Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of death and drugs

Mathew Perry’s family remembers the late actor on his first death anniversary. The Friends alum’s stepfather Keith Morrison, his mother Suzanne Morrison, and her three sisters sat down with Today Show’s Savannah Guthrie and recalled a few critical moments in Perry’s life. Madeline, one of Perry’s sisters claimed that at some point he didn’t realize that he had relapsed.

She claimed that after coming out of a stretch of sobriety during and after his book tour, he started consuming Ketamine for therapeutic purposes. But gradually he began taking massive doses without realizing that he was relapsing. The family described Perry as someone who was headstrong and had a will of his own. He was a fundamentally lonely soul who was struggling. 

Since his demise, 5 people including 2 doctors have been charged with Perry’s death out of them three have pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges involving the distribution of ketamine but the so-called Ketamine Queen has not pleaded guilty yet. 

Perry’s stepdad said he was thrilled about the accountability adding that if people have the guts to supply drugs to someone and he dies then "You're going down, baby." Meanwhile, Perry’s mother recalled her last heartwarming interaction with the late actor.

She revealed that the actor went through a period where he was interactive with her more than usual. He showed her the houses he bought and even confessed his repressed feelings saying, “‘I love you so much and I’m so happy to be with you now.’ ”  In retrospect, Suzanne felt that it wasn’t a coincidence but an indication that he’d accepted something inevitable. 

 “I think there was something… there was an inevitability to what would happen next to him, and he felt it very strongly,” she recalled. On October 28, 2023, Perry was found unconscious in his hot tub and was later pronounced dead due to the acute effects of Ketamine which according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, is a “dissociative anesthetic” which is associated with hallucinogenic effects.