Inside Courteney Cox and Johnny McDaid’s decade-long romance — with one ‘really intense’ sudden split

In 2013, Courteney hosted a star-studded party at her Los Angeles home, to which she had invited Ed Sheeran. Ed brought along some of his other musician friends, including Taylor Swift and Snow Patrol members Gary Lightbody and Johnny.

“I remember seeing Johnny and going, ‘Oh, wow. He’s really intense.’ He’s got the eyes, and he’s playing the piano. And I thought ‘Oh he’s really really handsome,'” she recalled during an appearance on Howard Stern’s show in 2022.

She then told her friend and attendee Isla Fisher of her crush on the Irish musician, whose then-husband Sacha Baron Cohen relayed it to the band, which finally got the pair to hang out.

The couple were spotted together a couple times in late 2013 and early 2014, sparking reports of a budding romance, before finally going public with it in March 2014.

The pair twinned in all black for their red carpet debut at the Cinemagic Los Angeles Showcase at Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, California on March 10, 2014. However, they cemented their relationship by appearing together at several other events over the span of just a single month.

Later in 2014, after the Friends actress was spotted wearing a sparkler on *that* finger, it was confirmed that Johnny had popped the question after a year of dating. In June, Courteney confirmed the news on social media as well.

She told People at a red carpet the following year that Johnny was “the one” for her, adding: “He [is] just a beautiful, sensitive, loving person with a wonderful family, with a beautiful set of friends.” However, in December 2015, it was confirmed that the pair had called off their engagement after two years together.

In March 2016, they were spotted having lunch together over Easter, and began making occasional appearances together over the following months. That May, it was confirmed that the pair were indeed back together.

“I don’t know if you can put a label on what makes us work… but I know that I’ve never loved like I love this woman, so if that’s enough, then that’s enough,” Johnny told People at the 2016 BMI Pop Awards.

Speaking with NewBeauty magazine in 2017, then 53, Courteney shared that she was open to expanding her family with the Irish rocker. “I know it’s crazy, but I would. … I could carry someone else’s egg. I may be one of the older people doing it, but I would love to, with Johnny that is.”

The Scream star has also spoken openly about considering herself “married” to Johnny “at heart.” The couple were apart for several months during the Covid-19 lockdowns, finally reuniting in 2021. He also showed up to support her at her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2023.

In 2024, during an appearance on Minnie Questions with Minnie Driver, Courteney addressed her Johnny’s broken engagement in 2015. “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,” she recalled.

“He just broke up within the first minute. And I was like, what? We were engaged, and I was so shocked. I was in so much pain.” However, that break proved to be just what they needed. “I’m so thankful for that breakup. When we got back together, it was a different relationship, but also because it really taught me how I operated in the world.”