2 weeks Ago By Georgie Kearney
Friends star Jennifer Aniston has publicly marked the one-year-anniversary of co-star Matthew Perry ’s death. The 54-year-old Perry was found dead in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home in October 2023, with an autopsy revealing he had died because of the “acute effects of ketamine” . WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Matthew Perry gives advice for people struggling with addiction.
In a simple post to Instagram , she wrote: “1 year” alongside heart and dove emojis. She also tagged the Matthew Perry Foundation, the non-profit established in his name to help people struggling with addiction. Aniston also shared three throwback photos from their time on Friends, along with a solo shot of Perry.
The marking of the anniversary follows an emotional TV interview Perry’s family gave to US Today during which they opened up about their lives after his death and how they were dealing with it. Speaking from Canada, where Perry grew up, his mother Suzanne Morrison, stepfather Keith Morrison and his younger sisters, Caitlin Morrison, Madeline Morrison and Emily Morrison all spoke of the loss. “Even now, something funny will happen — I’ll see something funny or something ridiculous on the news, l go to call him,” Suzanne said.
“I have more freedom of a relationship with him now than I ever did. And then it hits me, then hits me so hard that he’s not there.” “We go to the cemetery,” Keith shared, “(and Suzanne will) sit there and have a chat with him for awhile.
” Younger sister Madeline said she misses “everything” about her brother adding that Perry was “always there” for her. “It was always like a jubilant thing when he would come over,” Caitlin, who is the executive director of the Matthew Perry Foundation , said. His sister Emily said fought back tears as she added: “He was grumpy all the time, but he was funny all the time.
When the people that he loved succeeded or they were scared, he would do anything for you.” “Really all he ever wanted was to love and be loved. “He struggled so much to feel peace and I think he got to a place where he did.
” Perry spent much of his childhood in Canada when his parents divorced and his mother married Morrison, a Canadian journalist. Perry became a big brother to half-siblings Caitlin, Emily, Will and Madeline when his mother had children with Morrison. Perry’s mother, Suzanne, is also involved with the Matthew Perry Foundation, which aims to honour the star’s legacy by continuing his commitment to helping others through recovery.
Perry spent the latter part of his life advocating for awareness around addiction and challenging the stigma associated with it. He released a memoir called Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing in which he addressed his addiction issues. He said it was possible for people to change and put addiction behind them.
Perry had long struggled with an addiction to alcohol and painkillers and spent years in and out of rehab. Perry’s painkiller addiction began in the late 1990s after a jet skiing accident left him in pain. However, his battle with alcohol began when he was a teenager and then became worse as his fame grew, with the actor admitting he often turned up to film drunk or hungover and barely remembered making three seasons of Friends.
His memoir revealed that he had a near-death experience in 2019 after his colon burst as a result of his use of opioids. Perry had also been hospitalised with pancreatitis in 2000 because of his alcohol abuse. His post-Friends life included multiple roles that drew respect and acclaim, but it was often dominated by headlines about his addiction.
In the book, Perry said he spent as much as $US7 million ($A11 million) on rehabilitation and recovery efforts. “The best thing about me, bar none, is that if somebody comes to me and says, ‘I can’t stop drinking, can you help me?’ I can say ‘yes’ and follow up and do it,” he said on the Q With Tom Power podcast last year, as he discussed his book. Perry went on to say he wanted to be remembered “as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker” and that “his paramount thing is that he wants to help people”.
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