Jennifer Aniston made a rare admission about her late “Friends” co-star Matthew Perry in an interview with Vanity Fair, reported Page Six. The actress revealed that she and the rest of the cast — Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc — “did everything possible” to support Perry in his difficult battle with addiction.

“It felt like we had been mourning Matthew for a long time because his fight with that illness was extremely hard,” shared the 56-year-old actress. She added with a heavy heart that although the loss is painful for everyone, “part of me thinks it’s better this way.”

Aniston clarified that she feels “happy” that Perry, who passed away in October 2023 at the age of 54, is now free from pain. After his tragic death from a ketamine overdose, she posted a heartfelt message on Instagram expressing her love and grief.

In her first interview since Perry’s death, Aniston said that her friend was “happy” and “healthy” in his final days and that they even exchanged messages on the day he died. “He wasn’t in pain, he wasn’t struggling. He was on a mission. He was working hard,” she recalled.

In August 2024, five people, including two doctors, were charged in connection with Perry’s death after pleading guilty to distributing ketamine.

Matthew Perry battled addiction for a long time, referring to it as “The Big Awful Thing” in his 2022 memoir. He shared that he spent around $9 million trying to get clean.

In his book, the actor stated that writing about his struggle made him feel better and gave meaning to helping others.

Perry openly thanked Aniston as his greatest support during those difficult times and admitted in a 2022 interview that he was “very grateful” for her support throughout the years. |BGNES