David Arquette Admitted That Ex-Wife Courteney Cox’s A-List Status Challenged His ‘Traditional Male’ Beliefs

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David Arquette was married to Courteney Cox at the height of her fame when Friends was the hottest show on television, and the cast raked in $1 million per episode. It’s not easy to live under the glare of the spotlight, and it can be even more difficult when you are in the same industry as your uber-successful wife.

Now, 10 years after their divorce was finalized, Arquette is answering some questions about how Cox’s fame affected his gender-stereotype beliefs. On SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live, Cohen asked whether he ever felt less confident in his career while his then-wife was on the hit NBC show. “Yeah, absolutely. It’s difficult,” he explained. “…I have some of the traditional male things where I want to like, you know, provide and pick up the check and, you know, be the breadwinner.”

As an actor himself, he understood the “rollercoaster of popularity” that comes with a job in the entertainment industry, and that his own ego sometimes got in the way during their marriage. He elaborated, “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.”

The duo met in 1996 on the set of the horror-fan favorite film, Scream, where she played intrepid reporter Gale Weathers and he was the lovable Deputy Dewey. They walked down the aisle in 1999 and welcomed their daughter, Coco, in 2004. Even though they are no longer together, the couple has remained close friends and subsequently worked together on some of the Scream sequels. The lessons learned in their marriage weren’t easy ones, but they allowed Arquette to challenge his own gender stereotypes head-on.

Before you go, click here to see celebrity exes who will always be friends.

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