Just over a week and a half after Matthew Perry's tragic death at the age of 54 and days after he was laid to eternal rest last Friday, sources report that colleague and close friend Jennifer Aniston is struggling to cope with his death.
According to well-connected industry sources, Aniston has taken Perry's death very hard and is in a storm of emotions. "Of the remaining five friends, she and Courtney (referring to Courteney Cox, who played Monica Geller on the series and was the wife of Perry's character, Chandler Bing; The sources told Page Six, "when Jennifer took it hardest.
Jennifer Aniston, Photo: Reuters
"This is the second major loss she has experienced in less than a year, with the anniversary commemorating the death of her father (actor John Aniston who passed away at the age of 89 on November 14, 2022; pp) just around the corner. She still hasn't been able to get back on her feet, and now it's completely destabilizing her," they added. "She's trying to pick herself up, but it's a hard blow."
Aniston, who in the years following Friends' departure from the screen was reportedly and by Perry's own admission the girlfriend who remained in his closest relationship, was filmed breaking down in tears in a 2004 interview with Diane Sawyer as she talked about his struggles with his severe drug and alcohol addictions for decades.
Matthew Perry, Photo: AP
"We are all devastated by the loss of Matthew," Friends members David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox and Matt LeBlanc wrote in a joint statement posted on People after Perry was found dead in his home on Oct. 28 after apparently drowning in his hot tub under circumstances that are still being investigated. "We were more than castmates. We were family. There is so much to say, but right now we are taking a moment to grieve and process this unimaginable loss."
Perry has previously said and written in his autobiography that he was unilaterally in love with Aniston when they met three years before they began acting on Friends, and she turned down his offer to date him, preferring to keep their relationship at the friendship level.
Matthew Perry, Photo: Reuters
Regarding the fierce fighting currently taking place between Israel and Gaza, Aniston chose about a week after the start of the Iron Sword War to post a story about the situation on her Instagram, but made do with a series of humanitarian stories in which she expresses empathy for casualties on both sides and does not take a stand on the conflict.
"Here are some resources to support those who are now suffering in Israel and Palestine. My heart goes out to families grieving the loss of their loved ones," Aniston wrote at the beginning of her series of stories to her 44 million followers. In another story in the series, Aniston shared a story about the American Jewish Agency, which works on behalf of terror victims in Israel, but in another story, Aniston chose to share a message from a Palestinian humanitarian organization (PCRF), which provides medical assistance to children in Gaza.
Jennifer Aniston, Photo: Reuters
A fourth story was dedicated to the Alliance for Middle East Peace, which strives for peace in the Middle East and is backed by "170 NGOs, numbering tens of thousands of Israelis and Palestinians," and finally, she shared a story that referred her followers to the Israeli humanitarian organization IsraAID.
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