Jennifer Aniston has reportedly been left devastated by Matthew Perry’s unexpected death, but this isn’t the first time she’s had to confront the thought of a world without him as she “shed more tears” during his addiction struggles.

Friends star Matthew Perry dies aged 5

Jennifer Aniston, one of Matthew Perry’s closest costars from their hit show Friends, has been hit by a “bitter body blow” in the aftermath of his death this weekend.
The actor was just 54 years old and the sudden death has stunned fans and his fellow A-listers especially following his bombshell memoir last year which seemed to indicate he was on an ever-upwards trajectory.

However, being one of his closest friends in Hollywood, the 54-year-old actress had often confronted the thought of Matthew’s death during the “darkest points of his struggles with addiction”.

While the five remaining Friends stars released a joint tribute earlier this week, a source close to Jennifer told Daily Mail that no one has “shed more tears for Matthew” during his addiction and revealed Jennifer has been an avid supporter of his recovery, even refusing to join the 2021 Friends reunion if the Chandler Bing actor couldn’t be a part of it.

The source heartwrenchingly added: “Jennifer genuinely thought his worst days were behind him.

Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry got particularly close during their decade together on Friends (Image: GETTY)

“It doesn’t matter whether he died as a result of a freak accident or whether it was directly connected to his drug issues, this was a day that Jennifer has dreaded coming for 20 years.”

The Morning Show star was constantly trying to help her friend in any way she could, according to the source.

They had grown close over their decade filming the hit NBC sitcom, finding common ground in being the youngest of the main six stars as they were born just six months apart.

In his memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Matthew revealed that he hadn’t actually met Jennifer on the set of Friends but had tried to court her three years earlier, although she turned him down.

Matthew only recently admitted he’d had a crush on his costar during their Friends days (Image: GETTY)

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He described the move as an “error” in his book, fearing that she thought “I liked her too much or in the wrong kind of way”.

The source close to Jennifer explained their long-lasting friendship was a “brother-sister type” and maintained a “direct line” to him during his health woes even after the show ended.

Matthew tragically died on Saturday after spending hours playing pickleball with a pal.

He was found unresponsive in his jacuzzi by his assistant and no evidence of foul play or illegal drugs were found on the scene.

Initial toxicology reports have revealed there was no meth or fentanyl in his system according to TMZ with more in-depth testing expected to be underway.