Jennifer Aniston supported Matthew Perry in his darkest times (Picture: ABC/Getty)
Matthew Perry has revealed that it was Jennifer Aniston who confronted him about his drinking while the pair were starring in Friends together.
The actor, 53, has candidly shared his struggles with alcohol in his new memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, and opened up in a new interview about how much Jennifer, 53, was there for him in his darkest times.
Speaking in a preview clip of his upcoming interview with Diane Sawyer, Matthew revealed: ‘Secrets kill you. Secrets kill people like me.
‘At the time I should have been the toast of the town. I was in a dark room meeting nothing but drug dealers and completely alone.’
He revealed that it was Jennifer who first confronted him about his alcoholism, adding: ‘Jenny said “We know you’re drinking.” Imagine how scary a moment that was.
‘She was the one that reached out the most and I’m really grateful to her for that.’
Matthew, who starred as Chandler in the hit sitcom alongside Jennifer, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Courteney Cox from 1994 until 2004, has given fans a candid account of his struggles with addiction at the height of fame.
He revealed in his book that he had been given a 2% chance of survival and was in a coma for two weeks after being hospitalised in 2018 after his colon burst from opioid misuse.
‘The doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live,’ the 17 Again star told People Magazine. ‘I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.’
Matthew (second left) revealed he struggled with addiction throughout the height of his career (Picture: ABC News)
The Friends cast were there for him over the years (Picture: HBO Max Pop / Twitter)
Matthew thankfully pulled through after spending five months in hospital and had to use a colostomy bag for nine months.
He also revealed to Diane Sawyer why he had made the decision to speak so openly about his struggles now, adding: ‘It was important for me to do something that would help people.’
Matthew has been to rehab 15 times and undergone 14 surgeries on his stomach but has been sober for several years following the medical ordeal.
The actor has spoken candidly to help others in the same situation (Picture: ABC News)
He added: ‘I think [readers will] be surprised at how bad it got at certain times and how close to dying I came.
‘I say in the book that if I did die, it would shock people, but it wouldn’t surprise anybody. And that’s a very scary thing to be living with.
‘So my hope is that people will relate to it, and know that this disease attacks everybody. It doesn’t matter if you’re successful or not successful, the disease doesn’t care.’
Matthew Perry: The Diane Sawyer Interview will air on ABC News on Friday, October 28.
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The actor opened up on his struggles with addiction.
