November 10, 2023
Jennifer Aniston and her Friends co-stars are mourning the loss of their beloved castmate Matthew Perry, who passed away at age 53.
A source told Heat magazine that Aniston in particular is taking Perry's death extremely hard as she was closest to him.
The group had hoped to stay close after reconnecting in 2019 for a dinner ahead of the Friends reunion, but scheduling conflicts prevented them from meeting as regularly as they would have liked. Aniston is said to be regretting not maintaining contact and wonders if more could have been done for Perry, per Heat.
Commenting on Aniston’s close bond with Perry, a source told Heat magazine: “They became like brother and sister, and it was probably the closest relationship between any of the cast, bar Jen and Courteney, of course. They hung out together during those early days, partied, and would even go as far as to seek each other’s opinions on who to date and what jobs to take.”
In his memoir, Perry had written fondly of the support from his co-stars during his addiction struggles, especially Aniston's frequent outreach. She served as a sister figure to him on and off the screen. With Perry's passing coming soon after her father's death last November, Aniston is struggling greatly with the twin losses according to insiders.
A source told Page Six the grief has "completely knocked her off her feet" and she is "reeling the most."
“Out of the remaining five, Jen and Courtney are reeling the most, and Jen is probably the one who is struggling most acutely. It’s a second massive loss in less than a year, with the one-year anniversary of her dad’s death just around the corner. She still hasn’t fully regained her footing from that, and now this has just completely knocked her off her feet.”