Matt LeBlanc has sparked concerns he may be ‘unravelling’ a year on from the death of his Friends co-star Matthew Perry, it has been claimed.
The actor, 57, has rarely been seen in public since Matthew’s death on October 28 2023 and some of his fellow Friends actors are said to be concerned about him.
Matt sparked concern from pals after his disheveled appearance in September, according to a source for InTouch Weekly, after TMZ obtained pictures of him.
The insider claimed stars including Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox have expressed their concerns for Matt.
The two stars are said to have been making an effort to spend more time with him in recent weeks and make sure at least one of them is keeping an eye on him.
Matt LeBlanc has sparked concerns he may be ‘unravelling’ a year on from the death of his Friends co-star Matthew Perry, it has been claimed (pictured in Los Angeles in September)
Matt is undoubtedly still grieving his close friend Matthew’s death (pictured in April 2016)
The actor, 57, has rarely been seen in public since Matthew’s death and some of his fellow Friends actors are said to be concerned about him (pictured with Jennifer Aniston in 2004)
An insider claimed Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox have expressed their concerns for Matt (Courteney pictured with Matt)
A source said Jennifer has ‘been spending a lot of time with Matt at his home … cooking for him, or just hanging out and watching movies, or sitting and chatting.
‘She’s even stayed over a couple of times. And both she and Courteney have been in contact to ensure at least one of them is around to keep an eye on him.’
Matt is undoubtedly still grieving his close friend Matthew’s death.
As well as being friends on the show, they were close in real life and were neighbours around the time of Matthew’s death, both living in Pacific Palisades.
Matt was the first of the Friends cast to publicly pay tribute to Matthew following the heartbreaking news of his death.
Taking to Instagram, he wrote: ‘Matthew. It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye. The times we had together are honestly among the favourite times of my life.
‘It was an honour 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. And I guess you’re keeping the 20 bucks you owe me.’
Speaking to The Telegraph, PR and image management consultant Natalie Trice said: ‘Grief is such a personal journey, and nobody can truly understand what someone is going through behind the scenes, and as a star this must be really hard.’
Matt has not appeared in any film or TV projects since the Friends HBO reunion special in 2021, previously saying he was ‘taking some time off’.
While the actor, worth a reported $85million, never needs to work again, friends are reportedly worried that without a project to focus on, grief could consume him.
Trice said: ‘All of the Friends cast have faced challenges moving beyond their iconic roles because the success of the show set an incredibly high bar – how do you shake that label and find equally defining projects?’
PR and image management consultant Natalie Trice said: ‘Grief is such a personal journey, and nobody can truly understand what someone is going through’ (Matt pictured September 26)
While the actor, worth a reported $85million, never needs to work again, friends are reportedly worried that without a project to focus on, grief could consume him (pictured in December)
Matt has not appeared in any film or TV projects since the Friends HBO reunion special in 2021, previously saying he was ‘taking some time off’ (Friends cast pictured together)
This isn’t the first time Matt has attracted concern for not being seen in public often.
He previously told an interviewer in 2012 that he is more introverted than his character of Joey Tribbiani who made him so famous.
He said: ‘People will always ask me if I’m all right, because I’m much more low-key and reserved than my character in Friends.
‘They think that I’m depressed, or I’m sad or upset – but I’m just not amped up to go out in front of an audience and do a TV show. That’s not who I am.’
Yet the role that changed his life nearly wasn’t meant to be.
Matt has previously revealed that after a night of heavy drinking he was left injured when he attended his audition for Friends.
He recalled: ‘I had gone in a bunch of times and I think it was on the final callback, I had gone with a friend of mine to run lines. And he said, “So the show is about friends and being friends? Just a group of friends?” And I said, “Yeah, kinda!”
‘And he was like, “Well we should go out drinking.” I was like, “Yeah that’s a good idea!”
‘To make a long story short, I woke up in the middle of the night at his apartment and had to go to the bathroom. I got up too fast and I can’t believe I’m telling this but I kind of blacked out — as you do — and fell face first into the toilet, hit my nose on the bottom of the toilet seat, and a huge chunk of meat came off my nose.
‘And I’m looking in the mirror, it’s bleeding, and I’m like, “Oh my god. I have to go in for the big callback and it’s a big ugly scab on my nose.”‘
Yet his injury actually helped the creator see Matt as Joey, as he revealed: ‘[Creator] Marta Kaufmann said, “What happened to your face?” And I told the truth and got the job!’
Matt has previously revealed that after a night of heavy drinking he was left injured when he attended his audition for Friends (Friends cast pictured together)
After the success of friends, Matt attempted to recreate the magic with spin-off show Joey – which followed his character’s new life in Los Angeles.
