Matthew Perry Is No Longer "Afraid of Love," He Says in Candid Interview

So happy for him.

Actor Matthew Perry arrives at CBS, CW And Showtime 2015 Summer TCA Party at Pacific Design Center on August 10, 2015 in West Hollywood, California.
(Image credit: Getty/Axelle/Bauer-Griffin)

Love is scary, a hard truth that Matthew Perry knows all too well.

Trusting another person in that very vulnerable way can be really difficult, but the Friends actor, 53, has revealed that he has worked through his fear of intimate relationships and is ready to commit to someone at this stage in his life.

As Perry's much-anticipated memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir, prepares to hit bookshelves Nov. 1, he opened up to People about why it has been so hard for him to open up to others in the past.

He addressed the fact that he was always the one to end his serious relationships, saying, "That was me afraid." He explained, "That is what I manifest, something that's wrong with them. And then I break up with them."

Perry said that he "had a tremendous amount of fear" surrounding love and added that "through a lot of work, I've got over that fear. I'm going to learn as I go. The thing that's changed about me is I have no interest in hanging out with somebody that I don't know or somebody that I'm not that into. The next person I really take seriously is somebody that I'm going to be in love with and not be scared by the things that used to scare me."

The actor revealed he's ready to be a husband and a dad. "I'm not run by the fear I used to be run by so everything's kind of different," he said. "I'm feeling more confident and I'm not afraid of love anymore, so the next girl I go out with better watch out."

I wish him well in this new and exciting chapter, and wow, I cannot wait to read this memoir.

Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.