René Ashton, an ex-girlfriend of the late Matthew Perry, has shared intimate details about their past romance in the new Netflix docuseries, "The One About Matthew Perry." Ashton, an actress, revealed that she and Perry joined the "mile-high club" during a trip on Bruce Willis' private plane.
Perry and Willis starred together in the 2000 crime comedy "The Whole Nine Yards" and its 2004 sequel. Ashton recounted in the docuseries that Willis had invited her and Perry to Turks and Caicos on his private jet prior to filming "The Whole Nine Yards." She described Perry as being "so excited" about the prospect of flying privately.
Recalling the experience, Ashton coyly stated, "I joined a club," adding that the trip was "pretty amazing" and that "there weren’t any paparazzi there, so it was a nice, normal and fun trip."
Ashton and Perry dated for approximately one year in 1999. She described falling in love with him, noting that he was "at the core, good people." However, their relationship ended in December 1999, reportedly due to Ashton's concerns about Perry's struggles with substance abuse.
Matthew Perry died in October 2023 at the age of 54. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office later determined that his cause of death was a fatal ketamine overdose. He was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home.
The three-part docuseries features interviews with Perry's loved ones and colleagues. However, his five main "Friends" co-stars—Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer—did not participate in the series. A source told Page Six that they were approached but chose not to take part, with another insider suggesting that Jennifer Aniston, in particular, would not want to relive the experience publicly.
"Friends," which ran for ten seasons from 1994 to 2004, remains a popular series. The cast reunited for a special episode on HBO Max in 2021. Lisa Kudrow recently reflected on the enduring success of the show, telling The Times that she has a new appreciation for its quality, particularly Perry's performance, which she described as "genius."