Yet the show was savaged by critics and ended up being pulled halfway through series two.
Speaking about the universally slammed show in 2015 – 10 years after it was axed – he admitted: ‘It was doomed from the start. The writing and the jokes were OK but the conflict and the obstacles in the stories were not valid enough.
‘In Friends Joey was always glass is half full. In Joey he was glass half empty. And that was sad. It was the same showrunner as Friends, and I think we should have taken a year off.
‘In Friends I was sharing a 22-minute episode with six other characters. In Joey the script was all me. It was a lot of responsibility.
‘The pressure was so much, I remember feeling like an elephant had sat on my head.’
But the actor pointed out there was a silver lining to the airing of the two-series show as he quipped: ‘I made 30 million dollars, I’d like another one of those failures!’
The same year Joey was cancelled, Matt also had to deal with the breakdown of his marriage.
He married British-born American model Melissa McKnight – a divorced single mother of two children – in May 2003 but the couple ended up splitting six years later.
Months before their split the couple had welcomed daughter Marina , who began having seizures at eight months leading to a diagnosis of displasia at the age of two.
Displasia is a term used to describe the presence of abnormal cells within a tissue or organ.
After the success of friends, Matt attempted to recreate the magic with spin-off Joey – but it was slammed by critics and axed after two seasons (pictured with co-star Drea De Matteo)
The same year Joey was cancelled, Matt also had to deal with the breakdown of his marriage, as his six-year union with Melissa McKnight came to an end (pictured in 2014)
Reflecting on the turbulent year in a candid chat in, Matt confessed he was heading for a ‘nervous breakdown’.
He said: ‘For years and years, I barely left the house. I was burnt out. I wanted to not have a schedule, not be somewhere. I was in a position to do that. My agent was bummed.
‘Most actors call their agents and say, “What’s going on?”. I’d call mine and say, “Please lose my number for a few years’. It was a very dark time. I almost had a nervous breakdown.’
Matt continued: ‘My daughter was diagnosed with a problem with her head. It was a very dark period. But I got through it. Don’t they say what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger?’
Matt has kept his romantic life largely out of the spotlight but was last linked to Top Gear producer Aurora Mulligan.
Matt worked with the television producer on the long-running BBC show after he was drafted in to revive its ailing fortunes in 2016, before walking away three-years later.
Their six-year relationship is said to have come to a mutual end in 2020, two years before their separation was publicly announced.
A source said at the time: ‘Matt and Aurora’s relationship has run its course. It’s all over. It’s a huge shame and Matt has taken the news particularly hard, as anyone would.
‘He and Aurora fell for each on Top Gear and although there was a pretty big age gap they were a really great match.
‘But when he announced he was leaving Top Gear and took on other work, it was hard for them. He’s mainly based out of LA and was travelling a lot while Aurora was working in the UK.’
Matt has kept his romantic life largely out of the spotlight but was last linked to Top Gear producer Aurora Mulligan, whom he split from in 2020 after a four-year romance
Before this, he was in an eight-year relationship with actress Andrea Anders, who starred on his flop Friends spin-off Joey (pictured in 2012)
Before this, he was in an eight-year relationship with actress Andrea Anders.
Matt met Andrea on the set of his Friends spinoff series Joey, and they went public with their romance in 2006, shortly after he split from his wife of three years Melissa McKnight.
A few months before his split from Andrea was revealed, Matt raised eyebrows when he was seen getting very close with a scantily clad blonde at a party.
At the time InTouch reported the masked actor was getting flirty with the woman he’d just crowned the winner of a costume contest at the My Yacht Club event.
InTouch claimed that Matt had also flirted with other women at the same party and that his behaviour was witnessed by three of their reporters.
‘He maintained a low profile earlier in the night, but around 1.30am, he started getting very flirty with the bottle service girls,’ the publication quoted their eyewitness as saying.
Matt ‘ended up calling two of them over and proceeded to kiss one… and then made the two girls kiss each other. And he did it in front of three In Touch reporters.’
At the time a representative for the star dismissed suggestions he was flirting, saying he was indulging fans with pictures and left alone.
Matthew Perry died on October 28, 2023 at age 54 after being found unresponsive in his hot tub of his LA home (pictured with Matt in 1994)
Matthew Perry died on October 28, 2023 at age 54 after being found unresponsive in his hot tub of his LA home.
His death was determined to have been caused by ‘acute effects of ketamine.’
In August, five people were arrested in connection to his death – suppling him with drugs that led to his overdose.
Doctors Salvador Plasencia, 42, and Mark Chavez, 54, alleged drug dealers Jasveen ‘Ketamine Queen’ Sangha, 41, and Eric Fleming, 54, and Perry’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, 59, have all been charged.
