Matt LeBlanc Says Goodbye To Matthew Perry In Touching Post

They spent an entire decade as Joe Tribbiani and Chandler Bing on Friends. Best friends, J-Man and Channy, roommates, soulmates, in a way. Even after Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry moved on from the iconic hit series, they were part of each other’s lives. And so it was clearly difficult for LeBlanc to say goodbye to a friend he had known for decades when Perry died on Oct. 28 at the age of 54 years old. But he did the late actor proud with a beautiful goodbye post honoring the man he felt proud to call his “friend.”

When Perry was found “unresponsive” in the hot tub on the grounds of his Pacific Palisades home on Oct. 28, the entire world was shocked. For his family and friends, the actor’s death was devastating. His Friends castmates — LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, and David Schwimmer — shared a joint statement of grief at the time. “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” the cast said two days after his death, adding that they would say “more in time” once they were able to process their grief.

On Tuesday, LeBlanc shared his own tribute to Perry. “Matthew, It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye,” LeBlanc wrote on Instagram. “The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life. It was an honor to share the stage with you and to call you my friend. I will always smile when I think of you and I’ll never forget you. Never. Spread your wings and fly brother you’re finally free. Much love.”

LeBlanc ended the message, as befits their history of using humor as the foundation of their friendship, with these final words: “And I guess you’re keeping the 20 bucks you owe me.”

Back in 2021 when the Friends cast got together for a reunion on Max, LeBlanc opened up to People about the permanent nature of their friendship. “It’s funny, when we do get together, it’s like no time has passed,” he said at the time. “We pick up right where we left off.”

Heartbreakingly, the last time the rest of the Friends cast were seen together in public was at Matthew Perry’s funeral in early November. Clearly, he will be deeply missed.