Jennifer Aniston Speaks out on ‘Friends’ Co-Star Matthew Perry’s Bombshell Admission During Reunion

Even Jennifer Aniston was shocked by some of the bombshell revelations that arose from the HBO Max Friends reunion. A month after she and her former co-stars reunited on the set of the beloved sitcom, Aniston spoke out about Matthew Perry‘s revelation that he felt extreme pressure to get a laugh from the in-studio audience, something she admitted she had been unaware of.

During the reunion, Perry revealed that he would “freak out” and sweat and “go into convulsions” if the audience didn’t laugh. Perry told his co-stars that he “felt like that every single night.” Addressing that moment during a June 22 conversation with Today, Aniston “didn’t understand the level of anxiety and self-torture [that] was put on” her former co-star “if he didn’t get that laugh and the devastation that he felt.” Aniston said looking back on it now, however, “it makes a lot of sense.”

The May reunion, which is now available for streaming on HBO Max, brought the former co-stars – Aniston, Perry, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, and Lisa Kudrow – for the first time in 10 years. Hosted by James Corden, the special saw special appearances from fan-favorite guest stars and even showed the cast emotionally revisiting the set they had visited almost daily during the show’s 10-year run. During the reunion, there were many open conversations, which led to plenty of surprises, including the revelation that Aniston and Schwimmer had more than just an on-screen romance. Schwimmer revealed that “at some point, we were both crushing hard on each other,” though “it was like two ships passing because one of us was always in a relationship. So and we never crossed that boundary. We respected that.” Aniston opened up about that confession with Today.

“I think there was something about unrequited love and really investing in those (relationships),” she said. “I think David and I loved each other — we love each other still to this day — so I do think there was something that had to do with that. And you were investing in something that was very relatable: the one that you never could have or the one you wanted to be with but they couldn’t quite get it together.”

Friends premiered in 1994 and chronicled the lives of six 20-something New Yorkers as they navigated through their personal and professional lives. It aired for 10 seasons before concluding in 2004. Aniston told Today “it was just the greatest time in my life…we didn’t understand in those four walls of stage 24 the impact that it was having on the world.” All episodes of the sitcom, as well as the reunion, are available for streaming on HBO Max.