Matthew Perry's Friends co-stars have come together to pay a heartbreaking tribute to the late actor.
Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow have joined up to share a tribute following the devastating news of Matthew's death.
In a joint statement shared with People, they said: "We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family."
"There is so much to say, but right now we're going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss."
They added: "In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty's family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world."
The Friends star was found dead in his hot tub on October 28 by emergency responders.
Law enforcement said 911 dispatched responders at around 4:00 p.m. PST due to a report of cardiac arrest.
When they arrived on the scene, they began water rescue protocol after Matthew had seemingly drowned. At the time, it was reported that there were no illegal drugs on the scene and cops did not suspect any foul play.
Jennifer, who played Rachel Green on the hit sitcom, opened up about her co-star Matthew's struggles before his passing.
Friends, which first aired in 1994 and ran for 10 seasons, had a record-breaking finale in 2004 with over 50 million viewers.
The cast got together again in 2021, where Matthew became emotional as they looked back on their time filming the show.
Courteney, who played his on-screen wife, Monica Gellar, shared: "It was an incredible time. We became best friends." Matthew, unable to hold back his tears, confessed: "Yep, I'm going to cry now."
In his memoir, Matthew revealed that he found it difficult to watch the show as it brought back memories of his challenging times.
"I didn't watch the show, and haven't watched the show, because I could go, drinking, opiates, drinking, cocaine," he later added. "I could tell season by season by how I looked. That's why I don't wanna watch it, because that's what I see."
He also mentioned how his appearance on the series made it hard for him to watch. "I was taking 55 Vicodin a day, I weighed 128 lbs, I was on Friends getting watched by 30 million people – and that's why I can't watch the show, 'cause I was brutally thin'," he said. "I had a rule that I would never drink or do drugs while working."
Before his death, Matthew was open about his battle with addiction. He admitted that there were parts of his time on Friends that he couldn't remember because of it.
A few years ago, he had an opioid overdose which put him in hospital. After his colon burst, his family and friends were told he only had a 2% chance of surviving. But he did survive, and then went through a long recovery process that included surgeries and visits to rehab centres.
A friend who was in rehab with Matthew told the DailyMail: "It's such tragic news. Everyone is praying he didn't relapse. Matt was a genuinely lovely guy. He was always the first to welcome newcomers to the group and would always volunteer to help and be of service."
According to this friend, Matthew's death has caused a lot of sadness among his friends. In recent years, Matthew was thought to be sober, which his friend confirmed.
The star talked about his journey in his memoir and while promoting the book, he told Whoopi Goldberg on The View that he was doing well.
His friend said: "It's no secret that he struggled with drugs and alcohol for years but the last time I spoke to him, which was within the last few weeks, he seemed to be in a good place."
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