Matthew Perry, renowned for his portrayal of Chandler Bing in the hit TV series 'FRIENDS,' tragically passed away at the age of 54 in Los Angeles on October 28. He was discovered unconscious in a hot tub, and despite the efforts of first responders, he couldn't be revived. Coincidentally, this date also holds significance as the birthday of his former girlfriend and Hollywood luminary, Julia Roberts falls on the same day. Their relationship began in the mid-1990s while they were working on 'FRIENDS', as detailed in his memoir, 'Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing'
The two became friends before her guest appearance in the show's second season. In his book, Perry recounted that Roberts insisted on guest-starring in 'Friends' with the condition that her character would be intertwined with Chandler Bing's storyline. In response, Perry hade sent her a lavish bouquet of "three dozen red roses" along with a card that expressed, "The only thing more exciting than the prospect of you doing the show is that I finally have an excuse to send you flowers."
Julia Roberts happened to be Perry's first high-profile girlfriend. During the initial stages of their relationship, in 1995, they engaged in communication via fax before ever meeting face to face. The actor shared that they exchanged "hundreds" of faxes each day, even amidst their hectic schedules. Matthew Perry described Roberts' messages as "smart" and that they made him feel as though "she was placed on this planet to make the world smile".
"Thus began a three-month-long courtship by daily faxes. This was pre-internet, pre-cell phones - all our exchanges were done by fax. And there were many; hundreds," Perry had written and described how "three or four times a day I would sit by my fax machine and watch the piece of paper slowly revealing her next missive." "The way she strung sentences together, the way she saw the world, the way she articulated her unique thoughts, all was so captivating," the actor had penned.
Perry had also recalled an incident in his memoir that he went to New Mexico to ring in 1996 with her and met her family. "I did let her in, both figuratively and literally, and a relationship began," the actor had said, adding "We would already be a couple by the time we started filming the Friends Super Bowl episode."
The two dated for six months before Perry called it quits, much to Roberts' surprise.
Revealing the reason behind this, Perry had written, "Dating Julia Roberts had been too much for me. I had been constantly certain that she was going to break up with me. Why would she not? I was not enough; I could never be enough; I was broken, bent, unloveable. So instead of facing the inevitable agony of losing her, I broke up with the beautiful and brilliant Julia Roberts"