitis while filming Friends
In 2000, while Friends was still ongoing, Perry – who was 30 at the time – was hospitalised for a month due to pancreatitis, caused by heavy alcohol consumption.
Perry was introduced to Dilaudid, an opioid, during his recovery. He recalled: “My new favourite drug. I would have stayed in that hospital for a hundred days if they kept administering it.”
Relationship with Julia Roberts
(Image: Getty Images)
Matthew dated Julia Roberts for six months, before splitting up in April 1996
The relationship between the pair, who met before Roberts’ guest appearance on season two of Friends, is explored in the book.
Perry says they would send “hundreds” of faxes and have five-hour phone calls, before meeting in person and starting a relationship.
He reflected on their split, writing: “Dating Julia Roberts had been too much for me. I had been constantly certain that she was going to break up with me. So instead of facing the inevitable agony of losing her, I broke up with the beautiful and brilliant Julia Roberts.”
The memoir sees Perry delve into many of his past relationships, with the actor revealing he’d broken up with many “wonderful women” because he was “deathly afraid that they will find out that I’m not enough… and they’ll break up with me.”
Near-death experiences
Matthew revealed that he “nearly died” four years ago in 2018 after his colon burst due to opioid overuse,
He wrote that he spent two weeks in a coma, five months in a hospital, and nine months using a colostomy bag, with his family being told he only had a “two percent” chance of living.
A few years later, he recalled that he came close to death again after his heart stopped beating for five minutes.
Perry, who was due to have surgery while in rehab in Switzerland at the time, lied to his doctors about having severe stomach pain in order to get prescribed hydrocodone, an opioid used to treat pain and as a cough suppressant.
He took hydrocodone the night before his surgery, which in combination with the anaesthetic propofol during the procedure caused his heart to stop.
Perry, who broke eight of his ribs during CPR, said: “It wasn’t a heart attack – I didn’t flatline – but nothing had been beating.”
Bizarre comments about Keanu Reeves
While most of his memoir has been well-received, his passive-aggressive comments directed at Keanu Reeves throughout the book had many people confused as Perry seemed to repeatedly question why other actors died while Reeves was still alive.
He wrote: “Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?”
He also recalled that he “punched a hole through a wall” after learning former co-star Chris Farley had died of a drug overdose, once again commenting: “Keanu Reeves walks among us.”
However, Perry apologised for the comments in a statement: “I’m actually a big fan of Keanu. I just chose a random name, my mistake. I apologise. I should have used my own name instead.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
