Matthew Perry’s Health Before Death: Addiction Journey, the Harrowing Surgeries and More
‘Friends’ alum Matthew Perry was a longtime Hollywood heartthrob, but he battled addiction most of his life.
- Matthew Perry starred in Friends from 1994 to 2004.
- He battled his addiction for over 25 years.
- He was once told he had a 2% chance of survival due to his drug use.
- Matthew opened up about his struggles with opioids & alcohol in his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, in 2022.
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.
What Did Matthew Perry Say About Addiction?
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.
What Has He Said About His Recovery?
It was not until 2002, that he spoke to The New York Times about his struggle and admitted he needed help.
“When [fame] happens, it’s kind of like Disneyland for a while. For me it lasted about eight months, this feeling of ‘I’ve made it, I’m thrilled, there’s no problem in the world.’ And then you realize that it doesn’t accomplish anything, it’s certainly not filling any holes in your life,” Matthew told the outlet, one year after getting sober again. “I didn’t get sober because I felt like it. I got sober because I was worried I was going to die the next day.”
Matthew would also battle alcohol abuse throughout his life. He said he began drinking alcohol at 14 years old and soon began drinking “every day” by age 18, per ABC News.
”I had this odd rule that I would never drink on a set,” the 17 Again star 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.”
Matthew would spend the next two decades of his life in and out of rehab facilities.
How Long Was Matthew Perry Sober?
He became sober in 2021, according to Entertainment Tonight, just months before he filmed the viral Friends Reunion HBO Max special. He said he was still sober in his 2022 book, explaining, “My therapist said, ‘The next time you think about taking Oxycontin, just think about having a colostomy bag for the rest of your life … And a little window opened and I crawled through it and I no longer want Oxycontin anymore.”
Prior to that, in 2018, Matthew was hospitalized for three months for a gastrointestinal perforation. He took to Twitter at the time to announce the difficult moment in a humorous way. “Three months in a hospital bed. Check,” he wrote at the time.
How Was Matthew Perry Doing Before His Death?
In November 2022, he appeared on The View and told co-host Whoopi Goldberg that he was “doing really well” and that his life was “going great.”
Around the same time, Matthew appeared in a candid interview with Diane Sawyer and told her all about his struggles while promoting the memoir. He detailed that he was once taking 55 Vicodin pills per day, was once in a coma for two weeks, and had over 14 surgeries.
“One of the things I have to deal with is that my family rushed to the hospital and were told that I have a 2 percent chance to make it through the night,” he told the reporter at the time. “And, you know, my mom heard that, and my dad heard that.”
At the time, Matthew said he was on the “winning side” mentality in his recovery journey. “I’ve surrendered, but to the winning side, not the losing,” he penned in his book. “I’m no longer mired in an impossible battle with drugs and alcohol.”
Following his untimely death, TMZ reported that the toxicology report for Matthew revealed that he died from the “acute effects of ketamine.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).