Matthew Perry Was 'Desperate for a Solution' to Addiction, Talked of Getting Married and Having Kids Before His Death

Mar. 15, 2025

atthew Perry arrives at the premiere of “Ride” at ArcLight Hollywood on April 28, 2015.Photo:Angela Weiss/Getty

Angela Weiss/Getty

Matthew Perryhad his sights set on starting a new life just before his tragic death.

In a sit-down interview withSavannah Guthrieon theTodayshow,the actor’s mom Suzanne Morrisonsaid that her son — whodied at age 54on Oct. 28, 2023from the acute effects of ketamine— was “so desperate for a solution” after he had battled addiction for decades.

“He talked about, ‘It’s time for me to have a wife and it’s time for me to have children and I want that,'” Suzanne told Guthrie during an interview with her husbandKeith Morrisonandtheir daughters Caitlin, Emily and Madeline.

“A dog running around the house” was another part of the dream that her son shared with her, Suzanne said.

“But he didn’t appreciate the frightening aspect of this medication,” she said, referring tothe ketamine infusion therapy he was undergoingat the time of his death as a means of treating his depression.

According to the autopsy, which PEOPLE obtained at the time, theFriendsstar had reportedly been clean for 19 months.Five people have since been charged in connection with his death, including two doctors,Jasveen Sangha, who is known as “The Ketamine Queen,“and his personal live-in assistant, who allegedly"repeatedly” injected him with ketamine “without medical training.”

Matthew Perry with mom Suzanne and sister Emily during LA Kings & the Canadian Community Pay Tribute to Garnet “Ace” Bailey.Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

“I think his biggest drive to be sober was when someone came and asked him for help, he would drop everything and do it,” Perry’s sister Emily Morrison told Guthrie onToday.

“No matter where he was in life. he wanted to be physically and mentally okay in order to help people when they needed it.”

His impact on the community was felt particularly after his death.

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For this week’s cover story,Keith, 77, opened up to PEOPLE about his stepson’s final days, during which he “seemed to be so at peace.”

“He kept reaching out to embrace his family members. He hadn’t been the sort of person who’d call up and say, ‘Gosh, I love you. I miss you.’ But he was doing that all the time,” theDatelinecorrespondent said.

“You get a sense that he, I don’t know whether he had a premonition, or he had kind of accepted the inevitability he wasn’t going to be living as long as some people, and he wanted to embrace those who mattered to him.”

source: people.com