Matthew Perry Shared Ominous Photo From a Jacuzzi Just Days Before His Death

Matthew Perry, who was discovered dead in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home on Saturday, shared a photo earlier this week of himself in what appears to be a swimming pool jacuzzi. The caption of Perry’s picture of him swimming alone at nighttime read, “Oh, so warm water swirling around makes you feel good? I’m Mattman.”

The actor, best known for portraying Chandler Bing in the hit TV series Friends, was 54 at the time of his death. According to reports, law enforcement officials were called to the residence for a cardiac arrest emergency. Although Perry’s exact cause of death is unknown, he publicly spoke about his struggles with substance abuse and addiction. 

At the age of 18, Perry began drinking regularly, and he became reliant on Vicodin around 1996 after he was involved in a jet ski accident, per Variety. During one period of time, he admitted that he had been taking 55 Vicodin a day. As a result of his severe addiction, Perry has attended 6,000 AA meetings, gone to rehab 15 times, detoxed 65 times, has been on life support, and spent between $7 million and $9 million trying to get sober, according to the outlet.

“I had a big problem with alcohol and pills and I couldn’t stop,” he told People in 2013. “Eventually things got so bad that I couldn’t hide it, and then everybody knew.”

In 2018, Perry suffered from pneumonia and had an exploded colon; he was briefly placed on life support, spent two weeks in a coma, was forced to use a colostomy bag for nine months, and had to undergo more than a dozen stomach surgeries. Perry’s Friends co-stars supported him during his difficult time, and Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe Buffay on the show, wrote the foreword to his memoir.

“It’s a hideous disease, and he has a tough version of it. What’s not changing is his will to keep going, keep fighting and keep living,” she told the Times. “I love Matthew a lot. We’re part of a family. I’m basically ending this with ‘I’ll be there for you’ [the Friends theme song], but it’s true. I’ll always be there for him.” During Perry’s recovery, his co-star Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel Green, also had a significant role in informing his sobriety, as she was the one who dared to confront him about his drinking habits and help him change.

In an interview with Diane Sawyer, the Fools Rush In actor recollected that the actress even informed him that “we know you’re drinking,” adding, “Imagine how scary a moment that was.” He said, “She was the one that reached out the most. I’m really grateful to her for that.”

Perry became best known for his ten seasons on Friends alongside Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, and Lisa Kudrow. His role on the show earned him an Emmy nomination in 2002.