Perry dated late network executive Tarses, who helped develop "Friends" back in 1994. He's never clarified the exact dates of their relationship, though he did describe her in his memoir as "the most magical, beautiful, and smart" woman. He also detailed some of what she had to do to help him with his addiction. "I called my sort-of girlfriend at the time, the wonderful Jamie Tarses, and managed to say, 'There's something wrong'," Perry wrote, describing an experience in 2000 when he was diagnosed with pancreatitis. "Jamie was an angel from God — she drove straight over to my house, poured me into a car, and drove me to the nearest hospital."
Perry ended up breaking up with Tarses after getting sober. "I need time to process being sober," he wrote. "In order to adequately pay sweet Jamie back for two years of giving up huge portions of her own very busy and important life by basically being my nurse, I ended our relationship."