EXCLUSIVE: How Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston’s love for each other on and off screen offered a glimpse of what could’ve been between the two co-stars
It was the romance that was almost there.
But the couple who loved each other so much knew that if they ever fell into bed together, everything would be ruined.
That may sound like a storyline from Friends, but it wasn’t. It actually took place off-screen.
Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston were that couple. And just as Chandler and Rachel were never lovers, despite both having many other partners, neither were the actors who played them.
But now, after Perry’s tragic death at the age of 54, Aniston is wondering what would have happened if she had fallen for him.
“No one shed more tears for Matthew during the darkest points of his struggle with addiction than Jennifer,” a close friend of the actress told DailyMail.com.
Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston had remained close friends years after Friends ended and until his death last weekend
The cast of the hit show reunited for their long-awaited reunion in 2021 – 17 years after the series ended
Perry was comforted by his co-star during the tearful reunion with the cast
‘At the time of the Friends reunion in 2021, there was speculation that Matthew wouldn’t be part of it because his demons had gotten the better of him. But without him, Jennifer definitely wouldn’t have done it.
‘He did his best and made a success of it, even though he seemed weak.
“But Jennifer really thought his worst days were behind him. So his death, just two years later, was a bitter blow to her.
“It doesn’t matter if he died as a result of a freak accident or if it was directly related to his drug problems, this was a day that Jennifer had been dreading for 20 years,” the friend added.
“She always wanted to help Matthew in any way she could, that was a constant for her.”
Perry died last Saturday after quitting a game of pickleball. He was found submerged in the hot tub of his home in Pacific Palisades, California.
The cause of death has been postponed pending toxicology reports, which typically take six to eight weeks. Police say they found prescription pills at his home, but no illegal drugs.
Aniston and Perry – born just six months apart – were the youngest of the six Friends and as such formed an instant camaraderie when the show was first taped in 1994.
He wrote in his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing that they first met three years before Friends started and he tried to date her, but she turned him down.
Aniston and Perry’s bond never went beyond friendship, with insiders describing it as “a typical brother-sister-like relationship where they really look out for each other.”
The deep love and connection between the couple was evident over the years, although the two never attempted romance
A clip of Jennifer breaking down in tears while discussing the ‘idea of losing her co-star and friend Matthew to addiction has resurfaced – two days after the actor was found dead
“I was immediately taken by her (how could that be?) and liked her, and I got the feeling she was intrigued too – maybe it would work out,” he wrote.
When he got the role on Friends, Jennifer was the first person he called, but he quickly realized he had made a mistake.
“Bad idea,” he wrote. “I felt icing through the phone.
‘Looking back, it was clear that this made her think I liked her too much or in the wrong way.
“I just compounded the mistake by asking her out then,” he continued. “She declined (which made it very difficult to actually date her), but said she would like to be friends with me, and I made it worse by blurting out, ‘We can’t be friends!’
But despite making that bad first impression, he said things got much better once they showed up on set for the biggest hit sitcom of the 1990s.
“Even though I was still attracted to her and thought she was so amazing, luckily that first day we were able to sail right past the past and focus on the fact that we had both gotten the best job Hollywood had to offer.”
And that closeness continued when the show went off the air a decade later.
“Until Matthew’s first extended stay in rehab around 2001, he and Jen partied and drank and just blew off steam together,” Aniston’s friend said.
‘I think they were reluctant to move on for fear it would affect their close friendship.
Aniston and Perry – born just six months apart – were the youngest of the six Friends. They walked hand in hand down the red carpet at the 1995 Emmys
Heartbroken Friends fans have flooded the internet with tributes to Matthew Perry’s close bond with co-star Jennifer Aniston following his untimely death last weekend
Just as Chandler and Rachel were never lovers, despite both having many other partners, neither were the actors who played them
“So it was a typical brother-sister relationship, where they really looked out for each other.”
But once Perry’s addictions started, it was clear to Jennifer that she didn’t want to enable him.
Her parties, especially before Brad Pitt left her for Angelina Jolie, involved beer and wine and she knew this was not the kind of event an alcoholic should attend.
“But she always checked on him. She had a direct line to him that the other Friends cast simply didn’t have.
In his 2022 memoir, Perry admitted that he had a huge crush on his co-star and even asked her out on a date when Friends first started filming in 1994.
“She was the one who would inform the rest of the group about what Matt told her about his serious health problems in the 2010s.”
Jennifer broke down in tears during a 2004 interview with Diane Sawyer. “We didn’t know,” she said.
‘We weren’t equipped to deal with it and the idea of losing him…’. She said before walking away.
And in a 2022 interview while promoting his book — again with Sawyer — Perry said of Aniston, “She was the one who reached out the most,
“You know, I’m very grateful to her for that.”
As they went their separate ways — Aniston became an international sensation, Perry became an addict — Jennifer “kind of replaced him” with Jason Bateman, the friend said.
“Jason has a similar vibe to Matthew,” he added. ‘But without the burden of a chronic drug problem.
“However, she dropped everything to catch up with Matthew, even though he didn’t want to be a burden.
“He carried a lot more on his shoulders than he had to, and that broke Jen’s heart,” the friend said.
“She would have done anything for that man, and their friendship had grown into something very lasting and respectful. “She always wanted to spend more time with Matthew, not less, no matter what he was going through.”