Gwyneth Paltrow is reflecting on her pre-fame romance with Matthew Perry in the wake of the Friends actor’s sudden death this weekend.
On Sunday, the Goop founder shared some sweet memories of her “magical summer” with Matthew in 1993, roughly a year before Friends debuted.
“I met Matthew Perry in 1993 at the Williamstown Theater Festival in Massachusetts,” the Oscar winner wrote on Instagram.
“We were both there for most of the summer doing plays. He was so funny and so sweet and so much fun to be with. We drove out to swim in creeks, had beers in the local college bar, kissed in a field of long grass. It was a magical summer.”
According to Gwyneth, Matthew had already shot the pilot episode of Friends at the time of their meeting. Since the series had not debuted, however, he was not yet aware of the cultural phenomenon that it would become.
“He was nervous, hoping his big break was just around the corner. It was,” she explained.
Though their relationship was fleeting, Gwyneth said she and Matthew remained friends for some time but ultimately “drifted apart.” However, she noted that she was “always happy to see him” when the two crossed paths on the Hollywood circuit.
“I am super sad today, as so many of us are,” she wrote. “I hope Matthew is at peace at long last. I really do.”
Matthew died late on Saturday night at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 54. A cause of death has not yet been publicly confirmed.
The actor opened up about his relationship with Gwyneth in 2022 when he released his memoir, Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing. His recollection of the romance, however, was reportedly limited to “a make-out session in a closet” with the Shakespeare In Love actor during the summer before Friends premiered.
When asked about the encounter, Matthew told GQ last year he hoped Gwyneth would “find it to be a cute story.”
“It’d be bad if Gwyneth Paltrow hated me,” he said. “I wouldn’t like that.”