Matthew Perry’s final friends mourn star — including assistant who saved his life once before

“Friends” star Matthew Perry spent his last days doing everything he could to keep the addictions that plagued him from creeping across the front door.

Before his death on Saturday, aged just 54, in the jacuzzi at the new home he had moved into three weeks ago, the multi-millionaire surrounded himself with friends who really were there for him.

His core group included his longtime assistant Briana Bracanto, who with his blessing had just left to become a personal trainer; his sober coach and friend, Erin, who lived with him at his Malibu pad during the pandemic lockdown and even joined him during rehab stints (Perry said she saved his life when his colon burst); and of course his “Friends” co-stars, who regularly checked in on him.

But, his long-time friend and former trainer, Jon Paul Crimi, another of the group, told The Post Monday: “Matthew did struggle. It’s hard because sometimes the people we love the most are the ones we can’t help, like family.”

Brancanto, 34, paid a heartfelt tribute to Perry – who played the wisecracking Chandler Bing in the NBC mega-hit – as she thanked the star for allowing her to “take care of him” for 7 years.

Perry had revealed in his autobiography that five years ago, aged 49, his colon had burst from opioid abuse, leaving him in a coma for two weeks and recovering in hospital for 5 months. He credited Brancanto in the book with saving his life.

She posted photos of their time together, including lying on the bed and sharing a laugh.

“From witnessing him in his genius to sharing in his worldly adventures living around the world, he took me on a remarkable journey,” she wrote on Instagram Monday.

“My heart is heavy, but celebrating my memories is the most profound way to honor his legacy,” she added, “I hope that up there, in the great beyond, Mattman is sending us signs. We truly need them. You’ll forever be in my heart. I love you Matty.”

His hairstylist Sierra Kener wrote: “He loved you and was so grateful for you. your friendship was unmatched.”

That he should die so soon after moving into a home which People said he called “heaven” was a particularly bitter irony. He was found by his new assistant.

The actor had just taken possession of the $6 million Pacific Palisades property after renovations and “was incredibly happy,” a source told the magazine.

Perry bought the $6 million property in August 2020, having downsized from a far ritzier penthouse and Malibu beach home around the same time.

The four bedroom, four and a half bathroom home is perched on a hillside overlooking the Pacific, with many of the rooms featuring panoramic views of the ocean.

His final Instagram post showed him lounging in the jacuzzi gazing out at the night skies.
The star was also in the process of starting a foundation to help others struggling with addiction.

And as a huge Batman star, he was mulling over an idea for a TV series called “Mattman,” and had signed on to star in a drama called “Unworthy”, which was on hold due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

It was while on “Friends” that Perry’s addiction spiralled, drinking heavily through the first two seasons of the sitcom, then taking opioids after a jet ski accident while filming “Fools Rush In” with Salma Hayek in 1996.

A TV insider told The Post how the cast – Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc – would do anything to protect their co-star.

“They are such a close knit work family, they have been to hell and back,” the insider revealed, adding: “They cared so deeply about Matty, they watched over him through the life of that series and had tremendous love for each other and would protect each other.”

Sources said, the cast has been left “reeling” from the loss of their “brother” and were yet to release a statement by Monday afternoon.

Aniston, 54, is said to be in the worst shape out of all the cast. In his autobiography, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir,” Perry had praised her for always being ready to help.

The last time the cast was all together was on their HBO reunion special back in 2021, where Perry left fans fearing for his health after he looked exhausted and appeared to slur his words as he told how distraught he would be if he could not make the audience laugh hard enough.

That year he had ended his engagement to literary manager Molly Hurwitz, despite being vocal about wanting to find love and become a father. 

He told People last year that he had finally “gotten over” his “fear” of love after becoming sober in May 2021.

“I’m not run by the fear I used to be, so everything’s kind of different,” he said: “I’m feeling more confident and I’m not afraid of love anymore, so the next girl I go out with better watch out.” He also said he would be a great dad.

A former tennis champ in his youth in his native Canada, Perry made his final major public appearance at the French Open June 9 at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, where he watched the semifinals with a group of friends.

But he recently turned his hand to pickleball. His coach Matt Manasse told ET: “It was something that he became obsessed with, and that was his new healthy addiction, and he loved it.” 

Indeed, Perry played a game just hours before his death. Manasse shared that in the weeks before his death, Perry was in “good spirits” and that “he seemed like he was in a really good place and a happy place.”

Outside of the pickleball court, Perry and Manasse were good friends, sharing dinners together and watching the Super Bowl at Perry’s house.

Manasse said that Perry encouraged others who were overcoming addiction to try the sport.

“He would bring other people to the court sometimes that were going through similar things and try to use pickleball to help them as well,” Manasse shared. “He really had his heart always open and would always try to make everyone laugh, too.”

Crimi told how he first met Perry 12 years ago through friends and began training him.

“Friends of ours thought we would be a good match, that I could help him not only get in shape, but with his life,” he said.

Generously, Perry then put Crimi on the path to becoming a breathwork teacher, and would practice with him. 

“He’s like, this is your gift…this is what you’re supposed to do,” said Crimi.

“There were a few years with Matthew doing really well,” said Crimi: “We had the best time ever, he was in incredible shape and we were following LA Kings around.”

But, he said: “Addicts do relapse, and it’s harder for celebrities to get sober, although people don’t want to hear that. Most people can’t wrap their mind around it. they think, ‘If I had millions in the bank, a house in Malibu and all these friends, I would be fine, I would handle it differently to Matthew.’

“A normal person will lose their job, their family and say ‘OK, I have a problem, I need to get sober’, but a celebrity can still work, won’t have to lose their house and still have women who want to date them.”

Perry had an estimated fortune of $90 million and made an estimated $20 million from “Friends” residuals a year.

But said Crimi: “There will be this internal conflict, ‘I don’t want to live this way anymore’, and they get isolated – everybody wants something from them – and the worst thing you can do is isolate. They think people want them for what they can give, not for who they are and it’s heartbreaking.”

Crimi and Perry texted two weeks ago about sports. “He sounded good,” Crimi said.

“I’ve been sober 23 years and I’ve lost a lot of friends, but this one is really challenging, I can’t turn on the TV or look at my phone without seeing something.”

He added: “Everybody wants someone to show up and love us for who we are, the way we are, but this can’t happen if we don’t love ourselves. We have to feel like we deserve it.”