Fame and fortune are great, but even the richest and most famous celebrities still have personal
issues.
In fact, often times that public success leads to private turmoil - and the gang from Central
Perk are no exceptions.
Here's a look at the personal struggles of the cast of Friends.
Courteney Cox's cosmetic enhancements
Like many celebrities, Courteney Cox is guilty of going a little too far in the pursuit of
the so-called "fountain of youth."
Long-rumored to have all kinds of plastic surgeries, Cox eventually opened up to New
Beauty in 2017 for a frank chat about what she's done to maintain her youthful look.
"I grew up thinking that appearance was the most important thing.
That's kind of sad because it got me in trouble.
I was trying so hard to keep up, and I actually made things worse."
She confessed to getting
"a little injection here or filler there"
which led to people noticing, which led to recommendations for more procedures.
"The next thing you know, you're layered and layered and layered."
Eventually, Cox had all of her "fillers dissolved" and pivoted to more "natural" procedures such
as laser treatments and dietary supplements.
"But I have learned lessons [...] You know, I think I was trying to keep up with getting
older, trying to chase that.
[...] You know, it's something you can't keep up with."
Matt LeBlanc's dark times
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly Matt LeBlanc said the show's incredible success contributed
to problems at home - especially after his spinoff series Joey flopped and his newborn
daughter, Marina, was diagnosed with the rare medical condition cortical dysplasia.
"The expectation on Joey was so high, it was so stressful.
And then to go home and be like, ‘What’s going to happen with our daughter?’
It was a very, very hard time.
I almost had a nervous breakdown."
He responded by taking a year off after Joey was cancelled.
"It had been 12 years of nose to the grindstone.
I made a lot of money.
I was in a position where I could retire.
I want to just be with my little girl and figure out what my life is.
[...] It ultimately turned out to be the best decision.
I learned a lot about myself.
I matured quite a bit.
I developed a bond with my little girl."
Luckily, Marina outgrew the condition and is now a perfectly healthy - and totally typical
- teenager.
"Does she know that her dad is cool?
Like everybody, you know, thinks you're cool cuz you're a celebrity?"
"Uh, I don't think she thinks I'm too cool, no."
David Schwimmer's struggles
In a 2016 appearance on The Hollywood Reporter's podcast, Awards Chatter, David Schwimmer revealed
that becoming an instant celebrity following the immediate popularity of Friends in 1994
wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
"It was pretty jarring and it messed with my relationship to other people in a way that
took years, I think, for me to adjust to and become comfortable with."
The fame that accompanied his role on Friends even became an issue for Schwimmer's entire
approach to acting, which he described as
"to observe life and to observe other people"
something he could no longer do without being noticed.
As a result, he found himself wanting to
"hide under a baseball cap and not be seen."
Eventually, Schwimmer said he found the "tricky" balance was to vary the roles he chose outside
of Friends, as well as to focus on developing his skills behind the camera as a director
and founder/producer of the Chicago-based Lookingglass Theatre Company.
Jennifer Aniston ignites controversy
While discussing her relationship with then-fiance Justin Theroux in a 2015 interview with The
New York Times, Jennifer Aniston mentioned in passing one of her exes, saying
"He would have been the one.
But I was 25, and I was stupid.
He must have sent me Justin to make up for it all."
That ex was actor Daniel McDonald, whose widow, Mujah Maraini-Melehi, did not take kindly
to Aniston's comments.
Speaking with Inside Entertainment, Maraini-Melehi accused Aniston of "exploiting" her ex-husband's
memory and charged that
"he would not have approved of all this uninvited attention due to his past relationship to
Jennifer."
She continued,
"I am sorry that Jennifer did not realize the treasure that was Daniel when she had
the chance, long before he and I met and long before he died.
It pains me to read the headlines that allude to her losing him tragically when in fact
she was not present during his long and difficult illness.
That said perhaps Daniel's gift was to teach her how to love and appreciate Justin Theroux."
Aniston can't escape Brangelina
Aniston and Brad Pitt divorced in 2005, amid rumors that Pitt had hooked up with his co-star,
Angelina Jolie, while filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
More than a decade later, the triangle is still all anybody can talk about, especially
with Aniston.
In 2015, Aniston told Entertainment Tonight she just found the whole thing boring.
"I think that it's time people stop with that petty BS and just start celebrating great
work and stop with the petty kind of silliness.
It's just tiresome and old.
It's like an old leather shoe.
Let's buy a new pair of shiny shoes."
"Love the narrative, they love the story, they love the 'she's jealous and this person's
depressed.'
[...] Whatever the horrible little headline is."
No matter how hard she tries to put it behind her, though, nobody seems to listen.
For her sake, here's hoping someday the focus will be on her talent and not her personal
life.
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