David Arquette Felt Inferior To Courteney Cox During Their Marriage, But She Tells A Different
The Scream franchise didn’t just produce a number of cult favorite movies, but also a Hollywood love story. Courteney Cox played Gale Weathers in the first Scream installment (released in 1996) while David played Dwight “Dewey” Riley, whose onscreen romance later transitioned to real-life.
David and Courteney married several years after the film’s release in 1999 and later welcomed a daughter, Coco, in 2004. However, the long-time couple announced they were separating in 2010. The actors didn’t file for divorce right away, giving fans hope for a reconciliation. However, David eventually filed for divorce in 2012, and it was finalized the following year.
While David and Courteney have both moved on in other relationships since their divorce, there’s still curiosity over what led the former co-stars to break-up, especially since they’ve been on friendly terms since the split. The duo have said several things over the years that provides insight into their break-up, including David’s recent admission he felt “inferior” in the marriage. Here’s everything that we know.
David Felt “Inferior” Because Courtney Was More Successful
David opened up about his marriage to Courteney during a recent appearance on Andy Cohen Live. When the pair married, Courteney was at the height of her Friends fame. David admitted to host Andy Cohen that his wife’s success took a toll on their relationship. “Yeah absolutely. It’s difficult,” David replied when Andy asked if he felt “inferior” to Courteney during their marriage.
Describing himself as a “traditional male,” the actor said he felt pressured "provide and pick up the check and, you know, be the breadwinner."
"In the acting world in general, you're always going on this rollercoaster of popularity and, you know, not able to get a job," he went on. "So, it's like this weird thing."
"And then, when you're, you know, comparing yourself to someone who's at the, you know, top of the television, iconic world, it's kinda hard to put yourself there, so there was definitely, like, learning and dealing with that and a lot of pain and, you know, arguments or, you know, ego, early on,” David continued.
But David Says Courteney's Career Didn’t Ruin Their Relationship
However, the Spree star implied that feelings of inferiority aren’t what led to the end of the relationship, as he went on to explain how he and Courteney navigated it at the time.
"A lot of it has to do with, you know, the way you're taking things," he explained. "The way you're saying things, the way you're responding to things, the way you're, you know, allowing other sort of outside influences affect how you feel about yourself."
"So, I think, like, building confidence or just, you know, focusing on yourself, like working out some of the pain and trauma that I had so that I could open up, like, you know, and own sort of what makes me happy, what my needs are, where my boundaries are,” David concluded.
Courteney Says There’s A Different Reason Their Marriage Failed
David didn’t expand on what the reason was he and Courteney called it quits eventually, but the Friends star has shared her own version of events. The actress has said that their marriage didn’t end dramatically. Rather, it was simply a matter of growing apart with time. "We probably don't get as real as we needed to as we do now,” Courteney previously said in an interview with Howard Stern.
“There are a lot of things that David likes to do completely the opposite things I do,” She went on. “I'm a homebody. David doesn't drink anymore, he's completely sober, but he likes to go out and dance."
She echoed a similar sentiment in a 2016 interview, saying, "It wasn't a dramatic ending. We found ourselves living separate lives — just coexisting and being great friends, but not having the intimacy that is so important in a relationship.”
“We're just really different, too,” she continued. “I'm the polar opposite of him. And that can be great for a lot of things, but I need this kind of real, one-on-one connection."
Also, during her conversation with Howard Stern, Courteney revealed that their sexual needs and preferences also became an issue. “It was early in the morning," Courteney recalled of one instance. This is one of our problems in our relationship. Whenever I would need consoling from David, he could not literally put his arm around me for one second without completely getting a boner."
"[He] was never like, 'Oh, I'm so sorry your Dad is dying. Can we ****?'" she added.
If one thing is for sure, it’s that David and Courteney haven’t been shy to reveal the intricacies of their past relationship. Though Courteney’s success may have not been the deal breaker, it may have added pressure to an already-strained relationship.
Now, a decade since their divorce, David and Courteney may have moved on in other relationships, but the former couple swear they still care for each other deeply despite their differences. In the grand scheme of Hollywood divorces, that’s more than you can ask for.
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