'Friends' Star Matthew Perry NEARLY DIED After His Colon BURST From Opioid Addiction, Went To Rehab 15 Times Before Getting Clean
Oct. 19 2022, Published 10:30 a.m. ET
Matthew Perry revealed that his opioid addiction once became so severe that he “nearly died” when his colon burst from the drug abuse, RadarOnline.com has learned.
During an interview promoting his upcoming memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, the 53-year-old Friends star announced how he spent two weeks in a coma roughly four years ago when his colon burst.
Even more shocking was the revelation Perry then spent five more months in the hospital following the startling incident, underwent 14 stomach surgeries, and spent another nine months forced to use a colonoscopy bag to treat the condition caused by his opioid addiction.
“The doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live,” Perry told People in a new interview. “I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.”
At the time of the health scare, which took place when the actor was still 49, Perry claimed he suffered a “gastrointestinal perforation.”
He is “sharing the truth” now because he wanted to wait until he knew for sure he was “safe from going into the dark side of everything again.” Perry also revealed it took him 15 rehab stints to get clean.
“I’m pretty healthy now,” Perry joked after revealing how severe his opioid and alcohol addiction truly was. “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.”
“It’s important, but if you lose your sobriety, it doesn’t mean you lose all that time and education,” he continued. “Your sober date changes, but that’s all that changes.”
“You know everything you knew before, as long as you were able to fight your way back without dying, you learn a lot.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Perry worried fans in May 2021 when he appeared looking worse for wear during the Friends: The Reunion special on HBO Max.
Although Perry, who played Chandler Bing in the beloved NBC sitcom, appeared thinner than usual and was slurring his speech during the reunion special, the show’s creator chalked the actor’s “bizarre behavior” up to emergency dental work he received just before the special was filmed.
As Perry continues his recovery he has mostly kept himself occupied with his memoir, which is due to hit bookshelves on November 1.
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"So much has been written about me in the past. I thought it was time people heard from me," Perry told his fans when he was still writing Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.
"The highs were high, the lows were low. But I have lived to tell the tale, even though at times it looked like I wouldn’t," he added. "And it’s all in here.”
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