EXCLUSIVE: Inside Matthew Perry’s relationship with Briana Brancato: His assistant and best friend pays tribute to the Friends star – but is she the one who found him dead?

Matthew Perry revealed in his autobiography last year his close and loving – but platonic – relationship with the woman who was his personal assistant.

The person who frantically called 911 to report the discovery of Perry’s body in the hot tub of his Pacific Palisades home was described as his assistant – but whether the caller was that woman – Briana Brancato – was unclear not confirmed.

Perry, whose body was found in his hot tub on Saturday, let the world know how lonely he was and how much he longed for children in his deeply personal memoir, published in October 2022.

But in the book, he revealed that one of his closest, years-long relationships was with 34-year-old Brancato – although he never named her, only describing her under the pseudonym “Erin.”

He said she was his “best friend,” that she “saved my life,” and that she even sat by his bed every night for five months while he recovered from an intestinal explosion, and that he saw her in the first part vivid, touching scenes and final chapters.

Assistant Briana Brancato, 34, with Matthew Perry. He never mentioned her by name in his memoirs, only describing her under the pseudonym “Erin.”

After his death, Brancato wrote on social media along with heartfelt pictures with Perry: “I have expressed my deepest gratitude to him on numerous occasions, not only for guiding me into a career that I value, but for this for making it possible for me.” Take care of him for seven years.

Dispatch Audio mentions a call from an assistant and gave a code that corresponded to drowning. The Los Angeles County coroner has classified Perry’s cause of death as “deferred,” pending final toxicology test results.

The late Friends actor said his relationship with his assistant never became romantic, but she quickly became one of his closest companions.

In his autobiography, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” Perry said he met “Erin” several years ago when she worked at a rehab clinic he attended.

“In the modest home in Southern California, I had a view of West LA and two queen beds.” The other bed, he said, was occupied by Erin.

“I had met her two years earlier at another rehab where she was working at the time. I didn’t get sober at the time, but I saw how wonderful she was in every way and promptly stole her from the rehab where she was living sober and made her my assistant and she became my best friend.”

Brancato has also kept her ties to Perry secret at times, listing only her work as a “personal assistant” to an “A-list star” at Phil Shubano Inc. on LinkedIn.

However, California corporate records show that the company was controlled by Perry and is named after a pseudonym under which he used to obtain prescription drugs.

The late Friends actor said his relationship with his assistant (pictured) never became romantic, but she quickly became one of his closest companions

Briana, who worked for Perry for years, posted the moving tribute to her former boss

There have been numerous tributes for the popular star, who has been open about his battle with addiction

Briana (bottom left) and Perry on the plane together. They worked together for years before his death

After his death, Brancato wrote on social media along with heartfelt pictures with Perry: “I have expressed my deepest gratitude to him on numerous occasions, not only for guiding me into a career that I value, but for this that he made it possible for me to take care of him for 7 years.

“Along w [with] the countless other experiences for which I am grateful. From observing his genius to participating in his worldly adventures around the world, he took me on a remarkable journey.

“My heart is heavy, but celebrating my memories is the most profound way to honor his legacy.”

“I hope Mattman sends us signs up there in the great beyond.” We really need them. You will be in my heart forever. I love you, Matty.’

In 2021, rumors circulated that he had a romantic relationship with Brancato, which led to his split from his then-fiancée Molly Hurwitz after he posted a picture sitting on a couch with his assistant just days after the breakup.

Brancato shares her life in Los Angeles with her social media followers

She wrote: “I hope Mattman sends us signs up there in the great beyond.” We really need them. You will be in my heart forever. I love you, Matty.

But in his book, he insisted that his and Erin’s bond was never sexual in nature.

He described how she saved his life when staff at a rehab he was in in 2019 tried to stop him from going to the hospital after his colon exploded.

The scene, vividly written in the book’s first chapter, recounts how she pushed past the nurses, bundled him into her car, and they sped to UCLA on a bumpy ride that left Perry unconscious from the head-shattering pain.

“I have to go quickly,” Erin said, her brown, compassionate eyes looking over at me with concern and fear. “We have to get you there now.” “Right here I lost consciousness,” Perry wrote.

“She saved my life in rehab when my intestines exploded, and she still saves it every day,” he later added.

The hard-working friend and employee then remained at his bedside for months, Perry wrote.

“Erin worked the night shift at this hospital for five months,” he said.

Aerial photos show Perry’s pool and hot tub where he was found dead

Perry alongside Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox in an episode of Friends

Chandler with the White Dog, which became a popular piece of furniture referenced in several episodes of the series

He wrote that the assistant even lived with Perry for a time in his Century City penthouse apartment, and he described how she tried to sneak past her and a nurse to pick up OxyContin from his drug dealer when his doctors refused to give him more.

Residence records show that Brancato actually lived at Penthouse 40 at 1 Century Drive, the luxury tower then owned by the Chandler Bing actor.

Perry also wrote how he first bonded with Brancato because they were battling addiction together, and how grateful he was that she supported his sobriety by quitting smoking with him — “because she’s the nicest person in the world.” remains”.

He dedicated the final heartbreaking passage in the final pages of his memoirs to his “best friend.”

“She is always there when I need her,” he wrote. “Erin, Erin, Erin… She saved my life in rehab when my insides exploded, and she still saves it every day.” Who knows what I would do without her; I plan on never finding out.

“I can tell she wants a cigarette, but she doesn’t let up. Find a friend who will do a common cause with you – you will be amazed at what a friendship it means.”

Perry died on Saturday at the age of 54. He hadn’t been in his hot tub long when his assistant discovered his lifeless body and tried to revive him, according to a new report.

Law enforcement sources said TMZ that Perry’s body was not “soaked” when emergency responders arrived at the actor’s home on Saturday.

He was pronounced dead at the scene after firefighters lifted him from the hot tub.