“Friends” star Courteney Cox and Snow Patrol musician Johnny McDaid have reportedly ended their 14-year romance. According to The Daily Mail on Sunday, the couple split toward the end of 2025 after 13 years together.
Cox, 62, and McDaid, 49, spent years making the distance work, splitting their time between homes in the United States and the United Kingdom. Cox and McDaid largely kept their romance private throughout their years together. They have not been photographed together for months, and neither has appeared on the other’s social media.
Sources Say the Breakup Was ‘Amicable’
GettyThe split is said to have been amicable, with those close to the couple describing it as a mutual decision rather than a dramatic breakup.
“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,” a source told the Mail.
According to the insider, the relationship simply ran its course as their lives moved in different directions, rather than ending because of conflict. “This was not an ugly split. They had simply reached a point where they were living different lives,” the source added.
A Romance That Began With an Ed Sheeran Introduction
GettyCox and McDaid’s story started in 2013, thanks to a mutual friend in global superstar Ed Sheeran. McDaid has co-written several of Sheeran’s biggest hits, including “Shape of You,” “Photograph,” and “Galway Girl.”
The duo crossed paths for the first time at a 2013 house party that Cox herself was hosting. The spark, she later admitted, was instant. “I remember seeing Johnny and going, ‘Oh, wow. He’s really intense.’ He’s got the eyes, and he’s playing the piano,” Cox said on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM radio show in 2022.
“And I thought ‘Oh he’s really really handsome,'” she recalled during a 2022 appearance on “The Howard Stern Show.”
The romance moved fast. By 2014, the Northern Irish singer had proposed to the “Cougar Town” alum, and Cox could hardly contain her joy. “I’m engaged to him!” she wrote beneath a selfie on Twitter at the time.
Months later, in 2015, McDaid told People the relationship was the only thing that mattered to him. “I just want to be with this woman for the rest of my life. That is all that matters. The ceremonies are academic,” he said.
The couple got engaged not long after they began dating, then called it off in 2015. They reconciled the following year and stayed together, though they never returned to wedding planning. Through it all, they spoke fondly of each other in interviews and stepped out together over the years.
Cox Has Long Been Candid About Their Ups and Downs
GettyCox has never hidden the challenges the couple faced over the years, including their brief split after getting engaged.
During an appearance on the “Minnie Questions” podcast, the “Friends” star recalled attending a therapy session with McDaid, only for him to end their relationship moments after it began. “I didn’t know it was coming…. We were engaged and I was so shocked. I was in so much pain,” she said.
Before McDaid, Cox was married to “Scream” co-star David Arquette for 14 years, and they share a 21-year-old daughter, Coco.
