Julia appeared as Chandler’s childhood friend in the Friends episode “The One After the Super Bowl.” The two also dated for around three months, which began when Julia was considering her guest appearance on the sitcom and Matthew sent her flowers. He wrote in his memoir that his insecurities ultimately led him to break up with her: “Instead of facing the inevitable agony of losing her, I broke up with the beautiful and brilliant Julia Roberts.”
“All good thoughts and feelings,” Julia told Entertainment Tonight when asked about her cameo on Friends. “They were all so welcoming to me as just a kind of a one-off character, and it was a really fun time.”
Speaking on the actor’s death in October at age 54, she continued, “The sudden passing of anybody so young is heartbreaking.”
She added, “I think that, you know, it just helps all of us just appreciate what we have and to keep going in a positive way as best we can.”
And in a coincidental little tribute, it turns out there are actually several Friends references in Julia’s new movie Leave the World Behind. Her costar Mahershala Ali said, “It’s beautiful he could sort of be honored in that way. Or the show sort of be honored, coincidentally, at this time. So it’s kinda nice that it has a little space in there.”
