Friends' Courteney Cox says late co-star Matthew Perry ‘visits me a lot’: 'I sense Matthew’s around for sure'
Courteney Cox has opened up about the loss of her Friends co-star Matthew Perry and told how she believes he "visits" her regularly since his death last October.
While discussing the 20th anniversary of the comedy series' finale on CBS Sunday Morning at the weekend, the actress opened up about the late star and said: "You know, he’s just so funny. He has genuinely a huge heart, obviously struggled. I’m so thankful I got to work so closely with him for so many years. He visits me a lot, if we believe in that.”
When the interviewer goes on to question Courteney's spirituality, the actress told of her strong feeling that deceased family and friends reappear to guide her through life. She said: “You know, I talk to my mom, my dad, Matthew — I feel like there are a lotta people that, I think, guide us. I do sense, yeah, I sense Matthew’s around for sure.”
Matthew played much-loved character Chandler Bing alongside Courteney’s Monica Geller in every episode of the show, which ran for ten years. They also formed a close bond with their other Friends co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc.
When news broke that Matthew had died in October 2023, the cast released a joint statement to Us Weekly expressing their grief, saying: “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family. In time we will say more, as and when we are able… For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”
Two weeks later, Courteney opened up on Instagram about her time with Matthew. Sharing a clip from the show at the beginning of Monica and Chandler's relationship, she said: “I am so grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day. When you work with someone as closely as I did with Matthew, there are thousands of moments I wish I could share. For now here’s one of my favorites. In this scene, before we started rolling, he whispered a funny line for me to say. He often did things like that. He was funny and he was kind.”
The Friends series finale aired on May 6, 2004, but it seems the cast decided not to make too big a deal out of it out of respect for Matthew. Last month, an insider told US: “The prospect of having a reunion or a formal get-together without Matthew is bittersweet. There will be a huge void. [But] they know Matthew would’ve wanted them to carry on and celebrate the show. So that’s very much on their minds as they move forward.”
