Massively loved for his portrayal of Chandler Bing on the cult-favorite TV sitcom - Friends, Matthew Perry has always been in the news. But oftentimes, for his real-life addiction issues. While the actor had never really talked about it in detail before, Perry has now opened up about his battles with alcoholism and recovery in a new tell-all memoir. The actor also revealed how he almost died at the age of 49 because of this.  

Titled Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry detailed many heartbreaking moments as far as his tussle with alcoholism was concerned. Confessing that he suffered gastrointestinal perforation due to the addiction, the actor further revealed that he spent weeks fighting for his life. Perry’s colon was reportedly ruptured from opioid overuse, owing to which he spent two weeks in a coma.

The five months in the hospital were hard for the star and was compelled to use a colostomy bag for nine months to be able to survive the damage. “The doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live,” he recalls. “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.” 

His alcohol addiction can be dated back to the age of 24, when he was shooting for Friends. His co-stars “were understanding, and they were patient,” he adds. “I could handle it, kind of. But by the time I was 34, I was really entrenched in a lot of trouble,” Perry confessed, enthusing, “But there were years that I was sober during that time. Season 9 was the year that I was sober the whole way through. And guess which season I got nominated for best actor? I was like, ‘That should tell me something.'” 

At one point during his Friends dominance, Matthew Perry was taking 55 Vicodin in a day and weighed 128 pounds. He also revealed that he has been to rehab roughly about 15 times over the years and has had 14 surgeries on his stomach so far. 

(Featured Image Credits: Twitter @matthewperry)