CELEBRITY
Courteney Cox ‘Thankful’ Johnny McDaid Dumped Her In Couples Therapy
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Courteney Cox revealed on Wednesday that longtime boyfriend Johnny McDaid dumped her during their first session of couples therapy several years ago.
The Friends star, 59, shared the story from about five years ago on the Minnie Questions with Minnie Driver podcast on Wednesday, when she was asked about the disaster in her life.
“So three years in, we broke up and it was really intense. We broke up in therapy. I didn’t know it was coming, whether I should have or not, Cox said. The pair were engaged at the time.
“We went to this therapist to talk about our boundaries — what we could and couldnt accept about each other,” Cox said. Instead, the Snow Patrol rocker, 47, broke up with her within the first minute of the session.
“I was like, What?’” she recalled. “And I was so shocked. I was in so much pain. I also dont like surprises.”
According to their social media profiles, the couple got engaged in June 2014 after six months of dating, soon after Cox’s divorce from David Arquette. Cox and Arquette were married from 1999 to 2013, and share 19-year-old daughter Coco. Cox and McDaid broke off their engagement in late 2015.
But Cox defended McDaid, saying he “was in that much pain in the relationship” that he needed to take action. “There was that much that needed to be dealt with that he had to protect himself around his heart,” she said.
Being blindsided by the breakup caused her to do the most work on herself.
“I learned how to reclaim my voice, boundaries, what were my motives in life — like, what was my part in this?” she said.
She described being thankful for that breakup because “it really taught me how I operated in the world.”
“What were the things from my childhood that I needed? Like whether it was to be adored by men or things that I didn’t know how to let go to be in a relationship. To not take things personally, my boundaries, she said. I just went into myself and I had a great therapist.”
A few months later, they were spotted back in public together, and ultimately reconciled, though they have not gotten engaged again.
When we got back together, it was a different relationship, Cox said. “I’m thankful that Johnny was so bold and brave because it was life-changing for me and I’m sure for him.
TMX contributed to this article.
