Matthew Perry’s close friend and ex has revealed ‘horrific’ moment(Picture: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
The death of Matthew Perry from ‘acute effects of ketamine’ came after the Friends star’s life long struggles with addiction, which his ex girlfriend remembers well.
Perry died aged 54 on October 28 at his Los Angeles home, with contributing factors including ‘drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine’ – which is used to treat opioid use disorder.
Friend Minnie Driver recently said she believes starring on Friends as funnyman Chandler Bing contributed to his ‘inner struggle’ and substance abuse.
The 17 Again star had been an advocate for sobriety but his ex girlfriend Kayti Edwards, 47, has revealed the extent of his battle with addiction.
She shared he once glued his hands to his legs after taking a mixture of drugs at his home in the Hollywood Hills, resulting in ‘raw patches’.
‘I found Matthew on the couch with his hands superglued to his legs — it was desperately sad,’ Kayti told The Sun. ‘I had to use nail polish remover and olive oil to free him.
Kayti Edwards dated Perry in 2006 (Picture: Kayti Blake Pease/Facebook)
‘We were literally ripping the hair from his legs and he had red, raw patches left behind, it was pretty horrific.’
Perry dated the model in 2006 but remained close after the split until his death, with Kayti working as his personal assistant in 2011 at the height of his addiction.
She revealed that drugs were always on the late actor’s mind, even when he was in rehab and clean he would joke about taking drugs.
‘He would say, “Let’s go get some cocaine. What do you think about that? Ha, I’m just joking”,’ Kayti, who is Julie Andrews granddaughter, continued.
She found him with his hands glued to his legs to fight his addiction (Picture: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Other friends have discussed Perry’s struggle with the spotlight and his substance abuse to cope, including George Clooney.
The Ocean’s Eight actor told Deadline: ‘He was a kid and all he would say to us, I mean me, Richard Kind and Grant Heslov, was, I just want to get on a sitcom, man. I just want to get on a regular sitcom and I would be the happiest man on earth.
‘And he got on probably one of the best ever. He wasn’t happy. It didn’t bring him joy or happiness or peace.’
The pair remained close friends after their split (Picture: Kayti Blake Pease/Facebook)
A post-mortem examination concluded Perry died from the ‘acute effects of ketamine’, which he had mentioned in his 2022 memoir and wrote: ‘Taking K is like being hit in the head with a giant happy shovel.
‘But the hangover was rough. Ketamine was not for me.’
Following his death, a foundation was set up in his name to help those struggling with addiction.
Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel Green in the sitcom, was among those urging support of the foundation which was set up to ‘honour his legacy.’
Worried about drugs?
Frank offers confidential advice about drugs and addiction (email frank@talktofrank.com, message 82111 or call 0300 123 6600) or the NHS has information about getting help.
Adfam has local groups for families affected by drugs and alcohol and DrugFam offers phone and email support to people affected by other people’s drug or alcohol misuse.
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‘We were literally ripping the hair from his legs’