Cameron Diaz has dated celebrities including Justin Timberlake and Alex Rodriguez, but never thought she’d get married until she started dating her now-husband, Benji Madden, in May 2014.
“[Marriage] was the biggest thing I’ve done in my 40s, and it opened me up in different ways,” Diaz told Harper’s Bazaar in May 2016, 16 months after she and the rockstar tied the knot. “It’s pretty awesome. I didn’t think it was something I’d do, and I don’t know if I’d have done it if I hadn’t met my husband. It was a surprise.”
While the duo’s relationship was unexpected, they quickly became one of Hollywood’s strongest couples. “One of my favorite things about being married, is how much pride I take in my husband @benjaminmadden… ,” the Other Woman actress captioned a June 2016 Instagram picture of Madden performing on stage with his band, Good Charlotte. “He makes me proud everyday [sic].”
The “Anthem” singer, for his part, likes to keep his marriage private, but did gush about the California native for her 46th birthday in August 2018. Madden noted in a sweet Instagram tribute: “So many things that make me so proud of you and how special you are. Thank you for being the best friend and partner to me and taking this journey of Marriage.”
He continued, “The way you live your life everyday, and your compassion for the world shines thru in your eyes and you inspire me to want to be the best man I can be in this lifetime. You’re the realest. I’m so grateful to be yours Always&Forever, and to call you my One&Only. True Love.”
In December 2019, the pair welcomed their first child, daughter Raddix. “I love being a mother,” Diaz told makeup artist Gucci Westman during an April 2020 episode of the latter’s YouTube series. “It’s the best, best, best part of my life. I’m so grateful and so happy and it’s the best thing ever, and I’m so lucky to do it with Benj and we’re having the best time. I’m thrilled. I can’t believe it.”
She also gave a rare glimpse at what the rocker is like as a dad. “He’s such an amazing father,” she shared. “I’m so lucky he’s my baby’s father. He’s incredible. He puts her down and I go into the kitchen and I pour myself a nice glass of red wine. I start my cooking, I put on my show, whatever it is.”
Keep scrolling for a look back at the pair’s sweetest moments:
Cameron Diaz has dated celebrities including Justin Timberlake and Alex Rodriguez, but never thought she’d get married until she started dating her now-husband, Benji Madden, in May 2014.
“[Marriage] was the biggest thing I’ve done in my 40s, and it opened me up in different ways,” Diaz told Harper’s Bazaar in May 2016, 16 months after she and the rockstar tied the knot. “It’s pretty awesome. I didn’t think it was something I’d do, and I don’t know if I’d have done it if I hadn’t met my husband. It was a surprise.”
While the duo’s relationship was unexpected, they quickly became one of Hollywood’s strongest couples. “One of my favorite things about being married, is how much pride I take in my husband @benjaminmadden… ,” the Other Woman actress captioned a June 2016 Instagram picture of Madden performing on stage with his band, Good Charlotte. “He makes me proud everyday [sic].”
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The “Anthem” singer, for his part, likes to keep his marriage private, but did gush about the California native for her 46th birthday in August 2018. Madden noted in a sweet Instagram tribute: “So many things that make me so proud of you and how special you are. Thank you for being the best friend and partner to me and taking this journey of Marriage.”
He continued, “The way you live your life everyday, and your compassion for the world shines thru in your eyes and you inspire me to want to be the best man I can be in this lifetime. You’re the realest. I’m so grateful to be yours Always&Forever, and to call you my One&Only. True Love.”
In December 2019, the pair welcomed their first child, daughter Raddix. “I love being a mother,” Diaz told makeup artist Gucci Westman during an April 2020 episode of the latter’s YouTube series. “It’s the best, best, best part of my life. I’m so grateful and so happy and it’s the best thing ever, and I’m so lucky to do it with Benj and we’re having the best time. I’m thrilled. I can’t believe it.”
She also gave a rare glimpse at what the rocker is like as a dad. “He’s such an amazing father,” she shared. “I’m so lucky he’s my baby’s father. He’s incredible. He puts her down and I go into the kitchen and I pour myself a nice glass of red wine. I start my cooking, I put on my show, whatever it is.”
