Cameron Diaz “met” her husband Benji Madden after practically knowing him for years—he’s the twin brother of Joel Madden, the husband of her close friend Nicole Richie. For some reason, it took one special night to finally open her eyes and really see him as a romantic option, and she’s never looked back.
The couple have had a whirlwind romance that’s lasted nearly a decade and includes marriage and a child. They aren’t terribly public or present on social media, but here’s their complete relationship timeline so far.
May 2014
Diaz and Madden had been in similar social circles before and knew one another as celebrities, but they officially “met” at a party hosted by Diaz at her house when he accompanied her friends Nicole Richie and Joel Madden.
“Joel said, ‘Hey, can my brother come over?’” Diaz said later. “And I said, ‘Of course, it’s family, we’re having a barbecue’ and then [Benji] walked in the door and I was like—you! You!”
October 2014
Rumors of an engagement began six months later in October when Diaz was seen wearing an engagement ring.
December 2014
The couple finally confirmed their engagement just before Christmas that year.
“Everyone thinks it’s wild but are so happy for them,” a source told Us Weekly. “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.”
January 2015
The pair were married on Jan. 5, 2015, less than 10 months after they started dating. The wedding was held in Beverly Hills with a guest list that included Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lionel Richie, Judd Apatow, and Drew Barrymore.
“We couldn’t be happier to begin our new journey together surrounded by our closest family and friends,” the couple said in a statement at the time.
“[Marriage] was the biggest thing I’ve done in my 40s, and it opened me up in different ways,” Diaz told Harper’s Bazaar later. “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.”
March 2015
In March 2015, Madden debuted a photo of his new chest tattoo of Diaz’s first name, writing in a now-deleted post “thinking about you.”
April 2016
In April 2016, Diaz told Andy Cohen on his Sirius XM Radio that finding her husband has changed her life.
“Nothing matters now that I have my husband,” she said. “Like that’s the thing, that’s how I know he’s my husband because no one compares. You realize like, ‘Oh right, this is what the real thing is, this is what real love is and this is what commitment and devotion is.’”
June 2017
Over a year later, she felt the same, telling the audience at Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Summit, “I have a husband who is just my partner in life and in everything. [But] talk about two very different people! We are so different from one another, but we share the same values—we’re totally two peas in a pod.”
August 2017
The feeling is mutual, and Madden celebrated his wife’s birthday later that summer, calling himself the “luckiest guy alive.”
“I don’t think anyone could ever know the Depth, Kindness, and Compassion that I get to experience everyday thanks to My One and Only,” he wrote. “You got me til the end baby.”
April 2018
He celebrated her again in a pic in 2018, captioning it simply, “True love.”
August 2018
For her birthday that year, he again wrote a touching tribute, saying, “Thank you for being the best friend and partner to me and taking this journey of Marriage. 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.”
August 2019
“Getting married to him was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Diaz told InStyle about Madden in 2019. “My husband’s the best. He’s the greatest human being, and he’s my great partner. Marriage is certainly hard, and it’s a lot of work. You need somebody who’s willing to do the work with you, because there’s no 60-40 in marriage. It’s 50-50, period. All the time.”
January 2020
In January 2020, the couple welcomed their daughter, Raddix Madden.
“We are so happy, blessed and grateful to begin this new decade by announcing the birth of our daughter, Raddix Madden,” they announced on Instagram. “She has instantly captured our hearts and completed our family.”
April 2020
On her friend Gucci Westman’s YouTube series Makeup & Friends, Diaz gushed, “I love being married. The best thing that’s ever happened to me is finding my husband, and our partnership, and our friendship.”
She had similar feelings about being a new mom.
“I love being a mother. It’s the best, best, best part of my life,” she said. “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.”
Of Madden, she added, “He’s such an amazing father. 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.”
May 2020
For her first Mother’s Day, Madden wrote on Instagram, “Forever grateful to my wife for making me a Father, and taking such good care of us everyday. Best Mom and Wife and Friend.”
