Matthew Perry‘s ex-girlfriend reflected on their romance — and made a surprise sex confession — in Netflix’s three-part docuseries about his life.
“I was in love with him because he’s, at the core, good people,” René Ashton, who dated Perry in 1999, shared in The One About Matthew Perry, which premiered Tuesday, October 27.
Ashton, 56, recalled Perry struggling with his career amid his massive success on Friends, adding, “When you think of Matthew Perry you think, ‘Oh, he had it all.’ But Matthew was concerned about what’s next. [He was like], ‘What’s next? How am I gonna maintain this? How am I gonna supersede this?’ Matthew wanted very much to be a serious actor. He wanted to be known as a serious actor. That was really important to him.”
The actress specifically pointed to Perry’s work on the 2000 film The Whole Nine Yards.
“Before he went to shoot The Whole Nine Yards, Bruce asked him and I to go to Turks and Caicos with him and his then-girlfriend,” Ashton shared. “It was pretty amazing. There weren’t any paparazzi there so it was a nice, normal and fun trip.”
She continued, “And when Bruce asked him and I to go on his private plane, Matthew was so excited. He’s like, ‘Bruce wants us to go on his private plane. Bruce wants me to share a plane with him.'”
Ashton was asked by an offscreen producer what the plane was like, to which she coyly replied, “I joined a club.”
The One About Matthew Perry is a three-part special that explores Perry’s life in and behind the spotlight. In addition to examining his rise to fame with the role of Chandler Bing on Friends, the doc addressed the late actor’s private struggles with addiction, mental health and attempts to get sober before his shocking death at age 54 in October 2023.
At the time, Us confirmed that officers responded to a call regarding a person in cardiac arrest at a Los Angeles home, where they found the actor unconscious in his hot tub.
Two months after Perry’s death, a toxicology report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the actor died from the acute effects of ketamine, a dissociative general anesthetic and NMDA receptor antagonist some have used to treat depression, anxiety and addiction.
The same report listed drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine — a medication that is also used to treat addiction — as contributing factors to the actor’s death.
Perry’s death was ruled an accident, and an initial investigation was closed in January 2024 before it was later reopened. Five people have since faced federal charges in connection to Perry’s death — including his assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death.
“Kenny has known my brother for 30 years. He knows what he is batting. The level of betrayal we all felt … he should have known better,” Perry’s half-sister Mia Perry Bowick said in Tuesday’s doc. “He could have quit his job or told one of the family members. He could have done a lot of different things and made a lot of different choices.”
Jasveen Sangka, known as “The Ketamine Queen,” pleaded guilty to three counts of distribution of ketamine, one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury and one count of using her home for drug distribution.
Erik Fleming also pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Dr. Salvador Plasencia pleaded guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine and Dr. Mark Chavez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
