Matthew Perry Estimates He's 'Probably Spent $9m Trying To Get Sober'
Matthew Perry (Photo: Cindy Ord via Getty Images)
Matthew Perry has admitted he has spent an estimated $9 million (£7.9m) in his efforts to get sober.
The Friends star has had a well-documented battle with alcohol and substance addiction over the years, and is opening up about his struggles in a new memoir.
In support of the release of Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, the Chandler Bing actor gave an interview to The New York Times (£), in which he admitted: “I’ve probably spent $9million (£7.9m) or something trying to get sober.”
Matthew said his addiction struggles began with wine and beer as a teenager, before he moved on to vodka and painkillers Vicodin and OxyContin, and tranquilliser Xanax.
At one of his lowest points during the filming of Friends, he said he was taking 55 Vicodin tablets a day.
Things also reached a head in 2018 when he suffered pneumonia, an exploded colon, a brief stint on life support, two weeks in a coma, nine months with a colostomy bag and more than a dozen stomach surgeries.
Matthew with Friends co-stars David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc (Photo: Jim Smeal via Getty Images)
Matthew told NYT he had now been clean for 18 months, meaning he was newly drug- and alcohol-free when he reunited with the Friends cast for last year’s much-anticipated TV retrospective.
He previously told People he only has to “look down” at his stomach scars from 14 surgeries to remind him to stay sober.
In a US TV interview set to air later this week, Matthew also opened up about how Jennifer Aniston once confronted him behind the scenes of the filming the sitcom about his drinking.
“Imagine how scary a moment that was,” he tells host Diane Sawyer.
“She was the one that reached out the most. I’m really grateful to her for that,” he adds.
Help and support:
If you need help with a drinking problem, call the Alcoholics Anonymous national helpline for free on 0800 9177 650 or email help@aamail.org.
For advice on how to reduce drinking, visit Drinkaware’s website or Alcohol Change UK.
Find alcohol addiction services near you using this NHS tool.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.
