Courteney Cox is paying tribute to her Friends co-star and onscreen husband Matthew Perry a few weeks after his sudden death.
Cox took to social media to share a video of Monica and Chandler’s first fling in the hit NBC sitcom that led to the characters’ eventual marriage. Their relationship is arguably one of the most beloved fictional couples in recent television history.
“I am so grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day,” Cox wrote in the caption of the post. “When you work with someone as closely as I did with Matthew, there are thousands of moments I wish I could share. For now here’s one of my favorites.”
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She continued, “To give a little backstory, Chandler and Monica were supposed to have a one night fling in London. But because of the audience’s reaction, it became the beginning of their love story. In this scene, before we started rolling, he whispered a funny line for me to say. He often did things like that. He was funny and he was kind.”
The video featured two parts — one was a clip of what aired on the show and the other was a longer version that showed how close Cox and Perry were in real life.
In the clip that aired, Ross (David Schwimmer) runs into the room, excited that he’s getting married that day, while Chandler’s in bed trying not to seem suspicious. Once Ross runs back out of the room, Monica comes out from under the covers and asks, “You think he knew I was here?”
In the clip of “what happened,” as Cox dubbed it, the same thing happens, but after she asks if Chandler thinks Ross knew she was there, the actors have a long, somewhat awkward pause before Cox jokes, “OK, your turn,” and pretends to go back under the covers.
“We’re kidding,” she laughs. “He told me to say it!”
The actress’ statement comes a few hours after fellow Friends co-star Matt LeBlanc shared his own heartfelt message about Perry.
“It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye,” LeBlanc wrote on Instagram with a carousel of photos of his character, Joey, and Perry as Chandler. “The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life. It was an honor to share the stage with you and to call you my friend. I will always smile when I think of you and I’ll never forget you. Never. Spread your wings and fly brother you’re finally free. Much love.”
On Oct. 28, Perry was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home. His cause of death has not yet been announced, as the L.A. County Medical Examiner’s office is waiting for the toxicology results following the completion of an autopsy. Per a report that was taken down from the examiner’s website, the actor’s cause of death was listed as “deferred.”
Cox and LeBlanc’s personal statements following the news of Perry’s death come after they and their other Friends co-stars — Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Jennifer Aniston — released a joint statement. “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just castmates. We are a family,” it read. “There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”
