Actors Jennifer Anniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer have at last broken their silence over the death of their Friends co-star Matthew Perry.

The quintet on Monday issued a joint statement, exclusively taken by American weekly magazine People, to pay tribute to Perry, who died at his Los Angeles house on Saturday aged 54.

“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” they said in the statement, adding, “There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”

“In time we will say more, as and when we are able,” their statement further reads. “For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”

Friends co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane also issued a joint statement on Monday along with executive producer Kevin Bright. “We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew’s passing,” they wrote, adding, “It still seems impossible. All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives. He was a brilliant talent.”

“We will always cherish the joy, the light, the blinding intelligence he brought to every moment — not just to his work, but in life as well,” they also stated.

Reflecting on Perry’s personality in real life, they added, “He was always the funniest person in the room. More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart. We send all of our love to his family and friends. This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken.”

Apart from the main cast and showrunners, Maggie Wheeler, who played Chandler’s on-and-off girlfriend in Friends, took to Instagram on Sunday. “What a loss. The world will miss you Matthew Perry. The joy you brought to so many in your too short lifetime will live on. “I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared ♥️,” she wrote.

Morgan Fairchild, who played Chandler’s mother in the series, also posted on social media after the actor’s death. “I’m heartbroken about the untimely death of my ‘son’, Matthew Perry. The loss of such a brilliant young actor is a shock,” she wrote on X.

Friends is an American sitcom which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. It followed a group of friends navigating through the ups and downs of their lives in New York. Perry played the witty, sarcastic, lovable and self-deprecating Chandler Bing on the show.

In 2021, the cast and showrunners reunited after more than a decade in Friends: The Reunion, which streamed on HBO Max.