Courteney Cox's real Friends tears when plot mirrored own devastating tragedy
Like her Friends character Monica Geller, Courteney Cox fought a devastating and exhausting battle to become a mum
It's 30 years since Friends first launched and became iconic TV viewing. With its relatable plotlines and quick wit, the show remains as popular now as it was then.
But behind the jokes and camaraderie, it has since emerged that several of the stars were battling their own, personal demons. The late Matthew Perry, who played Chandler Bing, was in the throes of drink and drug addiction - an affliction that would cause his tragic death in 2023.
Rachel Green actress Jennifer Aniston has since shared that she was struggling to have a baby with then-husband Brad Pitt, who met his future wife, Angelina Jolie, before Friends finished filming.
And the same was true for her on-and-off screen best friend Courteney Cox, who was also battling to start a family with husband David Arquette.
Her character Monica Geller spent two seasons trying to have a baby with husband Chandler, but nothing happened and they eventually learned that his sperm had 'low motility' and she had an 'inhospitable womb'.
And away from the camera, life was mirroring art as Courteney battled through a "bunch of miscarriages", one of which happened as Rachel gave birth to her daughter Emma.
'That was hard,' she told NBC in 2004 of the emotional scenes that saw her break down. 'Sometimes, like I remember one time I just had a miscarriage and Rachel was giving birth. It was like that same time. Oh my God, it was terrible having to be funny.'
When she married David Arquette in 1999, Courteney, now 60, had no reason to suspect they would struggle to conceive.
'Well it was really weird because everyone in my family has kids. I mean, they pop out like it's nobody's business. No one in my family has a problem. So to me, I just thought this would not be a problem at all," she said. 'I get pregnant pretty easily, but I have a hard time keeping them.'
She was told her body produced an anti-body that attacked the fetus and decided to undergo two rounds of IVF - the second of which brought her daughter Coco in June 2004, just two days before her 40th birthday.
'So now I decided to do in vitro and I did that twice. And then, give myself shots of heparin everyday - that's a blood thinner. Take a baby aspirin," she shared.
Years later she discovered the exact cause after being diagnosed with a MTHFR gene mutation which alters how the body methylates and raises the risk of miscarriage-causing blood clots.
Coco is now 20 and Courteney has previously spoken about wanting to try for a second child with fiancé Johnny McDaid.
'I would love to have a baby now,' she told New Beauty in 2017. 'I mean, I could carry someone else's egg. I may be one of the older people doing it, but I would love to [with Johnny],' she said. 'I know it's crazy, but I would.'
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