A concerned coworker. Jennifer Aniston once confronted Matthew Perry about his substance abuse during their time on Friends, but she was also one of his biggest supporters.
“Jen thought of the cast as her family,” an insider exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly. “She still does, but back then even more so because they were together all the time and making it on the fame ladder together.”
The Morning Show actress and the Go On alum, both 53, were particularly close, to the point that Aniston once confronted her costar about his addiction.
“It’s fair to say he was by far the most fragile member of the cast,” the source says of The Whole Nine Yards actor. “Jen saw that — it worried her enormously — and she made a point to check in on him whenever she could, on and off the set.”
Perry has been vocal about his addiction battle in the days leading up to the publication of his new memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, which is set to hit shelves on Tuesday, November 1. During an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, the Odd Couple alum revealed that Aniston once told him that his costars knew he was drinking on set despite his efforts to hide his struggles.
“She was the one that reached out the most,” Perry said in the Q&A, which is set to air on Friday, October 28. “I’m really grateful to her for that.”
The insider notes that Aniston always tried to provide support for her costar as the pair filmed the beloved NBC sitcom, which aired from 1994 to 2004. “She’d make a point to remind him how much he had going for himself,” the source tells Us. “That he was loved by millions of fans and that he owed it to himself to achieve his full potential of a happy and successful life free from sabotage and pain.”
Perry has previously spoken about his battle with substance abuse, but he’s been sharing harrowing new details during his press tour for the book. During an interview with The New York Times published on Sunday, October 23, the Mr. Sunshine alum revealed that he’s spent millions of dollars on treatment programs over the years.
“I’ve probably spent $9 million or something trying to get sober,” he told the outlet, noting that he started drinking when he was 14 before moving on to painkillers. “I would fake back injuries. I would fake migraine headaches. I had eight doctors going at the same time. I would wake up and have to get 55 Vicodin that day, and figure out how to do it.”
The Screen Actors Guild Award winner added that he’s been sober for 18 months — which means that he was drug and alcohol-free while filming the May 2021 Friends reunion for HBO Max. “It’s still a day-to-day process of getting better,” he explained. “Every day. It doesn’t end because I did this.”
For more on Aniston’s friendship with Perry, watch the video above and pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.
