Jennifer Aniston ‘struggling’ after Matthew Perry’s death

Jennifer Aniston’s friends are worried about her in the wake of Friends co-star Matthew Perry’s tragic death.

Jennifer Aniston’s friends are worried about her in the wake of Friends co-star Matthew Perry’s tragic death.

Of the five remaining Friends castmates, Aniston is “struggling” the most, an industry source told The New York Post.

Perry was laid to rest at Forest Lawn cemetery in Los Angeles on the weekend in a private funeral attended by his family and co-stars.

The low-key service was attended by castmates Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow who reacted emotionally when Peter Gabriel’s Don’t Give Up was played.

The cast of Friends - Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer.

“Out of the remaining five, Jen and Courteney (Cox) are reeling the most, and Jen is probably the one who is struggling most acutely,” the source told the New York Post.

“It’s a second massive loss in less than a year, with the one-year anniversary of her dad’s death just around the corner. She still hasn’t fully regained her footing from that, and now this has just completely knocked her off her feet.”

Jennifer Aniston broke down while talking about Matthew Perry in an interview with Diane Sawyer in 2004.

Aniston’s father, John Aniston, who starred on the soap Days of Our Lives, died aged 89 in November 2022.

In footage that resurfaced after Perry’s death, Aniston wept in a 2004 interview with Diane Sawyer when she addressed the issue of Perry’s drug and alcohol addiction, saying the Friends cast were “not equipped” to deal with it.

ONE THING PERRY WOULDN’T LET HIS CHARACTER DO

The whole world loved Chandler Bing, the sarcastic, overanimated, vest-wearing Friends character on the iconic sitcom.

And Matthew Perry, who embodied the funniest of the fictional New York City sextet was fiercely loyal to him.

So much so that when he received a script with a plot line in which Chandler does something offensive, he used his powers to force a rewrite.

According to showbiz website TMZ, Perry’s character was being written into a scandalous plot line with one of the scripts having him cheating on Monica, played by Courteney Cox.

TMZ’s sources said Perry demanded the idea was scrapped.

Actor Matthew Perry and actress Courteney Cox. Perry was very protective of plot lines for Chandler Bing. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for AFI

Actress Lisa Cash, who appeared in the 1999 episode from season 5, “The One in Vegas: Part 1” said she appeared in the episode as a featured extra. But initially her role was planned to be far more controversial.

She told TMZ that in the original script, the scene had Monica having a fight with Chandler in their Las Vegas hotel room, then a room service attendant (played by Cash) comes to Chandler’s suite and they hit it off in a major way, and Chandler cheats on Monica with the hotel staffer.

Perry did not think audiences would approve of this plot twist with his character.

Cash says that after they rehearsed the scene Perry went to the writers and told them to axe it.

Chandler had made Perry famous, and Cash also knew that a scene with Perry could put her on the map. She lost out on the role and instead has a part in the same episode as a flight attendant in Ross and Rachel’s scene on the plane.

Watch the scene here:

It comes as there has been a global outpouring of love for Perry since he was found dead in his jacuzzi on October 28.

Although a lifelong performer, the 54-year-old was made famous by his role as Chandler Bing in Friends, which aired from 1994-2004.

People place flower tributes to actor Matthew Perry outside the apartment building which was used as the exterior shot in Friends in New York. Picture: AFP

The cause of Perry’s death is not yet known. An initial post-mortem examination was inconclusive and the results of toxicology tests have not yet been released.

TMZ cited sources saying that no illicit drugs were found at his home, although several medications were discovered including antidepressants and anxiety medication.

Perry had battled addiction and serious health problems for years.

A foundation has been established in Matthew Perry’s name to help those fighting addiction.

Originally published as Jennifer Aniston ‘struggling’ after Matthew Perry’s death