SHE'S REALLY STRUGGLING

After losing her father less than a year ago, Jennifer Aniston has been left reeling bythe _ death of her former co-star Matthew Perry

- MAXINE PETERS

THEIR bond was forged during the years they ruled the sitcom scene. Acting as friends was no hardship – the six people who delighted viewers week after week were as close in real life as they were on screen.

As they themselves have described it, they were family – so when the unthinkable happened they were devastated.

Matthew Perry’s recent death in a hot tub has shaken the Friends cast to the core and, apart from a brief statement expressing their shock and sadness, they have remained silent as they process their pain.

But the person who’s suffering the most is Jennifer Aniston. “Matthew’s death has completely knocked her off her feet,” a close source says.

For Jen (54), it’s pain upon pain. She’s still trying to come to terms with the void left by her beloved father, John Aniston, whose death in November last year left her bereft.

“She still hasn’t regained her footing from that,” the insider says.

Jen joined Friends co-stars David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kud- row and Courteney Cox to honour their “Matty” at a private funeral in Los An- geles a few days after he died at his Pac- ific Palisades home.

“Of the remaining five, Jen and Courteney are reeling the most and Jen is probably the one who’s struggling most acutely,” another insider says.

“It’s a massive loss, with the oneyear anniversary of her dad’s death just around the corner.”

Jen reportedly was the first to arrive at the funeral and kept mostly to herself during the service. “She was heartbroken that the day had come when she was laying her friend to rest,” the source says.