Sa isa sa mga episodes ng Friends, nag-date sina Chandler Bing, role na ginampanan ni Matthew Perry sa serye; at si Susie Moss, na ginampanan naman ni Julia Roberts bilang guest star.
Ang episode na umere sa US noong January 28, 1996 ay may title na “The One After The Superbowl.”
Memorable ang guest appearance ni Julia sa sitcom hindi lang dahil sa sobrang funny na storyline ng episode, kundi dahil nalaman ng mga televiewers na ang actress at si Matthew ay magkarelasyon sa totoong buhay nang i-shoot iyon.
Gayunpaman, ang relasyon ng dalawa ay tumagal lang ng ilang buwan.
Sa kanyang memoir na “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing” na inilabas noong November 1, 2022, inamin ni Matthew na sobra siyang na-in love kay Julia na noong mga panahong iyon ay isa nang Hollywood icon.
Pero hindi umano niya kinaya ang pressure kapag nagde-date silang dalawa—sa kabila ng kanilang magandang chemistry.
NAGLIGAWAN SA PAMAMAGITAN NG FAX MACHINE
Ayon sa excerpt na inilathala ng The Times of London, ibinahagi ni Matthew na sinabi ni Julia sa mga producers ng Friends na papayag ito na maging guest star sa show sa isang kondisyon—kailangang bahagi ang actress ng storyline ni Chandler Bing.
Nang malaman iyon ni Matthew, nagpadala siya kay Julia ng tatlong dosenang roses at card na ang mensahe: “The only thing more exciting than the prospect of you doing the show is that I finally have an excuse to send you flowers.”
Ang naging tugon ni Julia, nagpadala ito kay Matthew ng “lots and lots of bagels.”
Nanligaw si Matthew kay Julia sa loob ng tatlong buwan sa pamamagitan ng araw-araw na pagpapadala ng fax messages—wala pa noong e-mail at text messages.
Noong time na iyon ay nagsu-shoot si Julia sa France ng isang movie, bago pa ang appearance nito sa Friends.
Pagbabahagi ni Matthew, “Three or four times a day I would sit by my fax machine and watch the piece of paper slowly revealing her next missive.
“I was so excited that some nights I would find myself out at some party sharing a flirtatious exchange with an attractive woman and cut the conversation short so I could race home and see if a new fax had arrived.
“Nine times out of ten, one had.”
MATTHEW NA-MEET PA ANG PARENTS NI JULIA
Nang i-shoot nila ang Super Bowl episode, magsyota na sina Matthew at Julia.
Sinabi ng actor na nagpunta siya sa New Mexico noong 1996 kasama si Julia para ipagdiwang ang New Year at ma-meet ang pamilya ng actress.
“I did let her in, both figuratively and literally, and a relationship began.
“It was like she was placed on this planet to make the world smile, and now, in particular, me.
“I was grinning like some 15-year-old on his first date.”
Gayunpaman, makalipas ang dalawang buwan ng kanilang romance, nakipag-break si Matthew kay Julia.
Paliwanag niya, “Dating Julia Roberts had been too much for me.”
Ang kanyang naging dilemma, “I had been constantly certain that she was going to break up with me.
“Why would she not? I was not enough; I could never be enough; I was broken, bent, unlovable.
Dagdag pa niya, “So instead of facing the inevitable agony of losing her, I broke up with the beautiful and brilliant Julia Roberts.”
Nagtaka rin aniya si Julia sa kanyang naging desisyon. “She might have considered herself slumming it with a TV guy, and TV guy was now breaking up with her.
“I can’t begin to describe the look of confusion on her face.”
“I’LL TAKE YOU BACK. I’LL TAKE YOU BACK.”
Natatandaan din ni Matthew nang tanggapin ni Julia ang best actress trophy nito mula sa Oscars dahil sa pagganap bilang Erin Brockovich sa Hollywood movie with same title.
Nasa isang rehabilitation center siya noon, “sweating and twitching” at napapalibutan ng mga kapwa pasyente.
Sambit umano niya habang pinapanood ang awarding, “I’ll take you back. I’ll take you back.”
Nagtawanan aniya ang mga kapwa niya pasyente sa room kahit ang binitawan niyang linya ay hindi na bahagi ng sitcom.
Emosyunal pa niyang pagbabahagi, “This was real life now. Those people on the TV were no longer my people. No, the people I was lying in front of, shaking, covered in blankets, were my people now.”
Sa kanyang memoir ay inamin ni Matthew na masaya siya at masuwerte na naka-survive sa kabila ng deka-dekadang pagkalulong sa opioids and alcohol.
Fifteen times din siyang ipinasok sa rehab.
