Meet Courteney Cox’s Snow Patrol rocker boyfriend, Johnny McDaid: the Friends star just wrote him a heartfelt birthday message, but did you know he’s written songs for BTS, Ed Sheeran and Shawn Mendes?
- Sheeran introduced McDaid to the late Matthew Perry’s on-screen wife in 2013 at a house party, where she thought he was ‘intense’ and ‘really handsome’ – they’re still together nearly a decade later
- Although they separated once, Cox also supported him through spinal surgery, which saw concert cancellations – this year, Snow Patrol is dropping new album The Forest Is The Path in September
McDaid’s band, Snow Patrol, recently announced that their upcoming album, The Forest Is The Path, is slated for release on September 13. Two singles from the album have come out so far: “The Beginning” and “This is the Sound of Your Voice”. McDaid and his bandmates – Gary Lightbody and Nathan Connolly – have also been performing extensively and have a UK and Europe tour coming up in 2025.
But besides being the partner of a television icon and having his own very successful career, who is Johnny McDaid? Here’s everything we know.
Johnny McDaid is an Irishman
Johnny McDaid was born and raised in Derry, Northern Ireland and had moved to London when he was 17. His mother, Pauline McDaid, is a retired art teacher, and his father, the late John McDaid Sr, was a chartered accountant and a prominent figure in Derry. Notably, McDaid Sr served as a founding director of The Inner City Trust and was instrumental in getting the Peace Bridge installed in the city. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2011 after succumbing to cancer.
When Cox visited Derry after she got engaged to McDaid, her to-be mother-in-law said the Friends star “felt at home”, per Belfast Telegraph, and visited the Peace Bridge to pay her respects. She was also more than approving of the Mothers and Daughters actress, saying, “We all love her.”
How did he meet Courteney Cox?
The two-time Grammy-nominated singer and Friends megastar have been together for more than a decade, though they have faced their ups and downs – including a period of separation.
They met thanks to Ed Sheeran, for whom McDaid has written several songs, when the “Shape of You” singer invited him to a house party at Cox’s in 2013. According to People, she had an “instant crush” on him and thought, “Oh, he’s intense … he’s really really handsome” … and the rest is history. A year later, they were engaged.
Why did they break up?
