Pair briefly dated in 1990s

Julia Roberts has addressed the death of Friends actor and ex-boyfriend Matthew Perry, calling it “heartbreaking”.

The Hollywood star of films including Pretty Woman, Ocean’s Eleven, Erin Brockovich guested in Friends alongside the sitcom star in the 1990s and, around that same time, they dated for three months.

Perry died in October aged 54. His body was found in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home. Tributes poured in from the world of entertainment, with his “devastated” Friends co-stars releasing a joint statement ahead of sharing their individual memories of the Chandler Bing actor.

Until now, Roberts has remained silent on the subject, but she said in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight: “The sudden passing of anybody so young is heartbreaking. I think that, you know, it just helps all of us just appreciate what we have and to keep going in a positive way as best we can.”

Perry reflected on dating Roberts in his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, writing that he wooed the star by sending her “three dozen red roses.

He revealed that the pair would send each other “hundreds” of daily faxes despite their busy schedules, adding: “I was so excited that some nights I would find myself out at some party sharing a flirtatious exchange with an attractive woman and cut the conversation short so I could race home and see if a new fax had arrived. Nine times out of 10, one had.”

Eventually, their exchange turned romantic, and Roberts shared her telephone number with Perry. He said their first call lasted more than five hours.

They dated for three months from January 1995 to April 1996, with Perry saying that his time with the Hollywood star “had been too much for me”.

He wrote: “I had been constantly certain that she was going to break up with me.

Roberts can next be seen in thriller Leave the World Behind alongside Mahershala Ali. The thriller from Mr Robot creator Sam Esmail will be released on Netflix on 8 December.