Matthew Perry said he wasn't 'afraid of love anymore' and couldn't wait to be a dad a year before he died

• "Friends" star Matthew Perry died on Saturday. He was 54. 
• The actor nearly got married twice but said fear stopped him.
• Last year, Perry told People he was no longer "afraid of love" and looked forward to becoming a father.

Matthew Perry said that he wasn't "afraid of love anymore" in an interview a year before his death.

On Saturday, authorites found the 54-year-old "Friends" star unresponsive in a hot tub at his home, according to multiple outlets. 

The actor had numerous public relationships and got engaged in 2020, but never married or had children.

In October 2022, Perry opened up about his past failed romances in cover story for People, and said that he was always the one to end relationships.

"That was me afraid. That is what I manifest, something that's wrong with them. And then I break up with them," the "17 Again" actor said. "But there can't be something wrong with everyone. I'm the common denominator. I left first because I thought they were going to annihilate me."

Perry added that "through a lot of work" he was able to get over his fear of love.

"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," he said.

"I'm not run by the fear I used to be run by so everything's kind of different. I'm feeling more confident and I'm not afraid of love anymore, so the next girl I go out with better watch out," the actor added.

Perry also said that he thought he would be a great father.

"I grew up with a lot of little kids around me, and that's probably why, but I can't wait," he said.

The closest Perry got to being married was in 2020. The actor got engaged to Molly Hurwitz, a literary manager, that year after the pair started dating in 2018. 

He told People at the time: "I decided to get engaged. Luckily, I happened to be dating the greatest woman on the face of the planet at this time."

However, less than a year later, People reported that Perry had called off the engagement.

In the past, Perry had also dated Julia Roberts, Yasmine Bleeth, and Neve Campbell. His longest relationship was with Lizzy Caplan which lasted from 2006 to 2012.

In his memoir, "Friends, Lovers and The Big Terrible Thing," Perry revealed that he almost proposed to Caplan too but fear stopped him from saying the words.

"I often think if I'd asked, now we'd have two kids and a house with no view," Perry said. "Instead, I'm some schmuck who's alone in his house at fifty-three, looking down at an unquiet ocean."