As the world continues to reel from the unexpected death of Friends star Matthew Perry over the weekend, one person is sharing her favorite memories of the time they got to spend together. In a sweet post she shared with her followers on Instagram, Gwyneth Paltrow paid tribute to Matthew by sharing a story about the "magical summer" they shared in Massachusetts right before he got his big break playing Chandler Bing in the role he'd be remember for forever.
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She told a story from their younger years.
She wrote that she first met Matthew in 1993, when they both would have been in their early 20s, while they spent the summer acting in plays at the Williamstown Theater Festival in Massachusetts.
"He was so funny and so sweet and so much fun to be with. We drove out to swim in creeks, had beers in the local college bar, kissed in a field of long grass. It was a magical summer," she shared.
At the time, he wasn't yet a household name.
Gwyneth wrote that Matthew had already filmed the pilot for Friends but it hadn't aired yet — and at that point, nobody knew what a worldwide phenomenon the show would become.
"He was nervous, hoping his big break was just around the corner. It was," she continued in her post. "We stayed friends for a while until we drifted apart, but I was always happy to see him when I did. I am super sad today, as so many of us are. I hope Matthew is at peace at long last. I really do."
This isn't the first time their summer together has made headlines.
As Insider pointed out, Matthew included a story about his fling with Gwyneth in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, while writing about his summer before Friends premiered.
"I filled that summer with three notable things — gambling in Vegas at the behest of Jimmy Burrows; a trip to Mexico on my own; and a make-out session in a closet with Gwyneth Paltrow," he wrote. "She was doing a play there, and I was visiting my grandfather. At some big party, we slipped off into a broom cupboard and made out."
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News of Matthew's death broke on Saturday night.
According to what those close to the situation have told TMZ, Matthew had sent his assistant out on an errand after coming home from playing a game of pickleball with a friend. When his assistant returned to the Los Angeles area residence, he found Matthew unresponsive in a jacuzzi.
Medical examiners are still waiting on the results of the toxicology report to determine his official cause of death.
There's no doubt that Matthew will be missed.
And not just by his friends, family, and those who knew him personally like Gwyneth did, but also by his fans, who are also mourning such a big loss this week. As Chandler continues to make us laugh in the more than 200 episodes of Friends that fans still watch regularly today, Matthew will never be forgotten.
