Matthew Perry’s Friends co-star Maggie Wheeler mourned the loss of her former on-screen boyfriend, whose character dated his from the show’s second season to third.
While paying tribute to the beloved actor, who died at 54 of an apparent drowning, on Instagram, the performer, 62, shared a photo of their characters looking blissful from their popular sitcom, which aired between 1994 to 2004.
‘What a loss. The world will miss you Mathew Perry,’ she captioned the image, which showed her looking at him adoringly as she portrayed her character, Janice Litman-Goralnik.
The mother-of-two continued: ‘The joy you brought to so many in your too short lifetime will live on. I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared. ♥️’
Remembering his legacy: Matthew Perry’s Friends co-star Maggie Wheeler mourned the loss of her former on-screen boyfriend, whom she dated from the show’s second season to third
Within an hour, she received more than 35,367 likes and nearly 2,000 comments from her 111,000 Instagram followers.
While Perry’s character ultimately settles down with Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), he and Janice had one of the longest relationships on the show.
Her character was known for her nasally voice as she screamed her catchphrase: ‘Oh my God.’
The pair last publicly reunited while appearing on the 2021 Friends reunion special, hosted by James Corden.
Apart from Wheeler, none of the main cast members of Friends have publicly reacted to the news of Perry’s death.
On Saturday, TMZ reported that law enforcement sources told the outlet Perry was found on Saturday at a home in Los Angeles after first responders were called to the scene for a cardiac arrest.
Sources claim he was found in a jacuzzi at the home, but no drugs were found at the scene, and there was no indication of foul play.
The Los Angeles Times reported that authorities responded to his home around 4pm where he was discovered unresponsive.
A source told the outlet that there was so sign of foul play, and that robbery-homicide detectives are investigating his death.
Looking back: While paying tribute to the beloved actor, who died at 54 of an apparent drowning accident, on Instagram, the performer, 62, shared a photo of their characters looking blissful from their popular sitcom, which aired between 1994 to 2004 (seen in 2005)
‘What a loss. The world will miss you Mathew Perry,’ she captioned the image, which showed her looking at him adoringly as she portrayed her character, Janice Litman-Goralnik
Grateful: The mother-of-two continued: ‘The joy you brought to so many in your too short lifetime will live on. I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared ♥️’
In his last post to his Instagram, shared earlier this week, the star shared images of him in his pool, saying: ‘Oh, so warm water swirling around makes you feel good? I’m Mattman.’
Perry has been candid publicly about his problems with drugs and alcohol, having first went to rehab in 1997 for what was said to a pain medication addiction after a jet skiing accident.
Following this initial stint, he then went to rehab again in 2001 and 2011. He told an interviewer in 2016 that he doesn’t remember filming three seasons of Friends.
A longtime friend of Perry’s – who was in recovery with him – told .com: ‘Everyone is in a total state of shock. People are crying on the phone and struggling to accept this news.
‘It’s no secret that he struggled with drugs and alcohol for years but the last time I spoke to him, which was within the last few weeks, he seemed to be in a good place.
Reunited: Perry and Wheeler briefly reunited during the 2021 Friends reunion special, hosted by James Corden
On-screen lover: While Perry’s character ultimately settles down with Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), he and Janice had one of the longest relationships on the show (seen in 2019)
Her character was known for her nasally voice as she screamed her catchphrase: ‘Oh my God’
‘He was upbeat and sounded sober and positive.
‘He’d been to rehab 17 times and nearly died from opioid abuse but he was someone who was sincere about taking his life, and his sobriety, one day at a time.
‘It’s such tragic news. Everyone is praying he didn’t relapse. Matt was a genuinely lovely guy. He was always the first to welcome newcomers to the group and would always volunteer to help and be of service.
‘We are all struggling to come to terms with this terrible news.’
The Friends star laid bare the height of his terrible drug and alcohol addiction battle which nearly cost him his life in a memoir titled ‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir.’
Perry also revealed that his colon ruptured as a result of his opioid addiction when he was 49.
Huge loss: On Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported that authorities responded to his home around 4pm where he was discovered unresponsive
Doctors gave him only a two percent chance of survival and he was in a coma for two weeks followed by months more in the hospital.
Perry required 14 surgeries to help repair all of the abdominal damage, and he admitted to having gone to rehab 15 times over the years in hopes of kicking his drug addiction.
At one point during his Friends career, he admits he was taking 55 Vicodin a day and was down to 128 pounds but yet he ‘didn’t know how to stop.’
He told an interviewer in 2016 that he doesn’t remember filming three seasons of Friends.
‘I had this odd rule that I would never drink on a set,’ Perry said. ‘But I went to work in extreme cases of hangover. It’s so horrible to feel that way and have to work and be funny on top of that.’
He even revealed he would go to real estate open houses – not because he was interested in buying property but to see if he could steal drugs from medicine cabinets.
Born on August 19, 1969 in Massachusetts, Perry grew up in Ottawa and was raised by his mother, Suzanne Morrison, a Canadian writer and former press aide for Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
Morrison and Perry’s father were married from 1968 to 1970 and she later married Canadian broadcast journalist Keith Morrison, who has been on Dateline for decades, in 1981.
Perry was best known for playing Chandler Bing on Friends, alongside Jennifer Aniston , Courteney Cox , Lisa Kudrow , Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer
In Canada, Perry was a top-rated tennis player but at 15 moved to Los Angeles to be closer to his father, John Bennett Perry, an actor known for several shows, including Falcon Crest, and later on Old Spice commercials.
In the 1980s and ’90s, Perry landed spots on the decades’ most popular TV shows like Charles in Charge, Who’s The Boss?, Growing Pains and Beverly Hills, 90210.
He also had a role in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, a movie released in 1988 that starred River Phoenix.
The film was ‘one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had, because I was 16 years old and in Chicago all by myself, no parents around,’ Perry told BuzzFeed. ‘I knew that I wanted to act.’
He told The New York Times in 2002 that he sought fame. ‘There was steam coming out of my ears, I wanted to be famous so badly.
The Friends star laid bare the height of his terrible drug and alcohol addiction battle which nearly cost him his life in a memoir titled Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir, which was released last year
‘You want the attention, you want the bucks, and you want the best seat in the restaurant. I didn’t think what the repercussions would be.’
Perry’s dream of widespread recognition came true with the NBC sitcom Friends, which followed the lives of six people trying to make their way in their twenties in New York City.
Audiences adored the show during its ten-season run and continue to do so today despite the show ending over 15 years ago.
During Friends, Perry also starred in movies like Fools Rush In and The Whole Nine Yards.
After the series, he was in several television shows but did not achieve the longevity and success of Friends. He continued to land roles in movies like 2009’s 17 Again.
Perry never married and ended his engagement to Molly Hurwitz, a talent manager, in 2021.
He dated several well-known actresses including Julia Roberts and Lizzy Caplan.