Jennifer Aniston made a rare admission about her late “Friends” co-star, Matthew Perry.
The actress explained in a Vanity Fair interview, published Monday, that she and fellow cast members — including Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc — “did everything [they] could” for Perry during his addiction struggles.
“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,” Aniston, 56, noted.
In a heartbreaking confession, the Golden Globe winner added, “As hard as it was for all of us and for the fans, there’s a part of me that thinks this is better.”
Aniston clarified that she is “glad” Perry, who died in October 2023 at age 54, is “out of that pain.”
When the actor passed from a ketamine overdose, Aniston penned a touching tribute via Instagram.
“Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain,” the “Morning Show” star wrote at the time, in part. “I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying ‘could you BE any crazier?’”
In her first interview following Perry’s shock death, Aniston spoke about how “happy” and “healthy” her “funny” pal had been in his final days — even revealing they had been texting that morning.
“He was not in pain. He wasn’t struggling,” she recalled in December 2023. “He was on a pursuit. He worked so hard.”
In August 2024, five individuals were charged with Perry’s death, including two doctors who recently pleaded guilty to distributing ketamine.
The “Odd Couple” alum had long battled addiction, which he referred to in his 2022 memoir title as the “Big Terrible Thing.”
Perry estimated that he had spent “$9 million or something [on] trying to get sober” over the years.
While describing his efforts in his book, Perry wrote, “I feel better because it’s out. It’s out on a piece of paper. The ‘why’ I’m still alive is definitely in the area of helping people.”
The Emmy nominee once praised Aniston as the friend who “reached out [to him] the most” during his struggles.
He gushed to Diane Sawyer in 2022 about being “really grateful” for her help over the years.
