Matthew Perry and Courteney Cox aren't just friends, they're cousins, say genealogists

FRIENDS actor Matthew Perry and Courteney Cox are known for their characters Chandler Bing and Monica Geller. Throughout the series, they started with being friends, then lovers and lastly husband and wife. Fans will be shocked to know that the actors in fact are distant cousins as per ancestry experts. Read further to know more. 

Matthew Perry and Courteney Cox are distant cousins

As per CNN, the actors are 11th cousin and it was revealed by researchers at the online genealogy website MyHeritage. The researchers found out that the actors share distant relatives William Osbern Haskell III and Ellen Haskell, who were married and lived in England around 500 years ago. The researchers told the publication that Ellen and her two sons emigrated from England to America in 1635. One of the sons, Roger, is a direct ancestor of Courteney, and the second son, William, is a direct ancestor of Matthew. The connection is made through Courteney's mother Courteney Copeland, and Perry's father, John Bennett Perry.

Talking to the publication, Roi Mandel, the head of research at MyHeritage said that they went into the deep line and checked every name. He further said that they found a lot of records that support it and they are confident that the actors are related. Mandel added that finding such a connection is not surprising because when one goes so many generations back, the chances of people being connected are higher. The research team used various databases containing billions of historical records, including birth and death certificates to find the connection. They also found out that both the actors are distantly related to the singer Lady Gaga.

More about Chandler and Monica

In FRIENDS, the two were known to be good friends. It all went down when they went to Vegas and got drunk. In later stages, the two started dating each other and told Rachel about it. On the other hand, when Phoebe saw the couple through Ross' apartment, she screamed the iconic dialogue "My eyes! My Eyes", which sounds apt now after knowing the actors' real-life connection. Both the characters end up getting married and adopting twins because Monica was unable to conceive. In the last episode of the show, the two move to the urban area. 

IMAGE: Courteney Cox's Instagram