The 51-year-old actor was married to his Scream co-star Courteney Cox, 58, when she was making up to $1 million per episode as Monica Geller on Friends.
He explained that it was “difficult” to be less successful than them, because he himself “wanted to foot the bill.”
Appearing on Sirius XM’s Andy Cohen Live Friday, he was asked if he ever felt inferior to his then-wife.
‘Yes absolutely. It is difficult. I have some of the traditional masculine things that I want to love, you know, giving and cashing the check and, you know, being the breadwinner,” he said.
David and Courteney married in 1999 and split in 2013. The former couple share daughter Coco, 18.
Exes: The 51-year-old actor was married to his Scream co-star Courteney, 58, when she was making up to $1 million per episode as Monica Geller on Friends
Traditional: He explained that it was ‘difficult’ to be less successful than them because he wanted to ‘take the bill’ himself
“In the acting world in general, you always go on this rollercoaster of popularity and, you know, not being able to get a job. it’s such a weird thing,” he continued.
“And if you, you know, compare yourself to someone who’s on the, you know, top of television, iconic world, it’s kind of hard to put yourself out there, so there was definitely something like learning and coping, and a lot of pain and, you know, arguments or, you know, ego, in the beginning,” he concluded.
The Scream actor married Christina McLarty, 42, in 2015. They share sons Charlie, nine, and Alexis, six.
Courteney has been in a long-term relationship with Snow Patrol musician Johnny McDaid since 2013 and they seem to be getting stronger than ever.
The Mrs. Davis star went on to explain that his attitude during the 14 years he was married to the Cougar Town star had “a lot” to do with how he perceived and reacted to the situation.
“A lot of it has to do with, you know, the way you take things, the way you say things, the way you react to things, the way you, you know, allow other species outside influences to affect on how you feel about yourself,” he said.
“I think about building confidence or just, you know, focusing on yourself, like working out some of the pain and trauma I had so I could open up, you know, and own what makes me happy , what my needs are, where my limits are,” he concluded.
Despite his regret, he admitted during an interview earlier this year that he and Courteney had a good connection today Closer.
$1 million: In season eight of the long-running NBC sitcom, the six main characters all earned $1 million per episode
Breadwinner: “I think about building confidence or just, you know, focusing on yourself, like working out some of the pain and trauma I had so I could open up, you know, and own was what made me makes me happy, what my needs are, where my limits lie’
Co-parenting: David and Courteney are parents to daughter Coco, 18
“Today we are wonderful co-parents to our daughter, Coco. So that’s very nice.’
The father of three also revealed that their daughter is doing well and recently got her first car while learning how to drive.
When David opened up about his second marriage, he revealed that they have a close-knit family unit and he feels lucky to be married to such a wonderful woman.
“My boys are just complete characters, both of them. I am so grateful to Christina. She’s like the brains of the operation. The woman behind the man,’ he said.
Mrs. Davis: David is currently starring in Peacock’s Mrs. Davis next to Betty Gilpin
Co-stars: The former couple starred together in the first Scream movie in 1996
On why his second marriage is successful, he said, “It’s hard. You need to figure out how to really make it work with each other, to listen to each other and let each other be you, but also to have your strong boundaries.
The former couple starred in a fifth installment of the hit horror franchise last year, returning as characters Dewey Riley and Gail Weathers.
Talking to the New York TimesDavid described acting with Cox more than 10 years later as “cathartic.”
“It’s a cathartic experience just to be able to act in front of Courteney. It’s been 25 years of our lives. We grew up together. We have a child together.’