How Matthew Perry's Untimely Death Impacted Julia Roberts

The truth about many of Matthew Perry's famous exes came out in his 2022 memoir, "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing." One of those exes is Academy Award-winning actor Julia Roberts. The pair briefly dated between 1995 and 1996, meeting after Perry convinced Roberts to guest star on an episode of "Friends." In the wake of Perry's untimely death, plenty of friends, fans, and former co-stars have spoken out about their grief surrounding the tragic loss. And, now, Roberts is speaking out about how losing her ex from long ago has affected her. 

"The sudden passing of anybody so young is heartbreaking," the star told Entertainment Tonight. Perry was just 54 at the time of his death on October 28, and Roberts is just two years older than he was. She went on to say, "I think that, you know, it just helps all of us just appreciate what we have and to keep going in a positive way as best we can."

Matthew Perry's death reminded Julia Roberts to appreciate the good things in life. Her memories of appearing on the 1996 "Friends" episode, "The One After the Super Bowl," are some of those good things. Roberts told Entertainment Tonight she has "all good thoughts and feelings" about the experience. "They were all so welcoming to me as just a kind of a one-off character, and it was a really fun time," she recalled.

According to "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing," Perry was thrilled and surprised to discover that Roberts had requested to share scenes with him. "Turned out Julia had been offered the post-Super Bowl episode in my season two and she would only do the show if she could be in my storyline," he wrote. Consequently, Perry sent Roberts flowers. "I thought long and hard about what to say on the card. I wanted it to sound professional ... But I wanted something a tad flirty in there, too, to match what she had said," he explained, adding, "I'm still proud of what I settled on ... the card read: 'The only thing more exciting than the prospect of you doing the show is that I finally have an excuse to send you flowers.'" 

Strangely though, it was Perry's explanation of quantum physics (by Roberts' own request) that convinced Roberts to do the show. A whirlwind romance followed, and it's clear that Perry is still in Roberts' thoughts today.