This Saturday night, Hollywood was in mourning. Around 02:30 (Spanish time), TMZ reported the death of American actor Matthew Perry (54), who played Chandler Bing, between 1994 and 2004, in the well-known sitcom Friends. According to the portal, the artist was found dead in his house.
Following his death, hundreds of celebrities have decided to say goodbye to him through social networks. For example, Selma Blair, Octavia Spencer and Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, who – curiously – was his classmate in elementary school. Despite this, until now, the other five stars of Friends have remained silent. So do his ex-girlfriends. Among them, Carrie Fisher’s half-sister, Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Roberts herself.
According to People, Matthew Perry had numerous affairs. Although only 11 people would have been truly relevant. Some of their relationships were brief, others more intense. But the celebrity talked about most of them in her book ‘Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing’, published in 2022. What’s more, in his autobiography, Perry vividly describes his lovers and flirtations. Like the actress Valerie Bertinelli, who worked on the series Sydney, in 1990.
At the time, Bertinelli was married to Eddie Van Halen. However, one night, the rocker got drunk, lost consciousness and Perry took the opportunity to have “a passionate kissing session” with his co-star, with whom he never had “the opportunity to date officially.” But the one he did try it with was Tricia Fisher. In fact, they were together during two moments in his life: when the actor was 18 and, later, when Friends was already a success.
And if we talk about celebrities, Perry had great stars in her love history. For example, Gwyneth Paltrow – with whom she kissed, “in a closet”, in the summer of 1994 – and Julia Roberts, with whom she had a serious relationship. Roberts even introduced him to her parents in New Mexico in 1996. “I simply let Julia into my life, figuratively and literally, and we began a relationship,” Perry noted in her book. But their romance fizzled out just two months later.
“Two months later, I was single. Dating Julia Roberts had been too much for me. I spent the time thinking that she was going to break up with me. It’s just… Why wouldn’t she? I wasn’t enough; I was never going to to be enough. I was broken, bent, unlovable,” Matthew explained in his memoirs. Even so, the actor did not close his heart and allowed others to conquer him. Like Veep series producer Gabrielle Allan and former ABC president Jamie Tarses.
Perry and Tarses met in 1994. But they had nothing until she divorced Fox producer Dan McDermott. Little by little, Matthew and Jamie began to build a “magical” and “beautiful” relationship. But the actor’s dramas and his problems with drugs led him to throw his romance away at the wedding. “We were together for two years, during which she gave me a large portion of her life. Jamie became my nurse… And I, to thank her for everything, decided to end it for her sake,” he said.
Years later, in 2003, Perry again had another formal girlfriend. She is Rachel Dunn, an aspiring fashion designer, who he was also with for two years. According to the American, the young woman was “the woman of her dreams.” But, in the same way, he ended up leaving her. Because? Again, the Friends star decided it was important to focus on her mental health. “This breakup has not been caused by any drama. It has happened because Matthew will focus on her sobriety,” they explained then.
Around 2006, Perry managed to rebuild his life with the daughter of actress Natalia Wood Natasha Wagner, with whom he lived an “intense and sexy affair.” But his passion did not take them anywhere and Perry remained single… So much so that his friends began to worry and decided to introduce him to Cameron Diaz, who had recently broken up with Justin Timberlake. Despite this, the two celebrities did not connect and only shared a dinner.
During that same time, Perry began a relationship with Lizzy Caplan, the actress known for playing Janis Ian on Mean Girls. According to the celebrity, both started out as “friends with benefits.” However, as the months passed, they fell in love… But almost no one knew it. The reason? Matthew and Lizzy decided to keep a very, very low profile, although they spent six years together and the actor had intentions of marrying her.
“When we broke up, all my fears reappeared. I often think that if I had asked him to marry me, we would now have two children and a home. And, instead, I am an idiot who is alone in his house at 53 years old” , he wrote in his memoirs. But it’s not like Perry spent a lot of time alone. What’s more, after Caplan, he did have another girlfriend: the literary agent Molly Hurwitz, with whom he was 22 years apart.
The couple began dating in 2018 and Perry asked for her hand in November 2020. “Fortunately, I have been dating the best woman on the face of the earth and I have decided to get engaged,” he then told People. But, again, he began to feel insecure and their engagement ended in June 2021. “There are things that sometimes don’t work out and, unfortunately, this is one of them. I wish him the best on his path,” he expressed in actor in a statement.
The actor supposedly remained single between 2021 and 2023. However, in 2022 his fans campaigned on Twitter for Jennifer Aniston to open her heart to him. And, in his book, Perry said that he was “in love” with the actress. Matthew met Jennifer in 1993 and was “dazzled” and “struck,” so he decided to impress her. But Aniston didn’t feel the same way. Therefore, when he asked her to leave her, she refused. Despite this, Chandler remained mesmerized. But, in 1995, he finally gave up due to “Jennifer’s deafening lack of interest.”
