LOS ANGELES - "Cougar Town" star Courteney Cox and her actor husband, David Arquette, have agreed to a "trial separation" but remain married while they work through the reasons for their split, the pair said on Monday.

"We remain best friends and responsible parents to our daughter and we still love each other deeply," Cox and Arquette said in a joint statement released by their representatives.

The two married in 1999 and have one daughter, Coco Riley Arquette, who was born in 2004.

Cox, 46, first gained notoriety on television sitcom "Family Ties" in the late 1980s, and went on to star in the smash hit TV comedy "Friends." Her career has included numerous films, and she is currently starring in the TV comedy "Cougar Town."

Arquette, 39, began acting in the 1990s and gained a measure of Hollywood fame playing the somewhat dimwitted role of Deputy Dewey, opposite Cox's reporter character, Gale Weathers, in the hit "Scream" horror movies.

In their statement, Cox and Arquette said that their separation "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

The pair also asked that "our friends, family, fans and the media...show us respect, dignity, understanding and love at this time."