Although many know Matthew Perry from his work on Friends, the Hollywood actor had many ups and downs in his personal life while battling addiction before his death on October 28 at age 54. The Massachusetts native detailed his struggles with drugs and alcohol in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
Matthew said he spent upwards of $9 million trying to get sober on rehab stays, therapists, and more. However, he used his experiences to help others in similar situations.
“The best thing about me, bar none, is that if somebody comes to me and says, ‘I can’t stop drinking, can you help me?’ I can say ‘yes’ and follow up and do it,” the actor said during a podcast interview with Tom Power in 2022. “When I die … I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m gonna live the rest of my life proving that.”
Keep reading to learn more about his drug and alcohol abuse, his recovery journey, and how he was doing before his death.
Nearly three decades ago in 1997, Matthew suffered from a jet ski accident and soon became addicted to Vicodin, a Narcotic drug known to treat pain. After the accident, his Vicodin addiction led to abusing alcohol, per US Weekly, and he checked himself into rehab in Minnesota that year. Despite his attempts to get sober, Matthew was only able to stay sober for a short period of time before he would relapse again.
Three years after he went to rehab for the first time, Matthew was hospitalized in 2000 for alcohol-related pancreatitis, according to the same outlet. After his two-week hospitalization, Matthew later began “detoxing” on the set of Friends, with a notably different physical appearance in seasons 6 and 7. The popular TV star would eventually break his sobriety multiple times and go to rehab over 15 times throughout his journey.
It was not until 2002 when Matthew spoke to The New York Times about his struggle and admitted that he needed help.
