Courteney Cox has admitted that she regrets succumbing to the pressure to look young in Hollywood.

The former Friends star, 52, opened up about her changing appearance while joining adventurer Bear Grylls on a gruelling trip to the Irish moors.

In a video clip released from the show, Running Wild With Bear Grylls, the star said that she had seen “pretty mean” comments about the way she looks.

The former Cougar Town actress said of looking young: “There’s a pressure to maintain that, not just because of fame.

“Being a woman in this business … getting older is not the easiest thing. But I have learned lessons.”

She added: “It’s something you can’t keep up with … Sometimes you find yourself trying and then you look at a picture of yourself and go ‘Oh, God, I look horrible’.”

Courteney said of getting work done on her face: “I have done things that I regret, and luckily they’re things that dissolve and go away, so that’s good, because it’s not always been my best look.

“So now, I have a new motto,” she said. “‘Just let it be.’”

A picture of Courteney Cox and Johnny McDaid
Courteney Cox and Johnny McDaid (Chris Pizzello/AP)

But the actress, who confirmed that she is still in a relationship with Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid, 40, said that there are aspects of getting older that she loves.

She said: “Just watching my daughter (Coco Arquette, 12) go through, you know, the game of life … I see so much of myself in her, and I’m glad that I’ve been through it, and learned enough now to actually help her go through things that are hard.”

Courteney’s comments come after her former Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston criticised expectations of beauty placed on women in the industry.

Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

“The objectification and scrutiny we put women through is absurd and disturbing,” Jen said.