Jennifer Aniston says ‘Friends’ cast had ‘been mourning’ Matthew Perry before his death

Jennifer Aniston is opening up about her friendship with the late Matthew Perry.

The actress said in a recent Vanity Fair cover story that she and the Friends cast had been mourning Perry long before he died from the acute effects of ketamine at age 54 in October 2023.

“We did everything we could when we could,” Aniston said. “But it almost felt like we’d been mourning Matthew for a long time because his battle with that disease was a really hard one for him to fight. As hard as it was for all of us and for the fans, there’s a part of me that thinks this is better. I’m glad he’s out of that pain.”

Aniston starred as Rachel Green on Friends while Perry portrayed Chandler Bing on the popular NBC sitcom.

The actress shared a tribute to Perry on Instagram shortly after his death. It included a photo of the pair laughing on the Friends set and a screenshot of a text message Perry had sent her of the same photo.

“Making you laugh just made my day. It made my day,” Perry’s text to Aniston read.

In her tribute caption, Aniston wrote that she loves Perry and still talks to him every day.

“Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain,” Aniston wrote. “I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying ‘could you BE any crazier?'”