Matthew Perry has had quite the year. Not only did the Friends reunion launch on HBO Max, but he's also making his own T-shirts. Yet there've been other obstacles he's had to face. For one, the commentary on his appearance in the reunion. And secondly, letting go of a relationship that was seemingly going to last forever.
It was just announced that Matthew split with Molly Hurwitz, his fiancée since November of 2020. The comedic actor started dating Molly, a literary manager, back in 2018.
The two have a bit of an age gap, but it's unclear as to whether or not that caused issues. Matthew is currently 51, and Molly is 29.
"I decided to get engaged," Matthew said to People after proposing. "Luckily, I happened to be dating the greatest woman on the face of the planet at this time." Molly has been spotted in recent photos with the star, meaning that this split is likely pretty fresh. According to The Sun, the couple met because they were "in the same circles."
The relationship wasn't always steady. In May of 2020, the couple broke up. "It happened very recently," a source told InTouch Weekly at the time. "It was very amicable, but they have both decided to go their separate ways." But they quickly reconnected, and Matthew decided to pop the question.
Oddly enough, Matthew chose to share the news of the breakup right before Molly's birthday. It might seem a bit cold, but it's unclear if this breakup was as mutual as the one a year earlier.
"Sometimes things just don't work out and this is one of them," Matthew said. "I wish Molly the best."
The news has still left fans a bit worried about Matthew. On the Friends reunion, people couldn't help but notice that he seemed a bit out of it at times. During the special, he joked that nobody reached out to him — but some people wondered if that claim was serious. While he's always had the support of his costars, his personal battles have become public knowledge.
While it was stated that Matthew was slurring words because of dental surgery that occurred right before the reunion, it still left many Friends fanatics in doubt. Matthew has been fighting his battle with addiction for decades. And since he hasn't really appeared in much since 2017, many don't know where he is in his sobriety journey.
While the inquiries were out of love and respect for the actor, Prevention — which noted that Matthew's addiction started from getting prescribed painkillers after a watercraft accident — said that "Matthew has told those around him that he is sober, and there is no need to worry." The publication also quoted an interview that Matthew did in 2002 when he opened up about what happened.
He even acknowledged the worry that came alongside the addiction. "I used to call people who said this sort of stuff 'How are you?' people," he told People. "They'd ask, 'How are you?' I'd say, 'Good.' And they'd say, 'No, how are you?' I hated that. But you know what? I've become a 'How are you?' person."
There was yet another aspect to Matthew Perry's life that led to some questioning. In 2020, after his initial split with Molly, Matthew signed up for the dating site Raya. There, he matched with younger women. One of those women released the conversation that she had with him, because she felt slightly unsafe based on the age gap.
"A lot of people were saying I'm a bully and mean for posting this, and it made me feel kind of bad, but at the same time, I feel like a lot of guys in Hollywood are talking to all these young girls and it's something that I think a lot of people should be aware of," said Kate Haralson, who posted the video. She was kicked off the elite app because she opened up about the encounter.
While breaking the rules of Raya, which is a membership-based professional networking app, she made a good point. While she was legally an adult, she was only 19 when Matthew first contacted her. And Matthew isn't the only celebrity to chat with much younger women online. It wasn't against the star as much as the fact that women can often be taken advantage of while online.
With all of this negative press, plus the breakup, fans are really hoping that Matthew stays healthy throughout these transitions. Addiction is a lifelong struggle, and even if he's OK now, there's a chance that one slip-up can change things for the worse. As Matthew was a fan favorite on the show — which grows in popularity every day thanks to syndication — his followers only want the best for him.
Hopefully, both Matthew and Molly will find happiness again soon. While breakups are always hard, at least they realized they were no longer as compatible before their wedding. Matthew is rumored to be in the film Don't Look Up with Jennifer Lawrence and Timothée Chalamet — and if that happens, perhaps he'll fully return to the world of acting and have more positivity in front of him.
