Jennifer Aniston talks not realizing the ‘anxiety and self-torture’ Matthew Perry went through on Friends

Jennifer Aniston is opening up again on her experience filming Friends, and has admitted even she was surprised at one reveal that was shared during the reunion special.

In case you haven’t watched it yet, Friends: The Reunion saw all six main cast members — Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc — back together again to relive their favorite moments from the long-running sitcom and interact with some special guests. Though Friends fans were unhappy that many celebrities who weren’t even on the show attended the reunion while fan-favorite guest stars were not present, it turned out to be an awesome special anyway.

One of the biggest reveals that came from the reunion was that Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer, who played Rachel Green and Ross Geller respectively, actually had crushes on one another offscreen. Though they never acted on it, they both admitted there were real feelings there. How sweet!

On the other hand, Matthew Perry got super vulnerable during the special and opened up about his struggles during the filming of Friends. As you might recall, the actor dealt with addiction for years before getting sober in the early 2000s. He’s later admitted to not remembering a lot about his experience on Friends.

Jennifer Aniston talks Matthew Perry’s struggles on Friends

While a guest on the Today show, Aniston spoke all about the reunion and opened up on Perry’s admission that he would “go into convulsions” if he didn’t get laughs from the live audience while filming Friends. The actress shared:

"“I didn’t understand the level of anxiety and self torture (that) was put on Matthew Perry, if he didn’t get that laugh, and the devastation that he felt. Which makes a lot of sense.”"

While the stars of Friends were incredibly close during filming, Perry clearly went through a super tough time with his own personal struggles. We’re relieved to see he’s in a much better place now and it’s evident he still has the support of his former co-stars to this day.