Matthew Perry‘s ex-girlfriend, Kayti Edwards, claimed that the late actor took drastic measures to stop taking drugs before his death. Kayti, who dated the Friends star in 2006 after they met at an AA meeting, and then worked as his assistant in 2011 while he was dealing with substance abuse issues, told The Sun in an interview published December 23 that Matthew allegedly “superglued” his hands to his legs to combat his addiction.
“I was at Matthew’s place in the Hollywood Hills. He was in a bad way,” Kayti recalled. “He had been getting high all night on a plethora of drugs, most likely crack cocaine and other substances. I found Matthew on the couch with his hands superglued to his legs — it was desperately sad.”
“I had to use nail polish remover and olive oil to free him,” Kayti further alleged. “We were literally ripping the hair from his legs and he had red, raw patches left behind, it was pretty horrific,” she added.
Matthew was 54 years old when he died on October 28 at his home in Pacific Palisades, California. Nearly two months after his tragic passing, TMZ revealed that his official cause of death was due to “acute effects of ketamine.” The tabloid also reported that Matthew underwent ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety prior to his passing.
Before Mathew’s cause of death was revealed, Kayti told The Sun that she thought the 17 Again star relapsed before he passed away. “I know Matthew and I know that he wouldn’t have just drowned,” she said in November. “I think he might have taken pills in the week leading up to this.”
Matthew battled his addiction for over 25 years. 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. He reportedly got sober in 2021, just months before he filmed the viral Friends Reunion HBO Max special.
Matthew also wrote about his experience with ketamine in his memoir, and admitted he felt it had his name “written all over it.” He also said he felt like “dying” during the treatments but decided to “continually sign up for this s–t” because “it was something different, and anything different is good.”