Matthew Perry ‘felt like he was overcoming’ his addiction problems, says stepfather

Matthew Perry’s stepfather has said the Friends actor “felt like he was overcoming” his years of battling addiction before his death in October.

“But you never get over it, and he knew that too,” Keith Morrison said.

Perry, who spoke openly about his alcohol and substance abuse, was found unconscious in his hot tub, aged 54.

An autopsy report listed the effects of two drugs, ketamine and buprenorphine, as well as coronary artery disease and drowning as causes of his death.

The report also said Perry had been “supposedly clean for 19 months.” But he was also said to be in the middle of ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression and anxiety.

Morrison, who married Perry’s mother, Suzanne, when his son was 12, said the raw pain of the loss nearly five months ago is with him every day.

“He’s with you all the time,” she told NBC broadcaster Hoda Kotb on her Making Space podcast. “And there’s some new aspect that attacks your brain, and it’s not easy.”

The longtime Dateline NBC correspondent said his stepson was in a good place when he passed away.

“He was happy and he said it. And he hadn’t said it in a long time,” she said. “It’s a source of comfort, but she also didn’t get to have her third act, and that’s not fair.”

The interview with Morrison, 76, was the first time he opened up since his stepson’s death.

He was photographed arriving at Perry’s house with his wife the night the actor died.

Morrison spoke fondly of watching Perry become a “very fiery personality” and feeling “the echo” of his larger-than-life presence even in mundane moments.

“It was silly. It was funny. It was biting,” he said. “But even if he didn’t say a word, he was the center of attention.”

“In a way, our personalities were, as they say, chalk and cheese. He was loud, open, funny and aggressive,” she said. “But we get along well.”

“I never tried to replace his father, but I was there for him and he knew it. We were close,” she added.

According to Morrison, battling such a virulent addiction while in the public eye was difficult for Perry.

“He came to understand that he would get to a certain point, and then he knew that he had to go get treatment. And that he would accept help when he needed it,” she said.

“But as he said himself, it kept happening, and he was, he was a big bear. It was a difficult thing to be, a big, terrible thing.”

Perry was candid about his path to sobriety and became a strong advocate for substance use treatment.

Following his death, his mother and stepfather founded the Matthew Perry Foundation to help those struggling with addiction.