Matthew Perrys close friends believed he had died of a drug overdose, revealing that the actor struggled with sobriety and would always feel an immense sense of shame if he fell off the wagon.
The actor’s close friends noted that the end of his hit sitcom “Friends” “triggered a lot of depression and disappointment in his career.” Their comments follow an autopsy report that found Perry died from the “acute effects of ketamine.” He was 54 years old.
Close friends of Matthew Perry fear his death was due to an ‘overdose’
Two months after his sad and untimely death, much more is being discovered about Perry and his battle with substance abuse.
Close friends of the star with whom spoke We weekly believe he died of an ‘overdose’.
“He has been struggling with sobriety for years,” a source told the news station. “Every time he fell off the wagon there was a huge sense of shame.”
They continued, “After Friends ended, there was a lot of depression and disappointment in his career. He struggled with his mental health, but never got help for it. The way he dealt with it was to isolate. Since the show, he was taken care of financially and didn’t have to work, so it created an environment to utilize.”
Perry has been very open about his struggles with substance abuse and documented his battle in his memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” which was released in 2022.
The actor noted in the book how this affected his health, leading to multiple surgeries and all his attempts to get better. In the memoir, Perry talked about his use of the drug Ketamine, writing that “it has my name written all over it – they might as well have called it ‘Matty’.”
From an autopsy report obtained by The explosion, it was found that Perry’s official cause of death was the “acute effects of ketamine.” The autopsy also reported drowning, coronary artery disease and side effects of buprenorphine as contributing factors, but not as the direct cause of death.
Perry said in his memoir that he would “constantly sign up for this S— [ketamine treatments]’ because ‘it was something else, and everything else is good’, even though he felt like he was ‘dying’ during the procedures.
“Taking K is like getting hit in the head with a giant jolly shovel. But the hangover was rough and heavier than the kick,” he wrote.
In his memoir, the actor said he went to rehab 15 times throughout his life and claimed he was 18 months sober when the book was published.
Matthew Perry’s loved ones believe his relapse was caused by ‘loneliness’
Perry’s loved ones reportedly feared that “loneliness” would worsen his battle with substance abuse.
A source said We weekly“It was like a story about loneliness and how having all the money and fame can’t really save anyone. Fame was a distraction from his depression and addiction, but when that disappeared, he no longer had that distraction. He led an isolated life.”
The actor’s last known romantic relationship was with Molly Hurwitz, a talent agent. The couple’s romance led to an engagement that ended after six months in June 2021.
The insider told the news station that Perry’s split “broke his heart.” They added: ‘He was never the same after that. Then he tried dating, but he just wasn’t connecting.”
Perry never married and died without children, two things he reportedly wanted.
“A big part of the sadness in his life is also that he didn’t have children,” says the source. “He wanted a family and he never found that person to settle down with and he was lonely.”
Molly Hurwitz pays tribute to Matthew Perry
After Perry’s death, Hurwitz wrote a moving tribute, remembering their relationship. She wrote on Instagram at the time: “He would love for the world to talk about how talented he was. And he was really, really talented.”
Hurwitz continued: “As the Friends reunion approached, we watched the show together. “F—, I was so good!!!…See what I did there???” We rewinded and studied scenes. Our respect and appreciation for humor is something that connects us. It was magical to be with him as he rediscovered his genius.”
‘But of course I also knew that man in a completely different way. Even though I loved him more than I could understand, he was complicated and caused pain like I had never known. No one in my adult life has had a greater impact on me than Matthew Langford Perry. I am extremely grateful for that, for everything I learned from our relationship,” the talent agent added.
Hurwitz concluded her tribute by noting that she feels “relief” knowing that Perry is now “at peace.”
