Jennifer Aniston’s heartbreaking Matthew Perry interview years before his death: ‘He struggled’

Jennifer Aniston comforted Matthew Perry as he attempted to describe what his Friends co-stars meant to him. Photo / X

Jennifer Aniston broke down in tears over the “idea of losing” Matthew Perry 19 years before his shock death.

The actress, 54, who played Rachel Green alongside Perry Matthew in Friends for a decade, shared her devastation over his passing on Saturday aged 54 in a joint statement released on Monday with the rest of her grieving co-stars from the sitcom.

An interview has now resurfaced from 2004 when Aniston told Diane Sawyer, 77, of her terror over the prospect of Matthew dying before his time.

Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry appeared on the Friends reunion together.

When Diane asked what her former Friends co-star didn’t know about himself and needed to hear, Jennifer said: “That he’s all right.”

She then became emotional as she started to refer to his decades battling drink and drugs addictions, adding: “He struggled, and we didn’t know. We weren’t equipped to deal with it. Nobody had ever dealt with that.

“And the idea of ever losing him … ”

Perry admitted he was downing a quart of vodka and 55 Vicodin a day in the depths of his addictions.

While promoting his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing last year, Perry thanked Aniston for her support as he battled to recover.

He told Diane Sawyer in October last year: “She was the one that reached out the most. You know, I’m really grateful to her for that.”

Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, and Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing. Photo / Getty Images

The troubled star added it was Jennifer who initially confronted him during the filming of Friends and told him the cast knew he was drinking.

Matthew added: “Imagine how scary a moment that was.”

But he also hailed Aniston as “wonderful”, “terrific” and “the greatest” for caring about him.

It comes after Perry’s Friends castmates shared a loving tribute following his shock death last weekend, revealing they are “utterly devastated” in a heartbreaking joint statement.

Perry starred in Friends alongside Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller and Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay.

A few days after Perry’s untimely death, the five remaining members of the famed sextet paid tribute to their late co-star and friend, adding they will “say more in time”.

“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just castmates. We are a family,” they shared in a statement sent to People.

“There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.

“In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”

— Additional reporting by NZ Herald