Courteney Cox once acknowledged that she made “mistakes” in her relationship with Snow Patrol musician Johnny McDaid, comments that have resurfaced following reports that the longtime couple have separated.
According to The Mail On Sunday, Cox and McDaid quietly ended their relationship last year after spending more than a decade together. Sources close to the former couple have described the breakup as “extremely amicable.”
The pair first met in 2013 and became engaged, but their romance hit a difficult patch in 2015 when they briefly split before getting back together a few months later. Cox later spoke openly about what she believed had contributed to their earlier problems.
In 2016, the Friends actress said she had become “co-dependent” in the relationship and admitted she struggled to understand love in the same way McDaid did.
Reflecting on that period, she said: “We were engaged for over a year and then we broke up.
“He’s from Ireland. And the way he regards love is precious. We have to treat it in a different way. It’s more special — you coddle it.”
Courteney Cox previously admitted she made “mistakes” that contributed to her first split from Snow Patrol star Johnny McDaid, as reports say the couple have now separated
During an appearance on Running Wild with Bear Grylls, Cox expanded on those lessons, saying: “I definitely made a lot of mistakes that I see — whether it’s codependency or people-pleasing. I didn’t know how to bring it in. It was always external.”
The Mail On Sunday revealed this weekend that Courteney and Johnny ended their relationship late last year.
Courteney, best known to millions for her iconic role as Monica Geller in 90s sitcom Friends, is based in Los Angeles, while Northern Ireland-born McDaid, 49, has been mostly based in London, although the couple had tended to split their time between the US and the UK.
Confirming their separation, a friend said: ‘Johnny speaks incredibly highly of Courteney. They had a very deep relationship and they remain extremely amicable. They are great friends and care about each other very much.
‘This was not an ugly split. They had simply reached a point where they were living different lives.’
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Cox and McDaid, who has become one of the world’s most successful behind-the-scenes songwriters, began dating in 2013 after being introduced through mutual friends, including Ed Sheeran.
McDaid is one of Sheeran’s long-time friends and collaborators, and co-wrote some of his biggest hits, including Shape Of You, Photograph, Galway Girl, Bad Habits and Shivers.
He and Cox announced their engagement the following year and, despite briefly separating in late 2015, they reconciled in 2016 and had been together ever since.
The Mail On Sunday shared that the couple quietly went their separate ways last year after more than a decade together, with sources describing the split as ‘extremely amicable’
Cox has said in interviews that she was ‘thankful’ for the breakup because it made their relationship even better. McDaid has also spoken of how ‘lucky’ he felt to be in a relationship with the actress.
The couple were seen last August on a double-date in Malibu, California, with Cox’s Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston and her rumoured boyfriend, wellness expert Jim Curtis.
They were last photographed together at the US Open in September.
Since the split, both Cox and McDaid are rumoured to have moved on with their lives.
McDaid is understood to be in the early stages of a new relationship.
Meanwhile, Cox was spotted in New York recently with her Shining Vale co-star Greg Kinnear, who stayed at her apartment. Although they play husband-and-wife in the satirical horror comedy, the pair have confirmed that they are just good friends.
She has also remained close to her ex-husband David Arquette, with whom she shares daughter Coco, and friends say the former couple have long been a strong and amicable co-parenting team.
Representatives for Cox and McDaid were contacted for comment.