Keep scrolling for a look back at the pair’s sweetest moments:
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Lucky in Love
A month after the news of his romance with Diaz broke, the Good Charlotte member told Australian radio station Nova FM that he and his twin brother, Joel Madden, are “lucky guys” to be in committed relationships. (Joel has been married to Richie since December 2010.)
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Engaged!
Multiple sources confirmed to Us in December 2014 that the Charlie’s Angels actress and the rocker were engaged after seven months together. A source told Us at the time, “Everyone thinks it’s wild but are so happy for them. Benji always tends to fall in love easily, but this time it’s for real and he landed a great girl. They obviously both make each other incredibly happy and there’s nothing better than that.”
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No Turning Back
The “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous” crooner took his commitment to the Golden Globe nominee to the next level when he tattooed her name on his chest one month after they said “I do.” Benji posted a picture of his new ink on Instagram and wrote, “Thinking bout you ?????? #LuckyMan.”
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Keeping It Real
Diaz loves her husband, but that doesn’t mean marriage is without its difficulties. “I learned all these things about myself that I wish I never learned about myself and I wouldn’t have known them if I didn’t get married,” she told Ellen DeGeneres in May 2016. “So, it’s like this double-edged sword. But I’m just so grateful for it because I couldn’t do it without my husband and I couldn’t do it with anybody else except for him.”
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Hoping to Expand Their Brood
A source told Us in January 2018 that Benji and Diaz “would love to have a baby,” but they have faced problems conceiving. The insider revealed that they tried procedures such as acupuncture and IVF, but still haven’t been able to get pregnant. “It’s been a long, hard struggle with many ups and downs,” the source explained. “Cameron would love more than anything to be a mom.”
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Baby Makes Three!
In January 2020, the couple revealed on Instagram that they are proud parents of a baby girl. “We are so happy, blessed and grateful to begin this new decade by announcing the birth of our daughter, Raddix Madden. She has instantly captured our hearts and completed our family,” the post shared by both Diaz and Madden read. The duo asked for privacy and while they will not be sharing photos of Raddix, they did add, “She is really really cute!! Some would even say RAD.”
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Wildly in Love
Us reported in January 2020 that Diaz and Madden’s baby girl’s full name is Raddix Chloe Wildflower Madden. The proud parents welcomed their “miracle” baby on December 30, 2019, at Cedar’s Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
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Mother on the Move
Diaz was spotted out and about for the first time since welcoming her little one on January 16, 2020. The retired actress was pictured in a comfy, cute outfit while leaving a friend’s home in Los Angeles.
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Head Over Heels
Madden gushed over his wife and daughter via Instagram on February 21, 2020. “My Wife and Daughter fill me up with so much gratitude,” he wrote. “Everyday, I feel so lucky. Just wanted to say it out loud!!! Much Love & Best Wishes.”
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Dream Hubby
Diaz said she was blown away by Madden’s parenting skills during an Instagram Live video on April 14, 2020. “I drink every night [as] my wind-down for the day … after we’ve done bath time with our baby and put her down to sleep. Benji puts her to bed,” she said.“Like, he’s so good. He’s such an amazing father. I’m so lucky he’s my baby’s daddy. Like, he’s so incredible.”
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Mother’s Day Love
Madden called the Something About Mary star the “Best Mom and Wife and Friend” in a special Mother’s Day post via Instagram on May 10, 2020. “It’s special day for us this year, Forever grateful to my wife for making me a Father, and taking such good care of us everyday,” he wrote.
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Perks of Quarantine
Diaz said that she’s enjoying spending more time with her husband while they self-isolation amid the coronavirus pandemic. “The best part of [quarantine] and having to stay within our little bubble within this COVID situation is that her dad gets to be home,” she said during her July 28, 2020, appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers. “He works from home, so … he actually gets to come out of a meeting and give her a kiss and play with her for a little bit, whereas if he was going to the office every day, he wouldn’t have been able to do that. We’re just having a lot of gratitude for that.”
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Family Bonding Time
The Avaline Wine founder shared how they have continued to bond with their daughter during the coronavirus quarantine. “Since we have a little one, we are really jamming out to some dope Sesame Street jams,” she joked in an interview with Rolling Stone in July 2020. “We got Baby Shark in the mix, and of course Benj has written at least a dozen songs for [Raddix]. So we are doing serious upbeat and often acapella jams over here.”
