Love Stories: Cameron Diaz was once asked why she 'waited so long' to marry Benji Madden
Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden are notorious for keeping their love life out of the public eye.
However over the years, the duo have given us a glimpse behind the curtain every now and then.?
It's unclear exactly what year the couple first met. In a 2021 interview on the Anna Faris is Unqualified podcast, Cameron revealed that it was at an event alongside Benji's brother Joel Madden and his wife Nicole Richie.
She shared that although they were in the same room because of the couple, it wasn't Joel and Nicole that introduced her to Benji. ?
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She continued on, sharing her shock that she and her future husband were in the same social circle but had never met.?
"I was, like, 'How come I didn't see him before?'," she said.?
They officially began dating in May 2014, when US Weekly broke the news to the world.
A few months later in July, Nicole appeared on an episode of ?Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, where she recalled the couples meeting a little differently to Cameron.
She said that she took "full responsibility" for setting the pair up, adding that she "approves of anything that's going to make Benji happy."
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It wasn't long before the famous duo broke their silence on their relationship, with Benji opening up to People in August 2014, saying that Cameron makes him "really happy."
The two moved fast, having sparked engagement rumours by October, just six months after their relationship went public
Cameron was spotted at the Academy's Hollywood Costume luncheon wearing a flashy new ring, where sources inside the event told People at the time that she "showing off the ring and often playing with it.
They later confirmed their engagement in ?December, with a close friend of Benji's telling People that the proposal had happened "just a few nights ago."
"All of Benji's friends are aware and happy for him," they said, adding that he had asked her family for permission and that "her mum is a fan of him."
Their whirlwind romance saw the couple married within two months, tying the knot in January, 2015.
The wedding was held at their Beverly Hills home, where a ten decorated with white flowers and candles was set up in the backyard.
?A year later, Cameron opened up about her romance as a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
"I do think that marriage, when you can grow with someone, it's very important," she shared.
"Someone asked me, 'What's your favorite thing about being married?' and I said, 'I just learned so much about myself. I didn't know these things. I would have never known them if I didn't have my husband to help me."
At the time of their wedding, Cameron was 42-years-old, and at a panel moderated by Gwyneth Paltrow? for her brand Goop she was asked why she had "waited so long" to get married.
The actress handled the question with grace, responding that it was "a matter of I just hadn't met my husband."
She continued: ?"I had boyfriends before, and there's a really, really distinct difference between husbands and boyfriends.
"I've never had anyone who supported me so much and gave me so much courage to be myself and to really explore myself.
"My husband has been able to show me what it's like to... be an equal. And I've learned so much from him. I look at him every day and he inspires me. I feel so lucky."
By 2019, the couple had shocked the world when they announced the birth of their first child, a baby girl named Raddix Madden.
They shared a post on December 30, 2019 wishing their followers a happy new year and sharing their exciting news.
?"We are so happy, blessed and grateful to begin this new decade by announcing the birth of our daughter, Raddix Madden," the wrote. "She has instantly captured our hearts and completed our family."
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However, the couple made the decision to keep their daughter out of the spotlight for her privacy, sharing that they "feel a strong instinct" to protect their daughter.
"We won't be posting pictures or sharing any more details, other than the fact that she is really really cute! Some would even say RAD," Cameron shared.
On an Instagram live with Who What Wear CEO Katherine Power four months after announcing the birth of their daughter, the actress shared that she loves being a mum, "it's the best, best, best part of my life," she said.
?"I'm so, so grateful and so happy and it's the best thing ever and I'm so lucky to get to do it with Benji and we're just having the best time. It's so great. I'm just thrilled."
She continued: "After we do bath time with our baby and we put her to sleep, Benji puts her to bed, he's so good. He's such an amazing father. I'm so lucky he's my baby's daddy. He's so incredible.
"He puts her down and I go into the kitchen and I start dinner and I pour myself a nice glass of red wine. I start my cooking, I put on my show, whatever it is."
Just a few days later, Cameron continued to gush about her new family life, sharing that finding Benji was "the best thing to ever happen" to her.
?Speaking with her friend makeup artist Gucci Westman, the actress said that her and her husband's different lifestyles was what made them so perfect not only as a couple but as parents too.
"Benji wants to go to bed late, and I like to go to bed early กญ that works so well for us as parents," she said of their family life during the Covid-19 pandemic. "I can go to bed a few hours early and he does those later feeds with her [and] I can wake up early and be with her in the morning and [Benji] can sleep."
She added that, ?"we all need somebody กญ somebody who doesn't do what we do."
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March 2022 saw Cameron appear on an episode of Michelle Viasage's Rule Breakers podcast, where she shared that Benji had taught her to "value myself a lot more".
?"With our marriage, I learned how to really go all in. You know what I mean? Nothing else comes before this," she explained. "It's not hard to do, because it's the most valuable thing I have."
By June her husband had encouraged her to come out of retirement and make her return to acting, starring alongside Jamie Foxx in the Netflix film, Back In Action.?
Over the years the pair have continued to celebrate each other and their wins as both a couple and individuals, often taking to Instagram to post birthday and wedding tributes.
?On their 8th wedding anniversary in January 2023, Benji penned a sweet message to his wife, writing, "In Love, Inspired, Happy and Grateful. Eight years married, side by side, and now a little one for us to guide? let's do 80 more and then forever ?????? happy anniversary 1*5*?@camerondiaz my ????????"
Most recently, in March 2024, the couple announced that they had welcomed their second child, a son named Cardinal Madden.
?"He is awesome and we are all so happy he is here! He's really cute," they wrote. "We are feeling so blessed and grateful."
They reminded their followers of their decision to keep their children out of the public eye, adding that "For the kids safety and privacy we won't be posting any pictures- but he's a really cute."?
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