14 DAY TRIAL // Hollywood is the place where, if a relationship passes the one-year threshold, it’s called a definite winner. If that be the case, then the marriage of David Arquette and Courteney Cox is a multi-champion, since they’ve been holding strong on the barricades ever since 1999. The secret to making it work could be best resumed in just five simple things, and they all have to do with learning to understand and love the other as they are, and not as we want them to be.
Being a celebrity and making a marriage work, especially with another fellow thespian, can be nearly impossible, as countless Hollywood divorces have showed us. Either because of the temptations lurking at each step, or because of the stress and long working hours, marriages between actors never seem to work. With David and Courteney, things are different, and that’s most because they do their best to keep work and personal life as separate as possible.
“It’s just asking for trouble. If you’re living with someone, it’s not a good idea to place the kind of strain on your marriage that comes from being on set together for 14 hours a day.” Cox told the media not long ago, when asked about how she felt about being able to say that she was working with her husband, thus spending more time with her man. Come to think of it, these two stars are not alone in wanting to draw the line between work and home, since Warren Beatty and his longtime wife, Annette Bening, also believe that work should be left at the office/on the set, as they say.
Another thing that the goofy David and former “Friends” starlet have learned during their time together is that, no matter the level of closeness two attain within a couple, some things should always be left as they are. What this means is that two partners should never forget to leave the other some personal space, as the key to perfect understanding. This also holds true in the case of Courteney and David, with the actress saying not long ago that “I just need to understand that he’s very private and doesn’t like to think of me airing our dirty laundry,” when speaking about personal space.
Since we’re on the topic of taking care of the other’s needs, we must mention that both David and Courteney also make some time for themselves. What we must never forget, they tell us, is that, while the other may have needs, so do we, and it’s best if we see to them before it’s too late and discontent builds up. “I’m a great caretaker but one thing I’m not good at is taking care of myself,” Cox told the media just recently.
Next up comes what is perhaps the one thing without which no relationship is possible, be it marriage or just a simple friendship: honesty. The two actors, for instance, say that, while making their marriage work is difficult as it is, lying would do nothing but complicate things even further. So, instead of beating around the bush and choosing the easy way out by hiding the truth, they are constantly honest to each other – and it’s a strategy that seems to have worked just fine for them so far. “At every turn, it’s my job to be loving and honest to her. If there’s one thing about our relationship, there are no surprises.” David told People magazine about the predictability and strength of their relationship because of honesty.
The fifth thing that has made the Cox-Arquette relationship work for so many years is kids. Although, at this particular point in time, they are parents of only one child, 5-year-old Coco Riley, both have discovered the wonders that a child can do to a relationship. “Being a father in general, your whole capacity for love just sort of is redefined,” David is quoted as saying not long ago. This is perhaps why, in June 2007, Courteney announced that they were going to try to have another baby, despite the severe post-partum depression Courteney suffered the first time around, and the many attempts until they finally succeeded.
To sum up, both are young, beautiful and, to cap it all off, rich and famous. And, while they do say that money cannot buy happiness, which is why fortunes amassed usually bring about misery and despair, it’s quite refreshing to see that, for once, there are couples that can practically have it all.