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Her Best Work
“Being a wife and a mother, it’s just the most, what’s the word I’m looking for? Rewarding,” the actress said during a February 2021 interview with SiriusXM’s Quarantined With Bruce. “I was like, it’s not validating in any way — it’s fulfilling. That’s what it is. It really has been the most fulfilling part of my life so far.”
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Good Timing
In April 2021, Diaz reflected on how stepping back from acting allowed her personal life with Madden to flourish. “I met my husband, we started a family,” she told Kevin Hart during an episode of his Hart to Heart talk show. “All of those things I didn’t have time for before and didn’t have the space to make the right decisions for me at the time to bring that in. … I just realized I looked around and it was just so many parts of my life that I wasn’t touching and that I wasn’t managing. I couldn’t really manage it because it was so big. Everything was so massive.”
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Birthday Babe
For Diaz’s 49th birthday in August 2021, the guitarist gushed over his wife via Instagram. “Happy Birthday to my Wife, you are beautiful in all ways, we are so lucky to have you,” he captioned a photo of a painting with a heart emoji and prayer hands. “What you do who you are day in and day out to the ones you love always true blue — hard to put it all in a IG post but I love to have a reason to say it out loud I love you.”
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7 Years Together
“Today 7 years married ❤️ Always dreamed of having a family like this,” the rocker wrote via Instagram in January 2022. “Happy, peaceful, consistent, loyal and unconditional equally filled with passion and depth. Calling it a Honeymoon doesn’t cover it. Real life. The only real challenge we have is making time go slower cause life goes by fast in the happy lane. Always and forever knowing we are home. @camerondiaz Happy Anniversary I love you!❤️❤️❤️.”
The Holiday actress commented on her husband’s post, writing, “I ✨❤️✨YOU MORE AND MORE EVERYDAY. Happy, peaceful, consistent, loyal and unconditional. Passionate and deep = OUR LOVE. LOVE YOU FOREVER AND ALWAYS ✨❤️✨.”
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Life Lessons
Marriage has helped Diaz see herself in a new light. “He’s really taught me to value myself a lot more,” she said during a March 2022 appearance on “Michelle Visage’s Rule Breakers” podcast. “I think that I was receiving so much validation elsewhere and in all these other ways [before Benji]. With our marriage, I learned how to really go all in. You know what I mean? Like, completely—nothing else comes before this.”
Thanks to this new perspective, Diaz now prioritizes family life with Madden and daughter Raddix above all else. “It’s not hard to do because it’s the most valuable thing I have,” she shared. “We both go—like, it doesn’t matter. We know that no matter what we can just go and be just a family anywhere and we’re fine. We don’t need any of the things that we have—other than each other.”
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Parental PDA
They’ve still got the spark! The spouses were spotted smooching during a July 2022 Adele concert in London’s Hyde Park.
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Baby Makes 4?
In July 2022, an insider exclusively told Us that the duo are considering expanding their family again. “Cameron and Benji have discussed having another child and have even been looking into surrogate options for a while now,” the source explained. “Benji always wanted a big family, and Cameron didn’t need to be persuaded after the arrival of their daughter.”
The insider added that the pair are hoping Raddix will have a little brother — but they’d be happy no matter what. “They would love a boy, of course, but just want a healthy baby,” the source said. “The surrogacy with their daughter was something they had a lot of doubts about going in. It turned out to be the best thing they ever did.”
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The First Meal
During a November 2022 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, the Sweetest Thing star shared one of the first dinners she cooked for her beau when they started dating.
“We get home from this two-day immersive course on Northern and Southern Italian cooking, and you are about to go on a date with Benji,” long-time pal Barrymore recalled. “And we had talked about it all weekend and I drove you to a grocery store, so pregnant I stayed in the car, and you went inside.”
After the Never Been Kissed actress asked Diaz what she prepared for Benji, the California native replied, “Lamb chops. Mediterranean lamb chops, some couscous, and some broccoli and sautéed zucchini. I put shallot gold inside the couscous.”
