14 November 2023 , 20:18
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Courteney Cox has broken her silence and paid an emotional tribute to her late co-star Matthew Perry, who died aged 54.
Matthew - who is known to the world for playing Chandler Bing in the hit US series Friends - tragically passed away at the age of 54. He was reportedly found unresponsive in his hot tub when his assistant returned from running an errand for him and the emergency services were called, but he was sadly confirmed to have passed away.
Courteney - who played his on-screen wife Monica Geller - has now shared a heartbreaking tribute to her co-star and long time friend on Instagram, explaining his key role in changing a now iconic Friends scene.
READ MORE: Matt LeBlanc breaks silence in touching tribute following Matthew Perry's death
Courteney Cox played Monica Geller and Matthew Perry played Chandler Bing (NBCUniversal via Getty Images)She wrote: "I am so grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day. When you work with someone as closely as I did with Matthew, there are thousands of moments I wish I could share. For now here’s one of my favorites.
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"To give a little backstory, Chandler and Monica were supposed to have a one night fling in London. But because of the audience’s reaction, it became the beginning of their love story. In this scene, before we started rolling, he whispered a funny line for me to say.
"He often did things like that. He was funny and he was kind."
She shared a clip of the scene from the show as well as the outtake which were both met to laughter from the audience.
Her tribute comes just hours after co-star Matt LeBlanc also paid a special tribute to Matthew. In his own emotional post, Matt said his pal is now "finally free" and also joked he will never get the 20 bucks Matthew owed him.
He also took to Instagram to write: "Matthew. It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye. The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life.
Monica and Chandler's romance became a huge line in the iconic sitcom (NBC via Getty Images)"It was an honor to share the stage with you and to call you my friend. I will always smile when I think of you and I’ll never forget you. Never. Spread your wings and fly brother you’re finally free. Much love. And I guess you’re keeping the 20 bucks you owe me."
Matthew and Courteney had a great friendship outside the show. Speaking during the emotional reunion for the series, Matthew had said: "The best way that I can describe it is after the show was over, at a party or any kind of social gathering, if one of us bumped into each other, that was it. That was the end of the night. You just sat with the person all night long and that was it.
"You apologised to the people you were with, but they had to understand you had met somebody special to you and you were going to talk to that person for the rest of the night. And that’s the way it worked." His admission made both Courteney and Jennifer Aniston - who played Rachel Green - cry, as he added: "It’s certainly the way it worked with all of us. It’s just the way it is."
Matthew had previously spoken out about how supportive his co-stars had been during his time on the show. During his time on the show, Matthew struggled with a drugs and alcohol addiction and found it hard to watch the show back.
Speaking about the support his friends and co-stars gave him at the time, he said: "They were understanding, and they were patient. It's like penguins. In nature, when one is sick or very injured, the other penguins surround it and prop it up and walk around until that penguin can walk on its own. And that's kind of what the cast did for me."
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*Frank offers confidential advice about drugs and addiction (email [email protected], message 82111 or call 0300 123 6600) or the NHS has information about getting help.
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