Courteney Cox Gets Praise From Her Future Mother-in-Law Pauline McDaid: "We All Love Her"

"They are head over heels in love," the retired art teacher says of her son Johnny and the actress

By Zach Johnson Aug 07, 2014 2:06 PMTags
Courteney Cox, Johnny McDaidMatt Sayles/Invision for DETAILS/AP Images

Courteney Cox made quite an impression on her future mother-in-law!

During the Cougar Town actress' trip to Ireland with Snow Patrol rocker Johnny McDaid, Cox got the chance to bond with her fiancé's mom, Pauline McDaid. "We all love her," Pauline told Northern Ireland's Sunday Life. She added that Courteney and Coco Arquette "felt at home" during their stay.

They can thank Johnny for that. "John is very much a Derryman," Pauline said of the musician. "So to be able to show Courteney around where he grew up and around his history, he was as proud as punch."

"They are head over heels in love," she gushed, "and it is lovely to see how happy they are together."

When Courteney visited their hometown of Derry, Pauline said she was "extremely empathetic" after learning about the city's iconic Peace Bridge. According to the newspaper, Pauline's late husband was instrumental in bringing the bridge to the northwest, just weeks before he lost his cancer battle.

"Courteney was very anxious to see John's home and we took her around and showed her where John grew up," Pauline, a retired art teacher, told Sunday Life. She added, "We also went up to the grave, and that was quite, well, as you can imagine...John is obviously upset that his daddy isn't going to meet her."

According to Pauline, Courteney also "wanted to do normal things" like shop. "She even picked up some Derry phrases when she was here. And with her being an actress, she can do the best Derry accent."

Coco, whom Pauline called a "wee pet", also enjoyed the trip. "We were all out playing hide-and-go-seek when the weather was so beautiful and she just loved it," she said of Courteney and David Arquette's daughter. "She loves photo bombing any photographs, if you look closely, Coco's there somewhere!"

During the trip, Johnny also celebrated his 38th birthday.

"Ed Sheeran turned up for it," Pauline said her son's friend and collaborator. "He surprised John, flew in from Ibiza. John and him work very closely together. It was Ed that introduced them, so that was special. We were keeping it all very quiet and then Ed tweeted that he loved his stay in Derry, so it was out!"