Friends actress Jennifer Aniston has said it felt like she had been mourning her co-star Matthew Perry “for a long time” before his death due to his struggles with addiction.
Perry, who was one of the most familiar faces on television, died aged 54 from the “acute effects of ketamine” in October 2023, according to a post-mortem examination.
While Perry’s on-screen character Chandler Bing brought joy to many, he had spoken candidly about his struggle with drug and alcohol addiction when filming the series.
Speaking about his addiction, Aniston told US magazine Vanity Fair: “We did everything we could when we could.
“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.”
The actress played Rachel Green in the hit US sitcom – which also starred Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc.
Aniston said: “What helped raise me is something I got to put into the world and help other people. If (Friends) was the only thing on my resume, I would be very happy and blessed.”
A post-mortem report summary said Perry was receiving “ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety”, with his last known treatment one-and-a-half weeks prior to his death.
The medical examiner ruled that “the ketamine in his system at death could not be from that infusion therapy”, but was not able to specify the “exact method of intake” in Perry’s case.
A woman charged with selling Perry the dose of ketamine that killed him is headed for a September trial.
Jasveen Sangha, who prosecutors say was known to her customers as the Ketamine Queen, is charged with five counts of ketamine distribution, including one count of distribution resulting in death.
The Morning Show star Aniston also spoke to the magazine about the media frenzy she faced in the 2000s, a time when her high-profile relationship with Brad Pitt hit the headlines, particularly amid their divorce in 2005.
Aniston said: “It was such juicy reading for people. If they didn’t have their soap operas, they had their tabloids.
“It’s a shame that it had to happen, but it happened. And boy did I take it personally.”
She added: “I didn’t have a strong enough constitution to not get affected by it. We’re human beings, even though some people don’t want to believe we are.
“They think, You signed up for it, so you take it. But we really didn’t sign up for that.”
A man was recently charged with stalking Aniston and crashing his car through the front gate of her home, but a judge ruled he was mentally incompetent to stand trial.
Referencing this, Aniston said: “People are out of their minds. Who wants to put that energy out there.”
She added that her security team is “not glamorous in any way. It’s a necessity”.