Director Wes Craven watched Courteney Cox and David Arquette fall in love on the set of the first Scream film back in 1996.
The horror master considers the couple — who wed in 1999 and have a 6-year-old daughter, Coco — close friends. But Craven told E! News he was blind-sided as the rest of America with last week's news of their separation.
PHOTOS: Courteney and David: the way they were
The couple didn't make their marital struggles known as they shot Scream 4 earlier this year.
"We didn't have any idea that was going on," Craven said at Spike TV's Scream Awards Saturday, where Arquette showed up without his estranged wife.
Filming the fourth film in the franchise, he said, "was a big lovefest. It's kind of embarrassing."
PHOTOS: Couples who found love on set
Craven called the breakup "very sad," admitting "I just about cried when I heard. It's a wrenching thing to happen to anybody that you love. I wish them both the best."
When Arquette, 39, and Cox, 46, announced their trial separation last week, they said they've been apart "for some time."
PHOTOS: Other shocking Hollywood splits
What went wrong? Insiders tell Us Weekly it was a personality clash. "She's very anal, type A," says one. "David's an easygoing guy. He truly loved her, but she was not easy to be married to."
