In the ’90s, Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox were one-third of the most popular sextet on television. Friends was, and indeed still is, a cultural phenomenon. As such, it’s of little surprise that the tabloids often take shots at the two actors. Here are a few times Gossip Cop debunked the idea of a feud between them.
In December 2018, the National Enquirer asserted Cox had not invited Aniston to her wedding in Ireland. With the headline “Courteney Bans Jen From Wedding,” the article purported that Cox was planning two weddings to her longtime boyfriend, Johnny McDaid. One would take place in Malibu, and the other would happen in McDaid’s home of Ireland. The unreliable outlet even quoted an unnamed insider as saying, “She’s getting shut out. She’s deeply hurt by this snub and isn’t ready to forget it,” after Aniston was supposedly left off the guest list.
The story was completely bogus, however. After checking with a source close to Cox, Gossip Cop confirmed that Cox never had one wedding in works, much less two. More than 12 months later, Cox and McDaid are not married, and Cox and Aniston remain close friends.
Almost a year later, in September 2019, Woman’s Day invented a story with a similar premise. The tabloid claimed Aniston was devastated after she was snubbed from Cox’s upcoming wedding. This time, the tabloid created fake drama around Cox attending the birthday party of Aniston’s ex, Justin Theroux. Once again, the tabloid relied on a supposed “insider” for details. “She broke down in tears when she visited a mutual friend and saw the invite sitting on a shelf,” the source said. “It felt like a dagger to her heart.”
For starters, Cox still isn’t getting married. There couldn’t be an invitation at a “mutual friend’s house.” Additionally, Gossip Cop checked with our own impeccable source close to Aniston, who denied the story was true. There are many examples in the months since that show Aniston and Cox are still close friends, including Aniston’s now infamous Instagram photo of the cast of Friends together.
Speaking of Theroux, his friendship with Cox has sparked a number of phony stories in the tabloids about it causing a rift between the former co-stars. Gossip Cop has busted numerous stories with his bogus narrative. Woman’s Day published a piece in August 2019 claiming Aniston felt betrayed by Cox when Cox attended Theroux’s birthday. As we’ve already explained, that narrative is completely false. Not only was she not upset with Cox, Aniston even spent Thanksgiving with Theroux. The exes are not on poor terms with each other. It makes no sense that she would be upset with her friend attending Theroux’s party when Aniston herself is still friendly with him.
That wasn’t the only tall tale to emerge after Cox attended the party either. That same month, OK! published a false report alleging Cox was getting revenge on Aniston and Reese Witherspoon with Theroux. That ridiculous article contended Cox was upset that Aniston and Witherspoon were teaming up on Apple’s The Morning Show. To get back at Aniston, the outlet wrote, Cox planned Theroux’s birthday party after not helping plan Aniston’s 50th a few months before. It was all nonsense, as Gossip Cop has already explained. The tabloids are trying to manufacture drama between the two stars where there is no drama to be made.