Matthew Perry, the actor best known for playing the role of Chandler Bing in the sitcom 'Friends' died at the age of 54 in Los Angeles on October 28. He was found unconscious in a hot tub and the first responders were unable to revive him. However, the same date also happens to be the birthday of his ex-girlfriend and Hollywood star Julia Roberts. The former couple started dating during the mid-1990s while shooting 'Friends', as per his memoir, 'Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing'.
Matthew Perry and Julia Roberts became friends before her guest appearance on season two of the show. In his book, Mr Perry stated that Ms Roberts told 'Friends' producers that she would guest star in the show under the condition that she would be included in the storyline of Chandler Bing. This led to Mr Perry sending her "three dozen red roses and 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.'"
In the early days of their relationship, they communicated over fax in 1995 before they had even met in person. The actor revealed that they used to send "hundreds" of daily faxes despite their busy schedules. 'The Odd Couple' actor described Ms Roberts' messages as "smart" and that they made him feel as though "she was placed on this planet to make the world smile".
"Thus began a three-month-long courtship by daily faxes. This was pre-internet, pre-cell phones - all our exchanges were done by fax. And there were many; hundreds," Mr Perry wrote and described how "three or four times a day I would sit by my fax machine and watch the piece of paper slowly revealing her next missive." "The way she strung sentences together, the way she saw the world, the way she articulated her unique thoughts, all was so captivating," the actor added.
Soon after, the faxes "veered romantic," resulting in "five-hour" phone talks before the couple had met face to face. Mr Perry wrote, "After that we could not be stopped: five-hour conversations here, four-hour conversations there. We were falling; I wasn't sure into what, but we were falling."
The couple dated for six months before splitting up in 1996. Matthew Perry said that he broke up with the "beautiful and brilliant" Julia Roberts because of his own struggles with addiction and not feeling "enough" for her.
"Dating Julia Roberts had been too much for me. I had been constantly certain that she was going to break up with me," Mr Perry wrote. He added that he felt Ms Roberts was "slumming it" by dating him. "Why would she not? I was not enough; I could never be enough; I was broken, bent, unlovable. So instead of facing the inevitable agony of losing her, I broke up with the beautiful and brilliant Julia Roberts," Mr Perry added.
