Just when it seemed like Matthew Perry was living his best life, he unexpectedly passed away in 2023. Matthew Perry died in his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023. For the beloved Friends star, life hadn’t always been easy. During his younger years, Perry struggled with addiction, later opening up about it in the hopes of helping others who may be in a similar situation.
As he went through his journey to sobriety, the actor’s Friends co-star remained by his side. However, the same can’t be said about the women who became romantically involved with Perry over the years. These include Valerie Bertinelli, Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Lizzy Caplan. And while Perry was reportedly single at the time of his death, it seems that one ex-love was on his mind until the end. So much so, that she was even included in his will.
Perry may not have pursued as many roles as Jennifer Aniston or Courteney Cox once Friends ended, but the actor was living quite comfortably, nonetheless. Long after their hit sitcom ended its run, the actor was reportedly worth a cool $120 million, and it’s no secret that his time on Friends contributed significantly to that fortune.
2:07As fans would know, the Friends main cast successfully negotiated a salary of $1 million per episode just as the show was ending. Later on, the show also continued to bring in money after it entered syndication.
At the same time, Perry also made some lucrative investments throughout his life. This would explain his impressive real estate portfolio; Perry owned a mid-century Hollywood Hills property that he purchased in 2023.
Before his death, Perry had been in a relationship with literary manager Molly Hurwitz. The couple first got together in 2018 and things between the two became quite serious not long after, with Perry proposing to Hurwitz in 2020. Just a year later, in 2021, however, Molly and Matthew ended their engagement and went their separate ways.
As far as anyone knew, Perry didn’t date anyone else after his relationship with Hurwitz. Perhaps, this is also why fans were surprised to learn that another ex, Rachel Dunn, was named in the actor’s will, which was written back in 2009.
2:13Following Perry’s death, it was revealed Dunn is listed as one of the beneficiaries of the late actor’s trust. Perry is reportedly earning around $20 million a year from his Friends residuals, and following his death, it is believed that the royalties would go to his parents, half-sister, and Dunn. That said, the exact figure that Dunn would receive was never revealed.
During his time on Friends, Perry had been linked to several stars. Aside from these high-profile relationships, however, he also got into a serious relationship with Dunn back in 2003. At that time, Dunn had been a fashion student and people who knew of their relationship often commented on the 14-year age gap between her and the actor.
Despite this, however, Perry was never bothered by it. Perry also seemed incredibly happy to be with Dunn. At one point, the actor even credited her for keeping him grounded and inspiring him to become a better man.
“With Rachel in my life, I know that I can be very committed and not some selfish guy who just wants to hang out with friends,” Perry once said.
At that time, things were looking great for the couple. However, in 2005, Perry and Dunn split up, with a source telling People that there was “no drama” behind their break-up. It was also reported that Perry wanted to “stay focused on his sobriety.”
Since then, it doesn't seem that Perry and Dunn ever tried to rekindle their romance again. In the years that followed, the actor even became involved with other women, including Cameron Diaz, ex-fiancé Hurwitz, and Caplan whom the actor quietly dated for six years. That said, Perry eventually made his feelings clear about Dunn years after their split.
In his memoir entitled Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, the actor took some time to discuss their time together as a couple, even revealing that they started going out after he crashed Dunn’s 23rd birthday party. During their time together, Perry also knew that the relationship would not just be a fling after it “deepened.”
At one point, he even thought about “urgently” proposing to Dunn, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Since then, Perry had spent some time wondering about what could have been.
“Now we’d have two kids and a house with no view, who knows…,” the actor wrote in his memoir. Perry also added, “I wouldn’t need the view, because I’d have her to look at…”
As Dunn appears to be an incredibly private person, not much is known about her life after being with Perry. It’s also unclear if the exes remained in touch over the years. What can’t be denied, however, is that Perry had so much love for Dunn until the end.
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