Matthew Perry sat down with Diane Sawyer on Friday to discuss his upcoming memoir Friends, Lovers and Horror. In the 250-page book, he reveals how bad his struggle with addiction is, how many times he’s had surgery as a result of it, and how he Friend experience has been shaped by it.
In the hour-long interview on ABC, Perry explained in detail about his drug abuse, how he wanted to settle down and have a family, and what people might look for if they wanted to see if he would get well again.
A teaser video of Perry’s interview with Sawyer was released last week and has surfaced online. Before the memoir hit shelves, a few things were revealed: Jennifer Aniston was one of his biggest supporters. Friend costar; the real reason he broke up with Julia Roberts; and how viewers can keep track of the drug he took during the hit NBC sitcom.
Perry also arrived first and apologized for asking why Keanu Reeves was “still walking among us”. “I am truly a huge fan of Keanu,” he said in a statement. “I just picked a random name, my mistake. I’m sorry. I should have used my own name instead.”
Here are six other revelations from the interview:
- Viewers can see what drugs Perry took during the process Friend series: “When I carry the weight, it’s alcohol. When I’m skinny, it’s the pills.”
- Perry has attended 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, spent 30 years in therapy, attended 15 rehabs, spent half of her life in treatment or housing, and rehab 65 times.
- He dated Aniston before they starred together in Friendand she told him she just wanted to be friends.
- Perry took it for the first time when he was 14 years old and recalls feeling like he was “in heaven”. By the age of 18, he was drinking every day.
- He told the creators Friend that he has a lot of trouble with women and anxiety, which is included in the script as part of Chandler’s charm.
- He remembered his first pill, crystal clear as he remembered his first pill. He suffered a jet skiing injury and was given painkillers. It’s like “warm honey into my veins.” His addiction to drugs became so severe, he went to open houses only to get drugs from strangers’ medicine cabinets.
- When asked how people would know he wasn’t feeling well again, Perry replied: “If I said I’d be home alone tonight. And part two, if I ever say I’m cured.”
Friends, Lovers and Horror will be released on November 1st.
