The Celebrities Who Sparked Courteney Cox & Johnny McDaid's Relationship

Courteney Cox and Johnny McDaid have spent more than a decade together, working hard to foster and nurture their relationship. Despite the occasional setbacks, like a temporary breakup in 2014 and spending some time apart over the years, the love between the pair is undeniable — and it turns out Cox has some of her A-list pals to thank for bringing McDaid into her life in the first place.

Cox and McDaid's paths crossed in 2013, during a Sunday gathering at Cox's home, which turned out to be a truly star-studded affair. As the "Friends" star recounted during an appearance on "The Howard Stern Show" in March 2022, her close friend, actress Christa Miller, invited Ed Sheeran over to Cox's gathering. Sheeran — who has since become one of Cox's pals — asked if he could bring along a few of his friends as well, including Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and Snow Patrol rockers McDaid and Gary Lightbody.

Meanwhile, Cox had already invited Isla Fisher and then-husband Sacha Baron Cohen, as well as her "Friends" bestie Jennifer Aniston. Cox said she and Sheeran got along instantly, and he introduced her to McDaid, who was collaborating with Sheeran on writing some songs at the time. "I remember seeing Johnny and going, 'Oh, wow. He's really intense.' He's got the eyes, and he's playing the piano," Cox recalled. "I thought, 'Oh, he's really, really handsome.'"

Upon meeting Johnny McDaid, Courteney Cox was fairly immediately attracted to the striking, brooding musician from Northern Ireland, and she communicated this information to gal pal Isla Fisher. In turn, Fisher mentioned the crush to Sacha Baron Cohen, who took it upon himself to let McDaid know and get the wheels of romance rolling.

As Cox recalled, Cohen walked right up to McDaid and his Snow Patrol bandmate Gary Lightbody and laid things out for them. "He says, 'Hey! Courteney wants to f*** one of you from Snow Patrol. And it's not you, Gary,'" Cox recalled with a laugh. Apparently, this snagged the attention of Harry Styles, who joined in on pushing the two together. "He said, 'If you don't ask her out ...' I think he threatened to do something crazy like ... I don't remember, but it was pretty bad," Cox explained.

Apparently, the cajoling and playful threats did the trick. McDaid called Cox up the next day and set up a date. Not long after they were spending time together and their romance began to take off, with the couple getting (briefly) engaged in 2014. They went off to call off their engagement, but rekindled their romance shortly after and have been going strong in the decade since.