Busy week for celebrity break-ups. After 11 years of marriage, Courteney Cox and David Arquette have separated. To date, neither has filed for divorce and there is some suggestion that they may try to reconcile.

The former couple announced earlier this week that they had “agreed to a trial separation that dates back for some time.”

“The reason for this separation is to better understand ourselves and the qualities we need in a partner and for our marriage,” they said. “We remain best friends and responsible parents to our daughter and we still love each other deeply. As we go though this process we are determined to use kindness and understanding to get through this together.”

They added: “We are comfortable with the boundaries that we have established for each other during this separation and we hope that our friends, family, fans and the media also show us respect, dignity, understanding and love at this time as well.”

The announcement came on the heels of tabloid reports that Arquette had been seen out and about with another woman (a cocktail waitress who punched Lindsay Lohan earlier this year in an unrelated incident – just wanted to make sure you had all the facts!). He has since spoken about his sexual relationship with that woman on the Howard Stern radio show, followed by a public apology to Cox for sharing too much.

“It breaks my heart,” he said of their decision to separate, adding that he is “not the one that called this [separation] in order. “I’ve been begging Courteney to get back with me,” he later added. “She’s conflicted too.”

“She said to me, ‘I don’t want to be your mother anymore,'” he recalled. “And I appreciated that about her … She didn’t want to tell me, ‘Don’t do that.’ She didn’t want to nag me anymore.”

Cox and Arquette met in 1996 while filming the first Scream movie. They married three years later. Their daughter Coco was born in 2004.

Not sure which party (if either) is the primary breadwinner here, so it’s hard to speculate about a financial settlement or spousal support. It does seem that they take a reasonable view of their parenting responsibilities. We’d be surprised if Cox and Arquette don’t reach an amicable resolution to child custody and child support issues.

You can be sure that Cox’s BFF, Jennifer Aniston, will have a recommendation for a good divorce lawyer if and when the time comes.

Library Topics: separation, divorce, financial settlement, spousal support, child custody, child support, divorce lawyer