“Whether waking up extra early to take care of everyone (3 humans and a dozen animals) or doing all the research and reading to make sure we try our best to be good parents for our daughter, she’s a force of nature and I’m very grateful. 6 years together just get more meaningful and true love each day. What a blessing.”
July 2020
In an interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers, she addressed what it was like being a new parent right when the world was in retreat during COVID-19 quarantine.
“Before, my baby was an excuse to stay home, now I don’t have to make that excuse,” Diaz replied. “It’s just what it is. I get to be with her.”
She continued, “The best part of it for having to stay within our little bubble for this COVID situation is that her dad, my husband Benji, he gets to be home. He works from home. So he gets to be with her as much as I do—well, not as much because he’s working all day long —but he actually gets to come out of a meeting and give her a kiss and play with her for a little bit, where if he was going to the office every day, he wouldn’t have been able to do that…So we’re just having a lot of gratitude for that.”
September 2021
Madden and his brother are twins, so Diaz answered the hard questions on Anna Faris’ podcast about whether she finds both men attractive.
“I met mine [husband] through my now sister-in-law and brother-in-law, I met them first and then they didn’t set us up but we were in the same room because of them, and then we found each other,” she said. “I was like, ‘How come I didn’t see him before?’”
Another podcast guest Katherine Power joked, “Which is funny because you saw his twin brother.”
“They’re not the same, they’re so different,” Diaz replied. “Even though they’re twins, they’re very, very different obviously…I saw him walking towards me, and I was like, ‘Huh, he’s hot, I haven’t seen him before,’ but then when I saw him, like who he was, that’s what made me really be like, ‘Oh you, you’re special, you’re the guy, you’re the hidden gem in my life.’”
January 2022
On their seventh wedding anniversary, Madden posted some art and a gorgeous caption.
“Today 7 years married ❤️ Always dreamed of having a family like this. 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!❤️❤️❤️.”
In the comments, Diaz wrote:
“”I ✨❤️✨YOU MORE AND MORE EVERYDAY. Happy, peaceful, consistent, loyal and unconditional. Passionate and deep = OUR LOVE
LOVE YOU FOREVER AND ALWAYS ✨❤️✨.”
August 2023
Madden wrote that he has taken a step back from posting on social media but likes his “tradition” of wishing his wife a happy birthday on Instagram.
Sharing a sweet picture of Diaz with a cat, he wrote, “I’m off line mostly these days, just working, painting, making things and doing family life, but I have grown to like my little tradition of coming back on special occasions to show love to my Queen- so today, it’s a very Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife, best friend, best partner in everything, ride or die, greatest Mom to our little girl, @Avaline wine boss, family chef, advisor, collaborator and everything else.”
He added, “You do it all ❤️So grateful to have our family and I am one lucky man – I know that seems obvious but it really is nice to say it out loud now and then when you’re feeling it ❤️ 🙏 I love you •forever •always •yours •true love ❤️ Happy Birthday Cameron ❤️😍.”
December 2023
Diaz shared rare insight into her relationship with Madden during an interview on Molly Sims and Emese Gormley’s podcast Lipstick on the Rim in mid-December. When discussing their partners’ sleeping habits, Diaz said, via People, “We should normalize separate bedrooms. To me, I would literally, I have my house, you have yours. We have the family house in the middle. I will go and sleep in my room. You go sleep in your room. I’m fine. And we have the bedroom in the middle that we can convene in for our relations.”
When told the confession may be controversial, Diaz clarified, “I’ve already said it. By the way, I don’t feel that way now because my husband is so wonderful. I said that before I got married.”
On Friday, December 29, Diaz and Madden were seen in Santa Barbara with daughter Raddix outside of a Von’s grocery. The actress was in a pair of Ugg boots, a white hat with a black band, and a denim coat over a gray sweater set. Madden was in black sweats and matching hoodie with a black baseball cap. Raddix held her mother’s hand and wearing a blue onesie.
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.