David Arquette felt inferior compared to his ex-wife, Courteney Cox, simply because she was more famous than he was.
Speaking to Andy Cohen on Friday’s episode of his SiriusXM show, the “Scream” actor confirmed that he “absolutely” felt threatened by her success in “Friends,” especially because she’s “someone who’s at the top of the television, iconic world.”
“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,” Arquette — who was married to Cox from 1999 to 2012 — explained.
Although he recognized that the acting world was simply a “roller coaster of popularity,” the difference in their success led to a lot of “pain” and “arguments.”
When asked how he and Cox, 58, worked out their hardships, Arquette said that it mainly boiled down to self-work and communication.
“A lot of it has to do with the way you’re taking things, the way you’re saying things, the way you’re responding to things, the way you’re allowing other sort of outside influences affect how you feel about yourself,” he elaborated.
Arquette added that he worked on “building” confidence, “focusing” on himself and communicating what his “needs” and “boundaries” were as ways to help him work out “some of the pain and trauma.”
Cox — who played Monica Geller in the famed sitcom “Friends” from 1994 to 2004 — met Arquette while co-starring in “Scream” in 1996, tying the knot three years later. They had their only daughter, Coco Arquette, in 2004.
Despite divorcing in 2012, the couple continued co-parenting Coco, 18, and remain on good terms.
“He’s my favorite person in the world,” Cox told People in 2012 amid the finalization of their divorce. “No matter what happens in our future, he’s my very best friend.”
David went on to marry Christina McLarty in 2015, while Cox is dating longtime boyfriend Johnny McDaid.
