Matthew Perry was “so happy” while dining with a model friend last Friday, just a day before he was found dead in his hot tub.
Athenna Crosby, 25, took to her Instagram Story early Wednesday to confirm she was the mystery woman with whom the 54-year-old “Friends” star shared one of his last meals at the Hotel Bel-Air.
“Rest in peace, my friend,” she captioned a black-and-white photo of the 5-time Emmy nominee. “I wasn’t going to speak about this but what I will say is I had the honor of knowing Matthew personally. I am so devastated by his death but felt it was in poor taste to talk about it publicly as the attention should not be on me but rather on him and his legacy he was an extremely private person and I always respected that in our friendship. But indeed, we were friends and I was one of the last people to speak to him and see him before he passed.”
In subsequent Stories, Crosby encouraged her followers to read Perry’s 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” in which he was candid about many attributes of his life, including his battles with alcoholism and substance abuse.
She also said she wanted “to emphasize that Matthew was in extremely good spirits, and talked to me enthusiastically about the things that he had coming up in his life. He was so happy & vibrant.”
Crosby implored those reading her post to “refrain from any speculation surrounding his death and know that the man was on a comeback and truly deserved more time on this earth.
“Our entertainment industry has truly lost a legend. RIP,” she concluded.
Perry was alone when he was discovered dead in his Pacific Palisades home Saturday, shortly after he’d played pickleball and sent his assistant on an errand.
Crosby’s account of Perry’s disposition just before his death is in line with others close to him, who have said he was sober and had “never been happier.”
