Despite being a romantic comedy, the romantic aspect of "Fools Rush In" wasn't part of Matthew Perry's typical purview. He wrote in his memoir that his costar, Salma Hayek, tried to help him "tap into real feelings and to be more of a leading man than a funny sitcom actor," per People. Perry wrote that to do this, Hayek "came into my trailer at the start of the shoot and said, 'Let's just spoon a little bit.'" Certainly taken aback by the strategy, he "did my best Chandler impression — the double-take-and-sardonic-stare thing — and said, 'Oh, okay! Let's just spoon a little bit!'" 

Perry then joked about the pair's dynamic, saying that Hayek's "long-winded ideas weren't always helpful." His example was a scene in which his character was declaring his feelings. Perry wrote: "She suggested that we don't look at each other — rather, we should look out at our future together. ... I finally said, 'Listen, Salma.' I said, 'I'm telling you I love you in this scene. You look wherever you want, but I'm going to be looking at you.'"

Hayek has yet to speak out about Perry's death, but Doug Draizin, the producer on "Fools Rush In" whose story the film was based on, talked to the New York Post about how much he loved Perry and how saddened he was by the tragic news. Draizin said the later star was "really friendly ... very genuine."