Matthew Perry was ‘lonely in his soul’ says family on death anniversary

On the first anniversary of Matthew Perry’s death, his mother has spoken about some of the last conversations she had with her son, ITV News reporter Charlie Frost reports
Matthew Perry’s family has said he was “very lonely” during an interview marking the first anniversary of his death.
The Friends actor was found dead in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles on October 28, 2023, with a lethal amount of ketamine in his bloodstream.
In an exclusive interview with NBC’s Today, Perry’s mother Suzanne Morrison said that despite his personality “lighting up the room”, he was “very lonely in his soul”.
She also spoke of an apparent “premonition” which Perry seemed to have ahead of his own death.
“There was an inevitability to what was going to happen to him next, and he felt it very strongly,” she told NBC. “But he said ‘I’m not frightened any more’, and it worried me.”
Perry struggled with addiction for years, even during his time on the hit 90s sitcom Friends, where he played Chandler Bing alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer.
Former co-star Jennifer Aniston posted pictures of the two of them on Instagram to mark one year since his death.
Perry’s stepfather and sisters also paid tribute to the star, speaking of his experiences with addiction.
“Even when he was struggling in dark times, we were always proud of him,” Caitlin Morrison, Perry’s sister, said.
“We were always proud of the fact he kept fighting. He made it a focus of his life to help other people.”
In November 2022, Perry released the book Friends, Lovers and The Big Terrible Thing where he talked about his life, addiction and that he was in “sobriety”.
“All he ever wanted was to love and be loved,” Perry’s sister Emily Morrison told NBC. “He struggled so much to feel peace, and I think he got to a place where he did.”
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On Thursday, the star’s family launched the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada to support organisations directly tackling addiction within communities.
“I have found a huge amount of meaning I thinking about the fact this isn’t our tragedy, this happens to people every day,” said Caitlin Morrison, Perry’s sister.
Keith Morrison, Perry’s stepfather, added: “People come up to us all the time and say sorry for your loss. Millions of people have had that loss. We’re very aware of that. This is not about us, it’s about those millions of people.”
His family also spoke of the comfort they felt in seeing criminal proceedings take place into the circumstances of his death.
Five people have been charged for their involvement in his death. Three people have pleaded guilty, and two people have pleaded not guilty.
Asked about how she felt seeing some accountability, Perry’s mother Suzanne Morrison said she was “thrilled”.
His stepfather added: “What I’m hoping is that people who have put themselves in the business of supplying people with the drugs that will kill them, that they are now on notice, and it doesn’t matter what your professional credentials are – you’re going down, baby.”
Salvador Plasencia, a doctor charged in the federal case, is set to face trial on March 4 next year. He is currently on bail and faces a maximum sentence of 120 years in prison.
Jasveen Sangha, who allegedly sold ketamine to Perry, faces potential life imprisonment and has been denied bail.
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