Matthew Perry is opening up about how he dealt with addiction.
In his upcoming memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Matthew has detailed how by the age of 49, he had spent half of his life in sober living facilities and treatment centers.
He guessed that at this point, he had spent nine million dollars on his recovery.
During his time on Friends, Matthew struggled to remain sober. He shared that his co-star Jennifer Aniston had approached him in his trailer, very concerned about a relapse.
She told Matthew 'we can smell it,' and hearing that 'hit [him] like a sledgehammer.'
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One of the most momentous scenes for Matthew's commitment-phobic character Chandler came when he married Monica.
Speaking about his addiction during filming, he explained, ‘I married Monica and got driven back to the treatment center — at the height of my highest point in Friends, the highest point in my career, the iconic moment on the iconic show — in a pickup truck helmed by a sober technician.’
Matthew began drinking wine and beer when he was 14 before later moving to using prescription medication and vodka. He admitted to having 'eight doctors going at the same time' to get access to greater amounts of medication.
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A big turning point came for Matthew in 2018 when his colon burst from opioid misuse. He was given a 'two percent chance to live' and spent months in hospital, including two weeks spent in a coma.
Matthew recovered and has recently reached eighteen months of sobriety.
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Fair play to Matthew for speaking out and being honest.
