The former girlfriend of
Friends star Matthew Perry has revealed the sweet last gift he gave her before his death at the age of 54. Lauren Graham casually dated the
Hollywood star in the early 2000s and remained close to him in his final years. Matthew was a keen pickleball player in these times and Gilmore Girls star Lauren reminisced on their time together during a recent book tour. Speaking at the Lincoln Theater in
Washington DC on Friday, the 57-year-old
Actress gushed about his love of the sport and
Tennis and said he had bought her a pickleball set for her birthday in March last year, just months before his death. For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the
USA, go to The Mirror US . READ MORE: Celebrities share excitement about solar eclipse from Lance Bass pun to Drew Barrymore's hope
Actor Matthew Perry, actress Lauren Graham and director Craig Lucas from the film Birds of America in 2008 ( Image: Getty Images) She also shared the cute card he attached to the gift. According to Deadline, Lauren said the card simply read: "Be Older." Speaking of their relationship, she added: "While he was not technically ever a boyfriend, he was an almost in my life,” explaining that the late actor was "a friend and a constant". "We would stretch for a year, then he would come back in my life, and he had just come back in my life last year" she said. The two stars were romantically linked back in 2003 although an official romance was never confirmed. Only flirting was mentioned by Lauren and a few months after they were linked, Matthew was single again, with no apparent bad blood between the pair, and them even working together in the future. Addressing her rumoured romance with Matthew in her memoir Talking as Fast as I Can, the actress referred to him as a false start within her memoir. She claimed the pair met at an event and exchanged flirtations but never took it beyond that. She said that the Chandler Bing star turned her into a "Friend Who I Almost But Never Exactly Dated or her FWIABNED." Lauren also explained how Matthew's death is still "really hard to believe" . His death rocked the world in October with his cause of death being ruled as an accident from the effects of ketamine. The 54-year-old was found dead in the hot tub at his
Los Angeles home on October 28. Matthew had previously been open about his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction. However, he had claimed he was clean in the 18 months before his death. Follow the Mirror US News page on
Facebook All the latest news, showbiz, lifestyle and sports updates, brought to you by our dedicated
American team. Follow the Mirror US News page on Facebook to make sure you're not missing out. Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat ,
Instagram ,
Twitter , Facebook ,
YouTube and Threads .