Courteney Cox recently opened up about a pivotal moment in her relationship with her longtime boyfriend, Johnny McDaid, revealing that he broke up with her during their first joint therapy session five years ago. The Friends star shared the surprising and intense experience on the Minnie Questions podcast, shedding light on a period of deep personal growth and transformation.
"It was really intense," Courteney, 59, recounted. "We broke up in therapy. I didn’t know it was coming." At the time, Courteney and Johnny, the 47-year-old musician from Snow Patrol, were engaged and seeking to address issues within their relationship by discussing boundaries — what they could and couldn't accept about each other.
But the therapy session took an unexpected turn. "Within the first minute" of the conversation, Johnny decided to end their engagement. "I was like, ‘What?’" Courteney recalled, expressing her shock and pain at the sudden breakup. "And we were engaged. And I was so shocked. I was in so much pain. I also don’t like surprises!"
Instead of reacting with anger, Courteney chose to focus on self-reflection and personal growth. "I learned how to reclaim my voice, boundaries, what were my motives in life — like, what was my part in this?" she said. This period of introspection led to profound changes in how she viewed herself and her relationships.
Courteney is now grateful for the brief split, as it ultimately strengthened her relationship with Johnny. "It really taught me how I operated in the world, what were the things from my childhood that I needed," she shared. "Whether it was to be adored by men, things that I didn’t know how to let go, to be in a relationship, to not take things personally, my boundaries. I just went into myself."
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Courteney, who was married to David Arquette from 1999 to 2013 and shares a 19-year-old daughter named Coco with him, continues to value the lessons learned from her relationship with Johnny. Her story is a testament to the power of self-examination and the importance of addressing deep-seated issues within relationships, no matter how painful the process might be.
To hear Courteney’s whole story, click the video!
