It’s been a whole year since the world lost Matthew Perry, the Friends actor who hoped talking about his struggles with substance abuse would help others overcome their addictions. On the anniversary of his passing, Perry’s family opened up about the relapse that took his life, but they were far from the only ones feeling the significance of that day. Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston posted sweet tributes to their friend, and fans are in disbelief that so much time has passed.
Courteney Cox shared some throwback photos on Instagram on October 28, one year to the day Matthew Perry was found dead in the hot tub of his home in Los Angeles. In addition to a group shot of the six Friends stars together, she included a behind-the-scenes pic of her and her on-screen husband. Fans loved the sight of Monica and Chandler together, but so many were only just finding out that it had been a full year. They took to the comments, saying:
- A year? What on earth. Life is a blur – chrisjohntheobald
- Has it been a year??? WTAF !!! – travelswithkerrin
- A year already? Wow. 🙏🏻❤️ – kaleejo_z
- Yeah, this seems like a bug in the Matrix. I could've swear it's been like 3 or 4 months 😳 – ferrarirodrigo19
Unfortunately we can’t blame a glitch in the matrix for this, and given the big anniversaries Friends is celebrating this year, I doubt any of Matthew Perry’s former castmates were caught off-guard. Earlier this year the actors struggled with how to honor the 20th anniversary of the Friends finale, given it was the show’s first big milestone without their Chandler. Last month marked 30 years since the premiere of what would become one of the greatest sitcoms of all time.
Jennifer Aniston also paid tribute to Matthew Perry on the anniversary of his death, posting on Instagram some images of the adorable moments she and the actor had shared. Her followers were no less surprised that time had passed so quickly, as they wrote:
- Stop it . It hasn’t been a year already- – carly.is.marjoreeces.child
- How has it been a year already? Wow…😢🥺😭 – platinummind
- Already? ❤️🩹 – analuizamelo.plastica
It’s so hard to accept that the man responsible for Chandler Bing’s funniest quotes on Friends has been gone for a year already. With that being one of the most rewatchable shows on TV, many of us still see the actor regularly, frozen in time alongside his co-stars.
In the days following Matthew Perry’s passing, the remaining five Friends stars released a joint statement saying they were “utterly devastated” by the loss, and over the past year, other actors have continued to share stories of how Perry helped them in one way or another.
Tate Donovan opened up about the breakup he and Jennifer Aniston were going through when he guest-starred and how Matthew Perry helped him through it. Marlo Thomas remembered his kind smile that told her he appreciated what she was doing when she portrayed Rachel’s mother on Friends, and John Stamos spoke candidly about how Perry saved him from an embarrassing moment during his own guest appearance.
There’s no denying how much Matthew Perry meant to so many people, and it’s simply hard to accept that time has continued to pass since the world lost him. If you want to relive some of the actor’s on-screen work, you can check out any of Perry’s best movies and TV shows, and all 10 seasons of Friends can be streamed with a Max subscription.
