Courteney Cox Opens Up About Separation From David Arquette

"I don't find the whole cougar word that offensive," Courteney Cox told Harper's Bazaar. "A cougar is someone who takes care of herself and goes out with younger guys. She doesn't need a man to take care of her." One can apply that mantra to both the actress' ABC comedy Cougar Town and to her personal life; Cox married David Arquette, seven years her junior, in 1999. But after having one daughter, Coco, six, and a seemingly happy marriage, the couple announced their separation last October.

Despite recent events, Cox, 46, is not wallowing in self pity. "We loved each other so much, and if anything I feel like we've been extremely successful at marriage," the actress said in a candid interview for the magazine's April issue. "If it doesn't work out, I will have huge waves of pain about failing in that department. But right now I don't have that because I don't know what the future holds and I guess because I have strong feelings for him."

Cox feels lucky that she and Arquette, who checked into a rehab facility earlier this year, addressed their issues head-on rather than suppress them. "I think it's important, no matter what the outcome is, when you take these risks [in a marriage] and are willing to get real and get messy," she explained. "I think you can only become stronger people, whether it's together or apart. In the end, everything will be better."

While it was reported that Arquette had a fling with a cocktail waitress Jasmine Waltz, Cox is not bitter or resentful. "He absolutely did nothing that wasn't in the boundaries of what we set for our separation, so there's nothing to judge," she told the magazine. "I may not have known about it, but that's the only difference."

Meanwhile, could there be any truth to the rumors that she’s been getting closer with her Cougar Town costar Brian Van Holt? "He's a really good friend of mine, so I don't care," she said. "It just doesn't matter. He's a great guy, and he's definitely been a part of my support system." Cox went on to reject any interest in dating or meeting someone new right now. "I'm not saying never. It just seems weird,” she said. “I don't even know how that would happen or how you meet people. I really don't like to go out. I'm not great at small talk. I like to go to dinner with people. I don't like to go to parties. There's a sign on my forehead: EXITING SOCIAL LIFE, ENTERING INTO ISOLATION." As long as that doesn't mean isolation from our weekly TV schedules, we can live with that. —EMILY EXTON