‘Friends’ Alum Courteney Cox Recalls Having a Real-Life Miscarriage While Rachel Green Gave Birth — Said it Was ‘Terrible Having to be Funny’

The characters on Friends weren’t based on real people, but that doesn’t mean their experiences weren’t grounded in reality. For example, Courteney Cox’s character happened to be going through infertility at the same time the actress was in real life.

Each of the female characters on Friends became mothers in different ways — Rachel from a one night stand with her long-time on-again, off-again boyfriend Ross, Phoebe through surrogacy, and Monica through adoption. But before Monica and Chandler expanded their family in that way, they endured fertility testing — just like Cox did.

Courteney Cox experienced multiple miscarriages while she was on ‘Friends’

Cox was a professional actress who was used to leaving her personal issues at home when she went to work. That’s why it’s almost impossible for fans to notice how much the actress was grieving the first time she held her new niece Emma in the hospital.

In real life, she and husband David Arquette had just experienced a miscarriage before Cox was required to film that scene. The 55-year-old actress later revealed how emotional filming was for her that day while going through such a traumatic life event.

“That was hard,” she told NBC. “Sometimes, like I remember one time I just had a miscarriage and Rachel was giving birth. It was like that same time. Oh my God, it was terrible having to be funny.”

Cox said she went through 7 miscarriages before having her daughter

It took a while to figure out, but eventually, Cox was diagnosed with a genetic disorder that caused miscarriages. She was able to successfully carry her daughter, Coco, to term after undergoing IVF and being placed on blood thinners during pregnancy.

The actress has been very open about her miscarriages in hopes of normalizing the conversation and connecting with fans. “I had a lot of miscarriages, and I don’t think that’s something that people shouldn’t talk about, because … it was unfortunate but it happens,” Cox told Busy Philips on her talk show, as Today reported.

“I just think it’s important to get things out there so people can realize they’re not alone,” she continued.

Chandler and Monica also navigate the difficulties of infertility

On the show, Monica and Chandler decide to start trying for a baby while they’re visiting Rachel in the hospital and don’t even want to wait until they get home to begin because Monica is ovulating at the time. First, they find a spot in a room to begin having relations before being discovered by a nurse. Then they find a private room but hear Janice through the wall and can’t continue. Finally, they resort to a closet and get caught by Monica’s father.

Later in the series, Monica and Chandler discover they’re unable to have children, and Cox most likely channels her real-life emotions into the scenes where the couple deals with those difficulties since she has real-life experience. The couple eventually announces to everyone in season 10 that they’re adopting twins and moving to the suburbs.