New Delhi: 'Friends' star Matthew Perry, loved for his portrayal of Chandler in the series, has revealed that he almost died in 2018, after his colon burst due to an overuse of opioids.
While promoting his memoir ‘Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing’, Matthew spoke to People and recalled his near-death experience.
“The doctors told my family that I had a 2% chance to live. I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that,” Perry told People.
The actor spent two weeks in a coma and five months in the hospital and had to live with a colostomy bag for nine months. He has undergone 14 surgeries so far.
The actor, who has always been open about his addiction, also told People that during the filming of ‘Friends’ he was taking 55 Vicodin a day, which led to a 58 kg drop in his weight.
"I didn't know how to stop. If the police came over to my house and said, 'If you drink tonight, we're going to take you to jail,' I'd start packing. I couldn't stop because the disease and the addiction is progressive. So it gets worse and worse as you grow older," Perry was quoted as saying by People.
The actor, who has been to rehab 15 times over the years, said that he is healthy now.
“My therapist said, ‘The next time you think about taking Oxycontin, just think about having a colostomy bag for the rest of your life,’” the actor said. “And a little window opened and I crawled through it and I no longer want Oxycontin anymore,” the actor added.
He also told People about how he was always the person to end a relationship.
"That was me afraid. That is what I manifest, something that's wrong with them. And then I break up with them. But there can't be something wrong with everyone. I'm the common denominator. I left first because I thought they were going to annihilate me," he explained.
Perry, who has dated Julia Roberts and Neve Campbell and was briefly engaged to literary manager Molly Hurwitz before they broke up in 2021, said he is now looking for a partner who is "self-supporting in every way".