Matthew Perry admits Friends and his co-stars ‘saved’ him amid his addiction

Ahead of his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Friends alum Matthew Perry is opening up about the various struggles and experiences in his life. Fans of the actor know that he dealt with addiction for years, many of which were during his time on the NBC sitcom. There have been so many rumors and reports about Perry since he became a star, and now he’s wanting to set the record straight.

So far, Perry is getting extremely vulnerable in interviews promoting his book, so we’re sure that was the case when he was writing as well. The tell-all memoir will also explore his past romantic relationships and his memories of Friends, good and bad ones. But the best memory Perry has from the show is probably his co-stars.

While speaking to People Magazine for their latest cover story, Perry opened up on his Vicodin addiction and how he almost died when his colon burst due to his drug abuse. “The doctors told my family that I had a two percent chance to live. That’s the time I really came close to my life ending,” he revealed.

But through it all, Perry shared that the cast of Friends was very supportive when he needed them the most. “They were understanding, and they were patient. It could be said that [doing the show] saved me,” he admitted. That’s so powerful! The actor also shared how noticeable his struggles were while on the show, saying he weighed only 128 pounds at one point.

Fans are so proud to hear Perry come forward and share his story like this, and he says he hopes his memoir helps those who read it.

“I wanted to share when I was safe from going into the dark side of everything again,” Perry shared. “I had to wait until I was pretty safely sober — and away from the active disease of alcoholism and addiction — to write it all down. And the main thing was, I was pretty certain that it would help people.”

You can pre-order Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing right here on Amazon

. Perry’s memoir will hit bookshelves on Nov. 1.