Matthew Perry reveals shocking details of his near-fatal health crisis

Pacific Palisades, California - Matthew Perry has opened up about his battle with substance abuse and addiction as he revealed shocking new details about the severity of his health crises.

Matthew Perry at the New York City premiere of The Circle in 2017.
Matthew Perry at the New York City premiere of The Circle in 2017.  © THEO WARGO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

The 53-year-old has penned a new memoir titled Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, which will be released on November 1.

Perry begins the memoir with a shocking revelation: he nearly died four years ago.

In 2018, he spent two weeks in a coma and five months in the hospital after his colon burst due to overusing opioids. At the time, Perry confirmed that he had experienced a gastrointestinal perforation, but the severity of it was kept a secret until now.

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Speaking with People magazine, the Friends star said, "I think they'll be surprised at how bad it got at certain times and how close to dying I came."

In fact, Perry revealed that doctors told his family that he had just a 2% chance of survival.

Matthew Perry describes his struggle with addiction

Matthew Perry revealed that he is now "safely sober."
Matthew Perry revealed that he is now "safely sober."  © screenshot/Instagram/@mattyperry4

Perry was also candid about the severity of his addiction at points during the filming of Friends.

At one point, the actor said he weighed just 128 pounds and was taking 55 Vicodin each day, admitting that he "didn't know how to stop."

He explained that addiction is a progressive disease, and it got much worse for him as he got older.

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Thankfully, Perry is in a much better place now, jokingly telling the outlet, "I've got to not go to the gym much more, because I don't want to only be able to play superheroes. But no, I'm a pretty healthy guy right now."

He hopes that sharing his story will have a positive impact on others battling addiction. Now sober, Perry shared that he is confident now is the right time for him to publish his book.

"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."

Matthew Perry discusses how his Friends costars helped him

(From l. to r.:) Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, and David Schwimmer pictured in 1995.
(From l. to r.:) Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, and David Schwimmer pictured in 1995.  © IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

Perry said that his substance abuse issues were just beginning when he was cast on Friends at 24 years old.

He recalled the many ups and downs that he experienced during the TV show's run. The actor revealed that he was sober through the entirety of Season 9.

"And guess which season I got nominated for best actor? I was like, 'That should tell me something,'" Perry said.

He said his famous costars were "understanding" and "patient" about his addiction battle: "It's like penguins. Penguins, in nature, when one is sick, or when one is very injured, the other penguins surround it and prop it up."

"They walk around it until that penguin can walk on its own," he added. "That's kind of what the cast did for me."

Cover photo: THEO WARGO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

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