Friends series co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane have opened up about the loss of Matthew Perry.

In an interview featured on this morning’s episode of TODAY, anchor Hoda Kotb noted that many “hadn’t seen [Perry] in a long time” prior to his appearance on Friends: The Reunion, which was released on Max in 2021. Kaufmann revealed that she “was concerned about him” as she sat in the audience of the reunion.

“Knowing that he’d been through everything he’d been through, and every time he had surgery, they’d give him opiates for pain,” she explained, referring to his years-long struggles with drugs and alcohol. “And the cycle starts over again. So yes, I was concerned about what point in the cycle he was in that moment.”

Perry, who passed away on Saturday (Oct. 28) at just 54 years old, had “emergency dental surgery” days before the 2021 reunion, which he revealed in a 2022 interview with Diane Sawyer, per The New York Post.

According to the outlet, viewers had noticed Perry slurring his speech during the 2021 special. The late actor admitted to Sawyer that “it sounded like [his] voice was off” during the reunion, but noted that he “couldn’t not show up” to the historic special.

Kotb said that Perry “was quoted as saying that ‘people would be shocked about his passing, but not surprised,'” which Crane replied was “probably true.”

“Given the journey he’d been on, and we were all aware of it, there was always a part that was kind of bracing for something like this,” he added. “But it is still hard to believe because he was such a sort of alive person that it’s hard to believe he’s not here.”

Crane noted that he, Kauffman, Perry, and the Friends cast, who deemed themselves a “family,” “were all very aware that our priority was supporting him.”

Nonetheless, Kauffman shared that she spoke to Perry just two weeks prior to his passing, and described him as being “happy and chipper” during their last interaction.

“He didn’t seem weighed down by anything,” she continued. “He was in a really good place, which is why this seems so unfair.”

Highlighting that he was “really doing good in the world,” she said that she “lost a friend, in multiple ways” following Perry’s death.

“And what’s amazing is the outpouring from the fans who lost a friend of theirs, too,” she continued. “And I hope wherever he is, he feels it.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.