How long were Matthew Perry and Julia Roberts together? 'FRIENDS' star's death tragically coincided with ex's birthday
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In a tragic coincidence, ‘FRIENDS’ star Matthew Perry was found dead in his Los Angeles home on October 28, which also happens to be the 56th birthday of his ex Julia Roberts.
Julia Roberts and the late actor dated briefly for three months in 1996. Roberts and the star, who is best known for essaying the role of Chandler Bing in the sitcom 'FRIENDS', were in a secret relationship in the '90s.
Matthew Perry and Julia Roberts’ relationship timeline
In his 2022 memoir, Perry wrote about his brief romance with the ‘Pretty Woman’ star which is also one of the most poetic portions of the book ‘Friends, Lovers and the Big, Terrible Thing’.
Perry’s romance with the ‘Erin Brokovich' star was initiated as Roberts signed for a cameo in a 1996 episode of ‘FRIENDS’.
Perry recalled in his memoir that Roberts showed interest in appearing for a brief cameo on the show only if her character was a part of Chandler Bing’s storyline.
Thus at the request of creator Marta Kauffman, the ‘Fools Rush In’ star sent three dozen roses and a witty card to Roberts, encouraging her to appear on the show.
The Emmy-nominated actor wrote, “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.”
“Three or four times a day I would sit by my fax machine and watch the piece of paper slowly revealing her next missive,” he recounted.
The faxes soon turned into “five-hour” phone calls. He also revealed that once Roberts paid a surprise visit to him.
The ‘Three to Tango’ star revealed, “When I opened it, there she was, there was a smiling Julia Roberts on the other side. I believe I said something like, ‘Oh, that Julia Roberts’.”
Matthew Perry visited Julia Roberts’ parents during their short romance
In his book, Perry recalled meeting the Oscar winner’s parents for the first time during a trip to New Mexico to welcome 1996.
He shared, "We jumped in this big blue truck and drove up a mountain, snow swirling around," and added, "Eventually we reached a mountaintop, and for a moment the weather cleared, and we could see New Mexico and beyond, all the way back to Canada."
“As we sat there, she made me feel like the king of the world. A gentle snow was falling, and with that, 1996 began,” recalled Perry.
Why did Matthew Perry and Julia Roberts break up?
The ‘17 Again’ star not only detailed the enchanting moments he shared with the ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ star but also the reason for their break up.
He observed in his memoir, “Dating Julia Roberts had been too much for me. I had been constantly certain that she was going to break up with me. Why would she not?”
“I was not enough; I could never be enough; I was broken, bent, unloveable. So instead of facing the inevitable agony of losing her, I broke up with the beautiful and brilliant Julia Roberts,” noted the star.