In her 20s, Valerie Bertinelli had a scandalous affair with Matthew Perry from Friends

A few years before his fateful role in the series "Friends," Matthew Perry met Valerie Bertinelli on the set of "Sydney." In this series, the actors portrayed brother and sister. The sitcom on CBS lasted only 13 episodes, but the series influenced the stars. In his autobiography "Friends, Lovers, and a Big Awful Thing," Perry admitted that he had feelings for Bertinelli, which proved to be quite a difficult situation since she was married to Eddie Van Halen then. "In the early 1990s, no one was more attractive than Valerie. Not only was she terrific and energetic, she also had a great, ringing, delightful laugh," he wrote (via Today). About her status, the actor recalled, "My crush was crushing: not only was she far away from me, but she was also married to one of the most famous rock stars on the planet." In his book, Perry detailed the moment when he thought Bertinelli's feelings might have been mutual. He was at her home with her husband, and Van Halen had had too much to drink. Since he passed out a few feet away from her, Perry decided to take his shot. "Dear reader, if you think I didn't stand a chance, you're wrong - Valerie and I had a long, elaborate kissing session," the "17 Again" star explained (via Entertainment Weekly). Bertinelli responded to the publication of Bertinelli's book with Taylor Swift's lyrics, posting a TikTok recording of her song "Anti-Hero." Although Matthew Perry failed to win Valerie Bertinelli's heart, there was a good reason for that. By then, she had already found love with Eddie Van Halen. During a writer's revolt in 1980, Bertinelli went to stay with her parents in Louisiana. By then, she was already recognized for her role in the TV series One Day at a Time, so a local radio station gave the young actor a backstage pass to a nearby Van Halen concert. "I saw what he looked like, and I thought, 'OK, I'll go, this guy is cute,'" she shared with Today. So I went, and lo and behold, we met." Of course, it was love at first sight." Eight months later, they were married. All was not smooth sailing in their marriage. He suffered from drugs, and she suffered from eating problems. " At many points in our lives, we didn't treat each other well because we met so young and were very immature," Bertinelli explained in an interview with CNN. " The love we always had for each other proved stronger and more resilient than anything else. We decided to remain friends and family." The couple eventually separated in 2007, the valid reason for Bertinelli and Van Halen's divorce. After battling cancer, Van Halen passed away in 2020. And Bertinelli was by his side, remembering the good times and supporting her former partner. " God, this man's heart was so kind and sweet," she recalled (via Today). Matthew Perry admitted that he has feelings for his colleague on the series "Friends" Jennifer Aniston. Valerie Bertinelli was not the only colleague of Matthew Perry in the series. Jennifer Aniston was also on this list, although the couple met a few years before the release of "Friends." According to Perry's recollection in the book Friends, Lovers and the Big Bad, he immediately knew that Aniston was special. " I was immediately captivated by her (how could I not be?), liked her, and felt intrigued by her too - maybe this would be something," he wrote (see Mirror). After he auditioned for Friends, he called Aniston and started asking her out, which made their first table read for the series a little awkward. In the book's pages, he recalls how strong his feelings for her were then, noting that he constantly wondered if he looked at her too long during the reading. However, even though Aniston never reciprocated Perry's feelings, the two remained die-hard friends, and Perry revealed that she was a constant support during his struggles with addiction. "She was the one who reached out the most. You know, I'm very grateful to her for that," he said in an interview with People.